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Are you currently considering installing a ground source heat pump in your home? Well, a heat pump can be a great alternative when compared to gas or oil boiler, however, you may also be worried about the operating efficiency of this heating system if you live in a cold climate or during the winter months. However, in reality, there’s nothing to be worried about!

A ground source heat pump works by incorporating the natural heat that’s typically found in the ground or groundwater. In other words, this type of heat pump doesn’t make use of fossil fuels to heat your home while it can also minimize carbon emissions that may pose a huge risk to the environment. This makes a popular option especially amongst home and property owners who are very environment conscious and prefers to utilize more renewable sources of energy.

However in a place such as the UK where the temperature can drop to around -10℃ during the winter months, it may get you thinking whether there’ll be enough heat in the ground to warm up your home. Let’s have a look.

In the UK, the temperature of the ground doesn’t normally fall less than 10℃. This is still enough heat for the ground source heat pump to warm up your home. In other words, as long as you purchase the right one, your ground source heat pump will continue to work just fine during the cold months. Due to the fact that every heat pump varies, you will need the right equipments so as to ensure the heat pump works well throughout the winter. This is usually not an issue in the UK, but same can not be said of colder places like Canada and North America.

If you happen to live in a quiet, serene environment ( or just cherish being in one) and wish to have an air source heat pump installed on your property, then you’d probably want to know just how noisy these renewable energy source are. In this post, we aim to provide answers to this question and more. Let’s take a look!

There is no short and direct answer to this question as air source heat pumps are available in varying shapes and sizes which makes the sound as well as volume of their noise different between models and manufacturers. However, as a result of government regulations, most of the contemporary air source heat pumps are able to function a lot quieter when compared to the older models. As you would have expected, modern air source heat pumps shouldn’t produce more than a low whirring sound provided they’re functioning as they should with no faults. On the other hand, the volume of the sound generated is largely dependent on the amount of work the air source heat pump is doing. This implies that a greater work load will generate a louder noise. This is due to the fan’s speed which works to absorb warm air into the compressor.

In order not to disturb the neighbours, noise pollution is normally determined at the design stage of the air source heat pump installation. The unit to be placed outdoor will typically be positioned as far from the neighbours property as possible and it’s also a great idea not to put the box directly under any windows. Overall, it’s always advisable to go for the newer models which tend to be better designed with thicker chassis and quieter fans.

Air source heat pumps are a type of heating system that you can use to warm the air in your property. They’re a semi-renewable energy generator as, although they use electricity, they extract and use renewable heat from the air.

There are two main types of air source heat pump – air-to-water, and air-to-air. Air-to-water heat pumps are the most popular, and are best used to heat water that supplies underfloor heating systems or large radiators. Air-to-air pumps heat air, which is then dispersed round your property using fans.

Do you want a low carbon way of heating your home? Then, getting an air source heat pump is the way to go! What they do is pretty simple - they absorb the potential thermal energy present in the outside air and transmit it directly to the home or property where it’s going to be compressed and the heat transferred with the help of a number of coils. In other words, it functions by extracting heat from a cooler place and then uses it to raise the temperature inside a home or property. Being very similar to air conditioning units, the amount of heat they’re going to produce for your home or property will be dependent on the size you install. Therefore, the bigger the heat pump, the more the heat that’ll be generated.

Air source heat pumps have two main types which includes air to air and air to water. Air-to-water heat pumps works by absorbing heat from the outside air, then relays it directly into your home or property through the help of fans. In order to move the heat around your home, you’ll need a warm air circulation system. This type of air source heat pump are not eligible for the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive Payment as they can’t generate hot water. What’s more? They can function in reverse during the hot summer months.

Air-to-water heat pumps, on the other hand, operates by extracting heat from the outside air and transmitting it into the wet central heating system. Due to the fact that they’re able to generate heat that’s cooler than the one generated by a conventional gas or oil boiler, they happen to be a better fit for larger radiators or water underfloor heating.

