ENER·G Ground Source Solutions Ltd has won official certification for its expertise in delivering renewable heat pump technology.

The Approved Contractor certificate means ENER·G has been recognised for the quality of its design, supply, and installation of heat pumps, in line with the exacting technical standards set out by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).

ENER·G acquired the ground source heat pump business from previous owners in April 2008 and has achieved the MCS certification as a result of strategic organisational changes and the recruitment of a specialist technical team.

Commenting on the certificate award, Paul Burley, Managing Director of ENER·G Ground Source Solutions Ltd, said: “Our highly trained staff has a wide range of experience and technical expertise, enabling us to deliver our services to a truly extensive spectrum of clients. Our systems are cost-effective in both the short and longer terms and our durable ground loops have a life-span of some 40 years.”

ENER·G’s advanced technology harnesses solar energy absorbed by the earth to provide clean, sustainable energy for buildings’ heating, cooling and hot water requirements.

Added Paul Burley: “Turnkey delivery of individual heap pump projects hinges on our unique in-house resources that include a specialist design team, our own drilling rigs, drilling technicians, mechanical installers and project managers.

“Systems are implemented by fully certified Geo-Exchange designers and International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) accredited installers, whose specialist knowledge means we can provide technical advice throughout a project.

“All our solutions include bespoke heat pump design, which on many occasions means the application of various heat pumps from different manufacturers to produce the best results for our clients. We are also very passionate about delivering the highest levels of customer satisfaction. As a result, our highly effective renewable energy solutions consistently surpass customers’ expectations.”

News Source : www.energ.co.uk

ENER-G product range includes vertical closed loop, horizontal closed loop, slinky closed loop and closed pond loop ground source heat pump systems.

Ground loop

A closed circuit pipe is buried in the ground, filled with a mixture of water and antifreeze, which is pumped around the pipe absorbing heat from the ground. The types of ground loop available are:

• Vertical, for use in boreholes
• Horizontal, for use in trenches
• Spiral or slinky, for use in trenches 
• Pond or lake loops

Please see the diagram below:

1. A large quantity of low grade energy absorbed from the ground is transferred to the refrigerant. This causes the temperature of the refrigerant to rise changing it from a liquid to a gaseous state.
2. The refrigerant is then compressed, reducing its volume by causing its temperature to rise significantly.
3. A heat exchanger then extracts the heat from the refrigerant to heat water for the chosen heat distribution system.
4. After giving up its heat energy the refrigerant turns back into a liquid and can once again absorb energy from the ground, allowing the cycle to begin again.

How do heat pumps work?

A geothermal heat pump or ground source heat pump (GSHP) is a central heating and/or cooling system that pumps heat to or from the ground. It uses the earth as a heat source (in the winter), or a heat sink (in the summer).

This design takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground to boost efficiency and reduce the operational costs of heating and cooling systems, and may be combined with solar heating to form a geosolar system with even greater efficiency. Geothermal heat pumps are also known by a variety of other names, including geoexchange, earth-coupled, earth energy or water-source heat pumps. The engineering and scientific communities prefer the terms “geoexchange” or “ground source heat pumps” because geothermal power traditionally refers to heat originating from deep in the earth’s mantle.

Ground source heat pumps harvest a combination of geothermal power and heat from the sun when heating, but work against these heat sources when used for air conditioning.

The earth is a huge energy storage resource that absorbs most of the sun’s energy and retains it at a moderate constant temperature. By harnessing this constant temperature a GSHP system absorbs energy from the earth and transfers it to your building.

 In the winter, heat from the earth is compressed to a higher temperature and directed into your building. In summer, a GSHP system is reversed moving heat from inside the building into the cooler earth.Exploiting constant underground temperatures throughout the year, GSHP systems use a buried ground loop to transfer this heat from the ground into buildings to supply heating and hot water, providing one of the most energy-efficient ways of heating buildings.

