Heat Pumps

[simond]

The time has come for me and my merry men to start fitting Heat Pumps.

We have had reps from Worcester and Viessmann trying to get us on board for the last 24 months. The largest manufacturer in Europe is IVT, I believe, and they are tied in with an outfit in Oxford as well as selling their smaller stuff through their parent BBT Thermo as a badged Worcester in the UK.

Does anyone out there with experience have any suggestions as to the best manufacturer to align with? I'd prefer a product range going into larger units for 5 bed upwards.

Any suggestions would be followed up, thanks.

 

[doitall]

I know nothing about the Viessmann units, but the Worcester are well below par in the market place and they are newbies at the moment.

Alpha Inotec are the market leaders and we have experienced very little problems, other than a few technical hiccups.

Their design/technical engineer now works for us

I cannot post Company details on this site but if you want to chat or email mine is in my profile.

 

[corgiman]

I quite fancy installing heat pumps

been years since I dug a hole in anger it has, gawd I would love to be a labourer again, no hassle just dirt

 

[doitall]

One of the benifits of Ground source heat pumps is you get contractors to do the dirty work

Leaving you to do the plant room and connections

 

[corgiman]

One of the benifits of Ground source heat pumps is you get contractors to do the dirty work

Now where is the fun in THAT DIA??

 

[doitall]

One of the benifits of Ground source heat pumps is you get contractors to do the dirty work

Now where is the fun in THAT DIA??

theres 3800m of pipe in the ground at a depth of 1.2m ish

I don't call that fun

 

[Gasguru]

So who can tell me the SEASONAL COP, say for double spaced coil underfloor setup (ie the best setup) and conventional rads (ie not oversized and the worst setup)

 

[doitall]

Thats half of the fun bit.

 

[doitall]

So who can tell me the SEASONAL COP, say for double spaced coil underfloor setup (ie the best setup) and conventional rads (ie not oversized and the worst setup)

For ground source a cop of 5-1 should be the norm, if you use a good glycol such as monoethelene.

Heat pumps are best suited for underfloor heating systems as although you can get heat pumps that will give you 65c they are top of the range, 55c is nearer the norm for most.

Radiators will always under perform at that temperature unless oversized.

Good Insulation is another important requirement.

The downside for larger properties is the need for a 3phase electric suppy, as is the cost and available ground for smaller properties.

For most domestic up to say 4 beds with little ground (you need a footprint twice the size of the house) as a rough guide for the loops, whereas an air unit can sit outside in most cases, the cop drops to 3-1 average depending on air temp.

 

[Balenza]

What you have there Doitall is a load of joints to go wrong.
Plus added unnecessary expense.
Three loops of large bore pipe would have done the same job at half the cost (in time and materials) of that contraption.

 

[mehran]

right, no one have a go at me...i am going to throw a name in here but i don't want to be shouted at for saying it!!!

i was a heat-line's head office in bedford, when i was there they showed me there air source heat-pump(so no holes to dig). it was all in one unit with a 300 liter unvented water tank and heat pump.

it look not bad...as in no massive holes and plumbs in just like any other unvented tank. from what i can gather, they are currently looking for getting it rubber stamped for uk use.

heat-line aim is to be the most competitive player in the market so(from what i have been told!) is it going to come in a very good price.

now i don't know a good heat-pump from a bad one but it looks installer friendly. if i was going to fit one then this be the one, sod digging bloody great holes every place. has the added bonus of air-con for summer if you get too hot

 

[mehran]

just to add it was only for hot water

 

[doitall]

What you have there Doitall is a load of joints to go wrong.
Plus added unnecessary expense.
Three loops of large bore pipe would have done the same job at half the cost (in time and materials) of that contraption.

Don't talk Drivel.

Large pipes are considerably more expensive, and a real pain to handle. In addition you would need a pump twice the size of what is installed.

We're looking at a unit that give us 56KW, how many miles of say 50mm mdpe would you require for that without freezing theground

 

[doitall]

just to add it was only for hot water

We can supply air source heat units up to 33Kw.

Both Our offices are heated with air units at 12.5Kw each.

The main office has 3 systems all connected to a buffer tank.

Solar does the hot water most of the year and is supplimented with the air unit. The offices are low temperature circuits at 55c and the workshop which needs to be at 65c for the glues etc is increased to a high temperature circuit by an oil boiler

 

[Balenza]

Doitall wrote

Large pipes are considerably more expensive

Yes but the length reduces so the cost is no extra plus the simple connection at the junction manhole is a lot simpler and fast.
How long were you stuck inside that man hole ?.
A week I would guess. Not to mention the malarky with those loops.
Id guess you are looking at £1000 inside that manhole alone.
Compare that with 4 X 40mm T's.
No contest.
Plus no need to clear large swathes of ground as depicted in your top photograph hence lowering excavation costs.