If you’re considering getting a solar thermal system, one of the first things that comes to mind is the possibility of the system functioning properly during the cold months. The short and simple answer to this question is yes, a solar thermal system works in the winter. However, the downside here is that it’ll be a lot less efficient when compared to how it operates during the warmer months or summer. As a result of this fact, you’ll likely need to rely more on your boiler, immersion heater or any other backup heating system during this period as your solar thermal system will fail to contribute as much as it does during the warmer months. So what exactly is the reason why solar thermal is less effective and less efficient in the winter period? Let’s have a look!

As you know, solar thermal system banks on the sun’s energy to heat the water for your home’s use. During the cold months or winter, the sunlight becomes a lot less available when compared to the warmer months, as a result, there’s less sunlight that’s available to be used for its solar energy. And even more so at the periods when the days are shorter or skies are clearly overcast.

Also having a great impact on a solar thermal system’s output is heavy snow. Flat plate collectors normally have the capacity to cope better during snowy conditions as the light that’s able to travel through the snow will heat up the absorber plate - thereby making the snow slide off more quickly. However, the case is contrary with evacuated tube collectors which possesses a form of vacuum insulation that’s crafted to minimize the loss of heat, meaning they can’t generate heat to melt and cause the snow to slide off in a similar way.

There are a few factors that will determine whether it’s worth getting a solar battery. They involve how much electricity you use, how often you’re at home and whether you receive any export payments.

To work out whether it’s worth getting a solar battery, you need to work out how much of the electricity you generate you’re using already. If you’re able to run all your appliances during the day while your solar panels generate electricity, then it sounds like you’re already using your electricity well. It might not be worth you getting a solar battery in this case.

However, if you’re not at home for a lot of the day, then you’ll be missing out on the electricity your panels are generating while the sun’s shining. If you install a solar battery system, you can store the electricity that your panels generate in the battery and use it when you get home. This will help you cut your electricity bills even further.

You’ll also need to consider whether you’re getting paid to export your electricity. If you’re on the Feed-in Tariff scheme (FITs) or receive payments from the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), you’ll get paid for every unit of electricity you export to the National Grid. Before you decide whether it’s worth getting a solar battery, you’ll need to weigh up whether you’d be better off carrying on exporting your unused electricity rather than storing it to use yourself. If you’re unsure, visit the Energy Saving Trust’s website or speak to an MCS-registered installer who will be able to help you work out which is more cost-effective.

Air source heat pumps work by absorbing heat from the outside air and transferring it inside to heat up your property.

An air source heat pump has an outdoor unit containing a refrigerant. This absorbs heat from the air and passes into a compressor, where the temperature is increased. The heat then transfers either into water, which feeds into your wet heating system, or into air, which is dispersed around your property.

Air source heat pumps need electricity to run, but this is to power the compressor rather than directly generate heat.

When you’re about to transform from the standard electricity to solar energy, what determines your solar system’s size is the amount of solar that’s required. The amount of solar that you’ll need, on the other hand, requires considering the end goal, be it to increase money savings, reduce environmental contamination, maximize Returns On Investment ( ROI), or just to copy what the neighbour’s done.

In order the determine the number of solar panels that is needed, the first step would be to calculate the number of kWhs that’s currently being used. A kWh is what’s used to determine the amount of energy that has been incorporated over time which the utility uses to bill you. What’s strongly recommended to create a suitable range is a 6 to 12 months average of your household electricity bill. Other factors that can play a key role in the determination of the number of solar panel needed include the following:

✓ Sunlight exposure hours. In order to know just how much energy your solar panels will generate, there’s a need to know the number of direct sunlight hours you should expect on a daily basis. For example if you stay in a region that’s usually very sunny, then it’ll be reasonable to expect more energy production per panel than regions that are usually cloudy.

✓ Angle and size of the roof. Roofs with a lot of workable space may require to let go of some efficiency opting for larger and cost effective panels to achieve the targeted energy. However not all homeowners have sufficient roof space or shade coverage for the solar panel they actually want. Also, the degree at which the roof slants will also determine if the sunlight is hitting the panels well enough and the amount of energy that can be generated thereof.