Case Study – Countryside Farmhouse gets an energy makeover

Brief: Hafod were appointed to design and install a new heating system to ensure the property passes local planning conditions.  The client wanted the most cost effective option and the opportunity to use some of his own resources being a joiner/builder.

Execution:  After carefully considering both air and ground source heat pumps, Hafod selected a ground source heat pump due to the excellent flat field that was right next to the house.  The sub soil was saturated clay/silt which is ideal conditions for a GSHP.

The ground source heat pump was designed into the utility room along with a 300 litre buffer cylinder and 300 litre domestic hot water cylinder that will provide all the heating and hot water needs for the property.

The Ground source heat pump is connected to a underfloor heating system for the ground floor and low temperature radiators for the first floor. This means the heat pump can be set at a maximum flow temperature of 40 degrees therefore the efficiency performance of this system will exceed 400%

A 4kw ground mount solar array was selected to offset the cost of running the ground source heating system.

The roof of the property wasn’t suitable for solar panels due to dormer windows so the solar panels were sited 100m away from the house and planning permission was granted. This site was chosen as we could install the panels south facing at an optimum 30 degree angle. The location means there was also no shading so it was a perfect position.  It would usually be a challenge to run a 100m underground cable but in this case we installed the cable in a duct in one of the ground source collector trenches.

  • Technologies installed

    • Ground source heat pump using a NIBE F1145-12kw with a separate 300 litre Buffer cylinder. The domestic hot water. Was provided by a 300Litre Megacoil.
    • Solar PV SystemA Bespoke designed Galvanised angled iron mounting system to house 15 x Canadian Solar 265w panels. A Solis 3.6TL Dual MPPT Inverter was selected. A Solic Water diversion switch was also fitted, this device heats the hot water using excess electricity from the solar panels.
    • Underfloor heating and oversized radiators for the first floor

  • Customer benefits

    • The Customer will benefit from low heating costs all year round due to the ground source heating pump being connected to underfloor heating
    • The Solar PV system will also help to run the ground source heat pump. The customer will also receive feed in tariff and export payments for 20 years.
    • The Renewable heating incentive ensures that the capital cost of the ground source equipment is recouped after 7 years.
    • The Energy rating of the dwelling has jumped from a G rating do a C rating. This increases the value and appeal of the property.