Geothermal, Air to Water, Solar Thermal is the future of the heating and hot water systems. The systems are moving forward at a rate of knots. These systems in most cases offering 3.4-4.4 COPS are shaping the market.

Air Source Heat Pump:

An air source heat pump extracts heat from the outside air  which transfers the heat produced to heating your central heating, such as radiator or better still under floor heating and your hot water system. They can work effectively down to temperatures of minus 15 degrees.
Pros of this system:

• could lower your fuel bills, especially if you are replacing conventional electric heating
• could provide you with an income through the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
• could lower your home’s carbon emissions, depending on which fuel you are replacing
• don’t need fuel deliveries
• can heat your home and provide hot water
• need little maintenance – they’re called ‘fit and forget’ technology
• can be easier to install than a ground source heat pump, though efficiencies may be lower.

Unlike gas and oil boilers, heat pumps deliver heat at lower temperatures over much longer periods. During the winter they may need to be on constantly to heat your home efficiently. You will also notice that radiators won’t feel as hot to the touch as they might do when you are using a gas or oil boiler. The idea is to gain the most COP’s out of your renewable appliance, thus setting a flow temperature of 50 degrees.

Ground Source Heat Pumps

With the loops which extract the heat from the ground we would normally intend to dig one metre down, this is due to the fact that the ground is at a constant temperature of around 10 degrees. We then persist to lay loops of pipe work in the ground at this depth. The other method would be to bore holes directly down to 100m deep. The pipes contain a liquid which absorbs the heat from the ground ready to be transferred at the heat pump in to the clients heating and hot water system.

Again this system can be used to heat radiators or more preferably under floor heating due to the fact that we run under floor heating at lower flow temperatures.

• could lower your fuel bills, especially if you replace conventional electric heating
• could provide you with an income through the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
• could lower your home’s carbon emissions, depending on which fuel you are replacing
• don’t need fuel deliveries
• can heat your home and provide hot water
• need little maintenance – they’re called ‘fit and forget’ technology.

Unlike gas and oil boilers, heat pumps deliver heat at lower temperatures over much longer periods. During the winter they may need to be on constantly to heat your home efficiently. You will also notice that radiators won’t feel as hot to the touch as they might do when you are using a gas or oil boiler. The idea is to gain the most COP’s out of your renewable appliance, thus setting a flow temperature of 50 degrees.

How does it work?

In a typical ground source heat pump installation fluid circulates around the ground in plastic pipes at a lower temperature than the ground, say at 5 degrees C. This creates a heat gradient and draws heat from the ground into the fluid in the pipe. The fluid passes through an evaporator (heat exchanger) in the heat pump and the heat extracted from the ground is absorbed by the refrigerant which circulates around the heat pump. The refrigerant becomes a gas and is compressed in a compressor which causes further heat. The pressurized refrigerant then passes over another heat exchanger called a condenser where the heat is transferred to the building’s under floor or radiator pipe work. Having given up its heat, the refrigerant passes through an expansion valve where its pressure and temperature further reduces returning it to a liquid state to start the cycle again. The main power consumer in a heat pump is the compressor, but the majority of the energy comes from the environment. A typical ratio is that for every 1kW of electrical input to a ground source heat pump, 4kW of thermal output is generated.

Solar thermal

Pros:

1. It is free source of energy, unlike oil, coal or natural gas.
2. On average the solar panel reduces its effectiveness around 1-2 percent each year.
3. There are government financial incentives and credits available to those who purchase solar panels.
4. You may be able to sell any excess energy you capture back to the electric company.

Solar thermal heating for domestic hot water is the fastest growing renewable technology across Europe. Using radiation from the sun, a sophisticated solar collector is used to transfer the maximum amount of energy possible into a fluid which runs through the collector and which is then used to indirectly heat water in a storage cylinder.

As solar thermal technology does not rely on sunlight but on solar radiation, it can work as efficiently in our climate to provide around 50-70% of annual domestic hot water requirements.

Biomass Boilers / Stove

Wood fuelled heating systems generally burn woodpellets, chips or logs to power central heating and hot water boilers to provide warmth in a single room, wood burning boilers are a good alternative to heating with either oil or gas. The technology of heating wood has improved considerably to make it more efficient. Modern wood-burning stoves are a huge improvement on the open fire for room heating. They convert 70% of the fuel into useful heat!

Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater is captured from the roof and brought to a central point, via normal guttering and down-pipes, to enter a storage tank where it is filtered on entry. A highly efficient and reliable submersible pump delivers the water to a service on demand. Where wished, or a special reason applies, delivery can be to a normal header tank instead.

The size of the storage tank is determined by considering the amount of water available for storage (a function of roof size and local average rainfall), and the amount of water likely to be used. There are lots of different ways of storing water, you can go with a system where the tank is placed above ground or buried below ground, and obviously the different sizes of the tanks differentiate for the different sizes of properties/projects.

Thermodynamic Atmospheric Energy Panels

The future of renewable heating and hot water.
24/7 hot water in sun, rain, snow, Night or day.
100% of your hot water requirement, 365 days a year.
Heats water to 55 degrees C
No need to be south facing.

What is Thermodynamic?
Thermodynamic is a unique renewable solution that creates hot water by absorbing heat energy from the atmosphere. Unlike traditional solar thermal systems it can provide 100% of your hot water & heating requirements with boiler backup and even works at night and in cloudy, cold weather.

How does it work?
Thermodynamic panels are filled with refrigeration gas, the same as in an air source heat pump. Reverse Refrigeration technology creates heat which can be transferred into your hot water system heating circuit.

1. Aluminium Panels
Refrigerant fluid circulates through the panels and absorbs heat energy from the atmosphere. This increase in temperature changes the fluid into a gas.

2. Compressor
The gas then passes through a compressor and the temperature increases.

3. Hot Water Cylinder
The hot gas then flows through a heat exchanger in the Thermodynamic Block which transfers the heat into the water. This produces 55 degrees C hot water which can be used for sanitary hot water, space heating or larger applications such as swimming pools.

4. Expansion Valve
The gas then passes through an expansion valve, reverts back to a liquid and flows back to the panels to repeat the process.

How does it compare to Solar Thermal Panels?

Standard Solar Thermal Panel

• Provides up to 70% of your hot water
• Must be mounted south facing for best results
• Needs backup from a boiler or immersion heater
• Needs sunlight – low performance in winter/night
• Can only assist central heating
• Fragile glass panels

Thermodynamic Panel

• Provides up 100% of your hot water.
• Can be mounted south/west/east/north on a wall
• No backup required – Not connected to boiler
• Works in the dark and down to -15 degrees C – 24/7
• Can provide 100% of your central heating
• Made from aluminium – tough, long lasting, anti corrosive

How does it compare to Air Source Heat Pumps?

Air source heat pumps

• COP of around 4
• Outputs of 6-18kW
• Outdoor noise pollution
• Requires regular maintenance
• Efficient to just below 0 degrees C
• Fixed sizes
• Fan assisted, low active surface area

Thermodynamic Panel

• COP of up to 7
• Outputs of 1.7 – 53 kW
• Silent outside
• Only one moving part
• Works down to -15 degrees C
• Total flexibility
• Active surface area of 3.2m2 per panel

How long has Thermodynamic been around?

• Thermodynamic panels are not new technology.
• These unique panels have been installed in mainland Europe for over 20 years.
and 4 years in Ireland.
• Over 10,000 homes in Europe already benefit from Thermodynamic.
• Designer & Manufacturer based in Portugal.
• Only recently launched in the UK.
• Soon to become the preferred renewable hot water system.

Thermodynamic Owner Testimonials

“It’s great not to have to worry about turning on the immersion heater now. The hot water is just always there.”
Lorna Hopkins.

“There used to be constant arguments over who was going in the shower first but that is no longer an issue. There is always enough hot water to go round.”
David Baker

“The system works even when it’s been frosty outside. I did not believe it would offer us all of our hot water requirements but it has. In cold weather and hot.”
Monica Hawker

Key USPs

• Outputs up to 53kW for large scale multi panel applications
• Works at night and down to -15 degrees C
• Can be installed on a wall
• Co-efficient (COP) rating of 4.5 to 7
• Provides 100% of your hot water requirement
• Minimal payback period