The benefits of GSHP’s include:

Full technical details including the size and build specification of the GSHP and recommendations for their positioning can be obtained by emailing info@energ.co.uk or calling us on +44 (0)161 745 7450.

ENER-G Ground Source Solutions designs and installs ground source heat pump (GSHP) technology that provides renewable heating and cooling systems for public and private buildings of all types. Our staff have a wide range of experience and technical expertise which enables us to deliver our services to a truly extensive spectrum of clients. Our advanced technology harnesses solar energy absorbed by the earth to provide clean, sustainable energy for buildings’ heating, cooling and hot water requirements.

The earth is a huge energy storage resource that absorbs most of the sun’s energy and retains it at a moderate constant temperature. By harnessing this constant temperature a GSHP system absorbs energy from the earth and transfers it to your building.

In the winter, heat from the earth is compressed to a higher temperature and directed into your building. In summer, a GSHP system is reversed moving heat from inside the building into the cooler earth.

An added bonus is that a GSHP system can provide moderate to high temperature hot water at no cost for domestic use in the summer and substantial savings in the winter.

Ground Source has a marginally higher CoP. The system works by extracting heat energy stored in the ground via a network of underground brine filled pipes.

The efficiency of a ground source heat pump is measured by a coefficient of performance (COP) the amount of heat it produces compared to the amount of electricity needed to run it. A typical COP for a ground source heat pump is around 3.2 without any reductions for the type of distribution system.

News Source: www.energ.co.uk

ENER-G Ground Source Solutions Ltd is one of the UK’s leading installers of ground source heat pump systems.

ENER-G Ground Source Solutions designs and installs ground source heat pump (GSHP) technology that provides renewable heating and cooling systems for public and private buildings of all types. Our staff have a wide range of experience and technical expertise which enables us to deliver our services to a truly extensive spectrum of clients. Our advanced technology harnesses solar energy absorbed by the earth to provide clean, sustainable energy for buildings’ heating, cooling and hot water requirements.

 Ground source heat pump systems provide an efficient way of heating with many benefits.

 These benefits include:

•  40% saving in heating and cooling costs
• Reduced maintenance costs
• Reduced whole life costs
• Potential grants available

  Environmental benefits

• High efficiency – typically a coefficient of performance (COP) of between 4 and 5
• Renewable energy available 24/7
• Low noise levels
• Less space usage in the building
• Long system lifespan in excess of 25 years

  Operational benefits

• Reduced harmful refrigerant usage
• Zero on site emissions
• Reduced use of fossil fuels (zero when used with green electricity)
• No visual impact

  Financial benefits

• Enables clients to meet European and UK legislation
• Helps compliance with CSR policy aimed at reducing carbon footprint
• Improves Building Energy Performance Ratings
• No need for planning permission

Ground source heat pumps provide an efficient and green way of heating and cooling buildings, making use of renewable energy stored in the ground.

ENER-G Ground Source Solutions Ltd is one of the UK’s leading installers of ground source heat pump systems. ENER-G delivers complete ground source heat pump (GSHP) solutions for the public and private sector.

ENER-G Ground Source Solutions Ltd aims to successfully deliver highly efficient renewable energy solutions to customers that exceed their expectations.

Ground Source Heat Pumps Technology

The technology is based on the stability of underground temperatures. The ground a few feet below surface has a very stable temperature throughout the year. Ground source heat pumps use a buried ground loop to transfer this heat from the ground into buildings to supply space heating and hot water, providing one of the most energy-efficient ways of heating buildings. Ground source heat pumps can be installed in most of the UK.

A heat pump system can be used for air conditioning too, by providing cooling. It does this by transferring excess heat from the building back into the ground.

There are three main elements in a typical ground source heat pump installation:

Ground loop
A closed circuit pipe is buried in the ground, filled with a mixture of water and antifreeze, which is pumped around the pipe absorbing heat from the ground.

