Mr & Mrs Hart decided to install a ground source heat pump in their property in June 2011 to displace the costs of their oil boiler system. Whilst their boiler was doing an adequate job of keeping the house warm, they found that the fluctuating price of fuel could be expensive to run. In addition the higher operating temperature of the oil boiler meant more maintenance and more frequent bleeding of the system.
They sought out a local installer of renewable systems – John Russell of Hightae Heating – who helped them to install a ground source heat pump at the same time as they were installing a separate solar panel system, enabling them to have a sustainable heating and power supply. John had worked with Kensa before having installed a number of our heat pumps. He recommended our products to the Hart’s, who went to look at another property that had a Kensa system installed and were impressed with its performance.
Their heat pump , buffer tank and circulating pump are located down in the cellar and the operation is unobtrusive. The ground array is situated under the front lawn with 1400m of pipe laid in x14 100m trenches. Mr Hart noted that the installation went very smoothly and whilst it looked chaotic when the ground work was underway, afterwards the lawn was re-turfed and was back to normal very quickly.
The property is a listed country house with a standard radiator system and some secondary glazing and loft insulation. Despite being an older property, they were able to make a straightforward swap to the ground source heat pump without having to upsize or upgrade any radiators. They applied for the RHI (this scheme has now closed – please visit this page (https://www.kensaheatpumps.com/funding/) to explore other funding) and are generating an income that Mr Hart is confident will cover the cost of the installation and contribute to the cost of running the system alongside the money they save on oil.
Mr Hart said:
This house is a 19th century stone building and a good example of how a ground source heat pump system can be effective in an older property. It keeps us perfectly warm day and night and we can programme the system through the thermostat to run exactly as we like it. I often work abroad and my wife and I feel confident to go away and leave the system running – it is truly a fit and forget technology!
