Heat Pumps
Heat pumps work by extracting heat from the ground, water or air and using it to provide heat for a heating system. They offer one of the most energy-efficient ways to provide heating in many applications and have been used in Europe for many years for both domestic and commercial projects.
The energy provided from a heat pump is typically three to four times the energy required to run it; giving 4kW of heat for every 1kW of electricity used. This level of efficiency affords the heat pump a relatively low running cost compared to conventional systems and a greatly reduced impact on the environment.
Chelmer Heating are able to integrate a heat pump from your chosen manufacturer into a hot water and underfloor heating system. Our patented Ecocat cylinder is designed specifically to accept the high flow rate that a heat pump provides and contains an integrated buffer to allow fully zoned underfloor heating.
UK Residential Consumption (BRE)
With space and water heating representing 84% of UK residential energy consumption, replacing conventional central heating boilers with heat pumps is the single largest contribution householders can make towards reducing carbon emissions.
Ground Source Heat Pumps are generally more efficient than Air Source units however they do require sufficient land area to install the system. The appliances themselves are also physically bigger and the initial capital outlay is higher.
Air Source
Air Source Heat Pumps take heat from the surrounding air and may offer a cost effective alternative to a ground source heat pump, as no ground works are required to install them they can be sited on a convenient outside wall of a property.
Chelmer currently offer two sizes of ASHP 10kW and 17kW both of which can provide both heating and cooling, additional units with out puts from 5kW are to be added to the range. The units have a COP of 3 this means that for each kW of power consumed 3kW of heat are produced.
The Chelmer Air Source Heat Pump System design incorporates a small electric boiler which will cut in automatically on a very cold day to ensure you are not wanting for heat on the coldest of days. As with all heat pump systems Chelmer recommend Solar Thermal is also integrated to provide domestic hot water in the summer and underfloor heating in the winter when used in conjunction with an Ecocat Thermostore Cylinder.
Water Source
Chelmer are able to offer alternatives to Ground/Air Source collection which allow heat collection from water sources such as lakes, and small rivers, these take the heat from running water or from large volumes of slow moving water such as a small lake or large pond. Care is required when selecting this type of heat source as they may dramatically cool or freeze such areas during the winter months.
Open Loop Collection
An open loop simply collects heat by drawing water from the source, it is then passed through a heat exchanger within the heat pump before it is returned to the original source. Careful consideration in the siting of these is most important, permission for extraction of water may be required from local river or water authority.
Pond Plates
Pond plates sit on the river or lake bed, they are connected to the heat pump via flow and return pipework making the system sealed. Heat is extracted from the source in the same way as heat is extracted from ground loops. This method does not remove water from the source however, permission may be required from local river or water authority. The plates are fairly large at 2500 x 1000 x 300mm
Bore Holes
May be used for both closed and open loop systems and in some cases bore hole water may be used to provide domestic water once it has been filtered and cooled by the heat pump. However bore holes are expensive, we would suggest that they are only considered if no other option of heat extraction is available.
