How Much Space do you Need for Ground Source Heating?

Lots of people worry that ground source heating requires a lot of room. But depending on your budget, you don’t need to have a large garden to benefit from a ground source heat pump.

Find out how much space you really need for a ground source heat pump.


Ground source heating needs three loops

Ground source heat pumps use loops of pipe containing a mixture of water and antifreeze under the ground to extract heat. In a normal system, you’ll usually need three loops to ensure that you can heat your home efficiently.

How big does your garden need to be?

Most loops for ground source heating are laid in trenches, so if you’re having a standard system with three loops at about 200 metres in length, you’re going to need about 700 square metres of land.

What if you haven’t got that much space?

If you’re struggling for 700 square metres of land, your ground loops don’t need to be installed in trenches. It’s more expensive, but you can have your loops installed in boreholes. Your loops for your ground source heating are installed vertically, meaning you don’t need to have as much land.

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that having loops installed in this way can cost a lot more and may not be as efficient as installing them in trenches.

What if vertical boreholes are too expensive?

If you get a range of quotes from different heat pump installers and you find that having your loops installed in boreholes is too expensive, you could consider an air source heat pump. Air source heat pumps extract heat from the air (the clue is in the name!) and use it to heat your home and hot water.

A standard air source heat pump should be cheaper than a more complicated ground source heating system, and you’ll still get all the benefits of cheaper heating and hot water whilst cutting your carbon footprint.

To get quotes for ground and air source heat pumps, simply fill in our form below.