What are....heat pumps?
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Heat pumps transfer heat energy from the ground, air or water to your central heating system.
Heat pumps do need electricity to run but they use less than the heat energy they produce, which does make them much more efficient than other electrical heating systems.
Types of heat pump systems
Ground source heat pumps - these use lengths of plastic piping, buried in a horizontal trench or a vertical borehole close to your property. The pipe is filled with a mixture of water and anti-freeze which circulates around the pipe and absorbs the heat from the ground before transferring it to your central heating system.
Installing shallow horizontal trenches for your piping can cost less than using boreholes, which need to go much deeper underground, but you will will need much more land, although boreholes do benefit from higher ground temperatures because they go deeper into the earth. Whether you choose a horizontal trench or a borehole, once the piping has been installed and filled over, you shouldn't see anything above ground.
Air and water source heat pumps - An air source system uses a compressor and a carefully matched evaporator coil and heat exchanger. An anti-freeze type liquid circulates around the system.
This liquid has a boiling point as low as minus 40°C, which causes it to evaporate when it absorbs heat from the outside air. The gas that has evaporated is then compressed adding more heat energy and raising its temperature to around 75°C. This heat is then passed via a heat exchanger into water and used to provide heating through radiators or for underfloor heating systems. Air source heat pumps can be fitted outside the home or a roof space and tend to be more effective in warmer air temperatures.
In a water source heat pump, water is cooled as heat is extracted. Water source heat pumps can be used where you have close access to a stream, lake or well.
More information on, costs, planning permissions and other aspects of heat pumps is available from the Energy Saving Trust.
The Local Carbon Buildings Programme is no longer available as of 24 May 2010. If you have already applied to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme and are in receipt of a grant offer letter then your application will be honoured. If you applied before the programme closed then your application will still be processed and if your it passes the due diligence test then it will also be honoured.
Government hopes to introduce a Renewable Heat Incentive in April 2011 which could mean you are paid for the heat you produce.
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