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Benefits of Installing a Kensa Heat Pump for a Self BuilderAs the UK’s only manufacturer of a full range of ground source heat pumps capable of handling space heating and domestic hot water production, Kensa Engineering has considerable experience and expertise to help with your project. The company seeks to offer straightforward and honest guidance including whether a heat pump is right for you. Before you commit to specifying a ground source heat pump on your project, it is important that you establish whether ground source is a feasible option. You can start to establish this by answering a few simple questions:- 1. Is there sufficient land available to install the required number of ground loops/slinkies or boreholes? Energy for the heat pump must be extracted from the ground or from a local water source. The ground needs to be suitable for digging trenches and must be accessible to digging machinery. The area of ground or water source required to extract sufficient energy will depend on the size of the building you want to heat. As a general guide, Kensa recommend 10m of trench with slinkies will be required per kW of the heat pump size. ie. 4kW Ground source heat pump will require 1no 40m long trench with slinky pipes buried in the ground for space heating. Should domestic hot water be required, the length of the trench will be slightly increased. The size of the heat pump will depend on the size of the property, how well insulated the property is and what the heating distribution system is. If there is insufficient land available for digging trenches, boreholes can be considered. Installations costs will increase dramatically when drilling is involved. For this reason, boreholes are generally not considered a feasible option on small domestic applications. Alternatively for an accurate sizing of your heat pump and to establish exactly how much land will be required for your heat pump installation, submit your plans to Kensa. 2. Is the building going to be well insulated? Since ground source heat pumps produce a lower temperature heat than traditional boilers, it's essential that your home is well insulated and draught proofed for the heating system to be effective. It could also make the system smaller and cheaper to install. For this reason heat pumps are ideal for New builds, however they can also be cost effective in existing buildings provided all reasonable insulation measures have been taken first. 3. What sort of heating distribution system is currently in place, or what heating distribution system do you propose on using? The ideal application for any heat pump is a well insulated new build property with a wet underfloor heating system and sufficient land to bury the ground arrays. However heat pumps can also be used effectively for buildings using radiators however there are a number of considerations which need to be taken into account. For example, a heat pump using radiators would still be cost effective compared to oil or LPG, however, the savings are marginal against mains gas and unless installed for reasons other than running cost savings, the capital costs make it difficult to justify. 4. What level of financial commitment can you give to installing a ground source heat pump? Costs of a ground source heat pump, plus installation can range enormously and depends on the size of the building you wish to heat and the insulation levels in place. To get an idea of typical project costs, you can download the Kensa ground source heat pump project guide prices. Running costs will depend on a number of factors - including the size of your home and how well insulated it is, and the heating distribution system used.
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