Heat pump
The ground source heat pump is operated from electricity and extracts heat from the ground, and uses it for heating purposes. In summer the cycle is reversed and heat is transferred into the ground.

Heat distribution system
The heat distribution system is inside the building and consists of radiators or under floor heating for space heating and in some cases water storage for hot water supply.

Ground Source Heat Pumps System Benefits

• High energy efficiency – typically a coefficient of performance (COP) of between 3 and 5
• Enables clients to meet European and UK legislation applicable to renewable energy
• Significant reduction in heating costs
• Very low maintenance costs

I am already aching for Carrie and she just left! I am so happy to have these two in her absence. They unfortunately are very happy that Carrie has left, they get their bed back! ahh yes, the dog days of pampered pups.

At first glance, the green credentials of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) look unquestionable: because you’re harvesting free heat from the ground, you can get up to four times more energy out of the system than you put into it. Sure, it runs on electricity, which is more carbon intensive than gas, but because of this favourable ratio of output-to-input (called the COP for coefficient of performance) the system should still emit less carbon than a gas boiler – in theory.

But the claimed benefits are reliant on incorrect assumptions. A new house will emit about the same carbon using a ground source heat pump as with a new gas boiler. Here’s why:

The key factor is the carbon intensity of electricity from the grid. This is commonly stated as 0.422 or 0.43 kgCO₂/kWh. But these figures were proposed several years ago, when everyone thought the steady decline in grid intensity would continue. And it didn’t. Instead it levelled off at around 0.53 kgCO₂/kWh as shown in the graph below. (Data from BRE available here – pdf). For a realistic carbon calculation, we need to use a realistic grid intensity figure.

In addition, to maintain a high COP, GSHPs need to keep their output temperature low: around 40°C. This is why they work so well with underfloor heating. But domestic hot water should be stored nearer to 60°C, so a backup system is required to heat up the water the rest of the way. This is usually an electric immersion coil, similar in principle to an electric kettle, which requires more grid electricity - but this time without the COP advantage of a ground source heat pump.

For the purposes of comparison here’s a baseline house, using a condensing gas boiler and grid electricity.

Now here’s our house with a ground source heat pump and immersion coil backup for domestic hot water. I’m assuming the GSHP meets 60% of the DHW load.

So our GSHP house saves less than 2% of carbon relative to the baseline. That hurts, especially when you consider that installed costs for a GSHP are around £1000/kW, six to ten times as much as a gas boiler.  In addition, the above figures assume a COP of 4, but in practice the performance isn’t always as good as this. For example, Barratts recently found that the GSHPs at their scheme in Chorley Lancashire are averaging a COP of about 2.6.

So here’s an illustration of how the assumed carbon intensity of the grid affects the carbon savings of GSHP versus the baseline gas boiler system:

From the above graph it looks like the scheme at Chorley would have emitted much less carbon if they’d stuck with condensing gas boilers.

Having said that, the environmental performance of GSHPs does look better if compared against a system based on a higher carbon fuel, such as heating oil. Here’s the same table, this time compared against a baseline using heating oil at a carbon intensity of 0.265 kgCO₂/kWh:

So the GSHPs look better here. At today’s grid intensity, a GSHP with a COP of 2.6 (like the ones at Chorley) save 6.5% carbon vs. a new system based on heating oil. At a COP of 4, they save 17% (though a gas system would save 15.5% anyway since gas is so much less carbon intensive than heating oil).

Where does this leave GSHPs? The use of domestic GSHPs where gas is available is very questionable. If gas is unavailable and you’re replacing a high carbon fuel such as heating oil (and the GSHP performance is able to match manufacturers’ claims) then they do make environmental sense. But you’d need to look carefully at whether you’d get more carbon benefit by spending your money elsewhere (e.g. biomass).

And of course you could always power a GSHP from a turbine or PVs but again, you may want to look carefully at alternative heating systems that would give you more carbon savings for your money.