If you have been following the development of the Adina energy efficient building, you will have seen that every Adina home at Branton comes with ground source heat pumps (GSHP) as standard, but what exactly are they and why are we choosing them for our homes?
First, what are they and how do they work…
They are the means by which we heat the domestic water required for heating and use within the home.
Every home has its own bore hole drilled down into the ground to a siutable depth determined by the size of home been built. At Branton this is between 90m and 120m depth. The heat loop is then fitted, and this draws heat from the soil and feeds it into a heat exchanger within the pump itself. Using this the pump then feeds hot water around the home to other systems such as the underfloor heating and the Domestic hot water tank.
In our homes the underfloor heating runs throughout the home and is the only source of heating, this system is more efficient than traditional radiators.
Source: http://www.nzgeothermal.org.nz
With the bore hole being so far down in the ground, even in cold weather the loop is low enough down to extract heat from the ground where the temperature is at a constant level. This is one reason why a ground source heat pumps is more efficient than air source heat pumps.
Why are we using them?
Your average home will probably rely on electric or gas for its central heating to keep your home warm and your water hot, but they aren’t the best for the environment or efficient compared to alternatives.
A gas boiler on average produces 215 grams of Co2 per kWh of delivered heat and an electric boiler produces 215g. In comparison a ground source heat pump generates around 58g. With the heat pump in place and when combined with high insulation levels, there is no need for a gas or electric boiler, unless preffered for cooking there is no need for a gas supply to the home at all.
As well as the benefits for the environment, there is the bonus of saving the homeowner money on their energy bills. An Adina home is built to be super insulated, so the energy needed to heat it is minimal. Our Heat Pumps generate on average 5KW’s of energy and heat, for every 1KW it uses an Adina home is powered from solar panels on the roof, so the use of Heat pumps wouldn’t increase an electric bill and of course there is no gas bill in any of these homes.
Our first completed homes have showed an EPC rating of A+ and a u value of 0.1 which all means that the homes need minimal heating, even in the winter months, as they are so well insulated.
If you have any questions about the heat pumps or an Adina home in general just get in touch
enquiries@adinadevltd.com
0330 1245680