Domestic Ground Source Heat Pumps

"Affordable warmth assured with Calorex ground source heat pumps"
Calorex Heat Pumps Ltd are the UK’s leading manufacturer of heat pump technology with an unrivalled reputation for product design, development and the highest technical and engineering standards. This reputation has arisen from the intrinsic reliability and quality of our products over the last 30 years.

From our 80,000 sq ft Head Office and factory in Maldon Essex, Calorex have manufactured over 250,000 heat pumps to date and have now developed a unique range of domestic heat pump products which have been designed specifically for the UK domestic housing market.

Our commitment to R & D has seen us double the size of our development team since 2005.The benefits from this investment can be seen in our new domestic heating product range.

Throughout our product development programme and from the 1000’s of heat pumps we have installed, we have captured live performance data from a large number of new build and retro fit installations in the UK.

As a result our engineering team has almost 1 million hours of measured UK performance data from domestic UK installations to assist in the design and continuous improvement of our product range.

All of this performance data is unique to both the United Kingdom climate conditions and housing stock. This data has been evaluated and used to drive the specification of our new generation of domestic products.

How Domestic Heat Pumps Work
Heat Pumps work on the principle of extracting low grade energy which is available in vast amounts in the air and ground around us, and then upgrading this energy into useable high grade energy for the home.

A combination of thermal dynamics, refrigeration and compressor technology provides that this energy is significantly upgraded for sole use in the space heating and domestic hot water circuits in the home.

This extremely efficient technology has a proven track record, is environmentally friendly and exceptionally economical to run. This can be evidenced by the huge number of heat pump installations in countries such as Sweden, Switzerland, France, Germany and the USA.

The United Kingdom has unique characteristics in that our humid temperate climate and our geology are more varied than anywhere else in Europe.

These factors are vitally important to the performance of heat pumps and it is critical that any domestic heat pump is designed specifically for the climatic (air source) and geological (ground source) conditions on which it is designed to operate.

Our award winning range has been designed specifically for installation and performance in UK conditions. Calorex have paid particular close attention to the heating and hot water system design, and control philosophies used in the UK. This attention to detail ensures a seamless integration for both installer and homeowner.

Cutting Fuel Costs
With unprecedented increases in UK energy costs in recent years and with 2006 seeing some of the biggest rises in history, energy efficiency and economy is on every agenda.

Calorex Heat Pumps provide a significant hedge against these consistent increases and volatile spikes in oil and gas prices. In fact the only running cost to account for is the electrical power required to run the heat pump.

Whilst almost 75% of the usable energy is renewable and sustainable, this means that for every 4kW of energy required in the home only 1kW of energy is required to run the heat pump. In this example the heat pump would have a rated efficiency of 400% when space heating.  A gas boiler is around 85% efficient!

In addition to these cost savings there are often no annual maintenance or service costs to budget for as they are generally not required (unlike a gas heating system).

Calorex heat pumps are currently the only heat pumps available in the UK that provide a monovalent heating and hot water system for the homeowner.

Calorex domestic heat pumps are unique in that they deliver 65ºC direct into the hot water cylinder more economically than any other manufacturer saving on running costs and carbon emissions.

All of the dwelling space heating and domestic hot water requirements are provided for by the heat pump without the use of expensive electrical resistance heating (immersion heater) back up.

Carbon Savings
Calorex Heat Pumps maximise the freely available energy which is available everywhere in the UK and this energy is totally renewable and sustainable.

When fossil fuels are burnt to produce energy, carbon dioxide (C0₂) is released into the atmosphere and this in turn adds significantly to the global concerns over climate change.

Calorex Heat Pumps can extract renewable energy from air generally reducing carbon emissions by approximately 50% for heating and hot water delivery compared to gas central heating systems.

For properties which are off the gas network and where a heat pump is installed, C0₂ savings are even greater than 50% when compared to those emissions produced by Oil, LPG, Electric space heating and solid fuel.

As there are no emissions from heat pump systems, no flues are required and there is no pluming or local pollution from the installation property. The cumbersome inconvenience and cost of fuel storage as with Oil, LPG and solid fuel is also removed.

A Calorex Heat Pump installed in the home as the sole source of heating and hot water can reduce C0₂ emissions to zero from the dwelling if the supply electricity is also from a renewable source.

Planning Legislation
With 30% of all UK carbon emissions coming from around 24 million dwellings in the UK there are many opportunities to install Heat Pumps to help reduce these emissions.

Following the Energy White Paper 2003 the UK Government provided legislation to:-

• Raise building energy efficiency standards
• Raise Boiler efficiency standards
• Update Part L of Building Regulations (2005)
• Improve correlation between building design standards and actual performance

As a result, Heat Pumps are now recognised by the Governments Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) and show significant carbon savings over other forms of space and water heating.

Many Local Authorities are now insisting on the provision of renewable energy as a condition of planning permission for new build projects and Calorex Heat Pumps provide an ideal solution to these caveats.

Code for Sustainable Homes
As the Stern review highlighted, there is now an overwhelming body of scientific evidence showing that climate change is a serious and urgent issue.

In 2004, more than a quarter of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions – a major cause of climate change- came from the energy we use to heat, light and run our homes.
The Code for Sustainable Homes has now been introduced to drive a step change in sustainable homes building practice. It is a standard for key elements of design and construction which affect the sustainability of a new home. It will become the single national standard for sustainable homes, and by home buyers to assist in their choice of home.

The code will form the basis of future developments of the Building regulations in relation to carbon emissions and energy use in homes and will drive the integration of renewable technologies in UK house building.

Follow the links on this site for a comprehensive introduction and technical guide which can be downloaded.