The Problem:
The renovation gave the owners an opportunity to use the latest building technology to ensure the house was well insulated and to use renewable energy solutions for the provision of heating and hot water.
The owner was keen to have underfloor heating as he felt this was the most efficient way to heat the property, and soon identified that heat pump technology would be the best option to provide the heating for this and the whole house.
The property has no gas supply and consequently the only other alternatives would have been oil or solid fuel boiler systems, however both of these options were discarded because of high installation and running costs.
As well as low running costs, Mr Kivlin had the desire to install a sustainable heating and hot water system which would provide a more environmentally responsible solution for the long term.
The property owners had to make a choice between ground or air source heat pump technology. Altherma, the air source heat pump system from Daikin was chosen as it provided a much lower capital cost solution as well as state of the art heat pump technology.
EOC Services' Solution:
EOC Services, primarily a specialist air conditioning company and a Daikin D1 installer, had taken on the Altherma air source heating and hot water product range which enabled the company to expand into the domestic housing marketplace. Daikin provided excellent training for EOC Services and subsequently they were able to transfer their air conditioning installation skills for installation of the comparable Altherma heat pump system. EOC Services, installed Altherma because they believe this solution to be the most cost effective long term heating and hot water system for their customers.
In order to provide the correct level of heating and hot water required for the four bedroom house, EOC Services carried out a full heat requirement evaluation, from which they sized up the Altherma system using the Altherma Split system with a 8kW outdoor unit and the appropriate indoor hydrobox and hot water cylinder. The system was installed very efficiently in just under three days including system commissioning. The outdoor unit was placed in a recess near the rear door of the house. Noise was not an issue as the outdoor unit is quiet even under maximum loading. The hydrobox and thermal storage tank were neatly fitted into a purpose built cupboard in the utility room.
The ground floor was heated using underfloor heating and each room had individual temperature control using zone controllers. The first floor used thermostatically controlled radiator heat emitters.
The heating for the whole house was possible using a simple programmable controller linked to the Altherma integrated control system, allowing the owner to easily adjust heating to give the required level of comfort to all areas of the house. Altherma was fitted with the optional solar panel connection kit to enable the installation of solar heating for hot water supply in the future.
Since the installation in November 2008 the Altherma has provided all the heating and hot water for the property. Considering a prolonged cold period in January 2009, the installation showed that even on the coldest days Altherma can provide all heating and hot water requirements using renewable energy from the air around us.
Conclusion:
The main benefits of this solution were:
- The use of the Altherma heat pump provided a system that was highly efficient with low energy costs compared to traditional fossil fuel systems
- The Altherma combined with underfloor heating provides an estimated average CoP (measure of efficiency) of between 3 and 5 which means that for every 1kW of energy used, the system provides between 3 and 5 kW of energy for heating.
- Energy running costs would be 50% less compared to the installation of an electric or oil fired heating and hot water system
- There was no need for a back up heating system as Altherma would be able to provide heating and hot water all through the year, even on the coldest days
- Lifetime savings (20 years) gained from reduced energy and maintenance costs compared to traditional oil systems would run into several thousand pounds, estimated at over £15,000 in today’s costs
- EOC Services, a Daikin trained Altherma installer provided a hassle free and straight forward installation
- The only utility required is single phase 240 volt electrical supply. There are no chimneys, flues or fuel storage tanks needed
- Maintenance costs are minimal compared to traditional oil, gas or solid fuel boiler systems
- The system is very safe to use as there are no inflammable fuel usage or poisonous flue gases
Our Satisfied Client’s Thoughts:
We extensively researched heat pump systems available in the market. The downside with ground source systems was the large area of outside space required and also the cost to excavate and lay down suitable pipe work. We chose the Altherma air source solution because it was the “Rolls Royce” in air source systems and it was competitively priced.
Oliver Kivlin, Property Owner
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