Heat Pump and Solar PV Panels Installation for Bolton Home Owners
The new owners of an old, draughty, 6 bedroom, period detached residence in Bolton decided to completely renovate their home and make it a lot more energy efficient. The old house had its insulation improved and new double glazing installed. A SAP calculation was done to assess heat losses which were calculated to be 18.6kW.
Ground Source Heat Pump for Heating
Looking for a convenient and reliable form of renewable energy and on the recommendation of local Ecoliving Regional Director, Jonathan Smith, the owners decided to have a NIBE ground source heat pump installed. A NIBE F1145 17kW heat pump was specified with a 300 litre hot water cylinder and 200 litre buffer tank for connection to new underfloor heating throughout the property.
No sufficiently significant area of land for ground loops was available due to the urban location. However a very large garden allowed the space for 4 boreholes to be drilled, each 15m apart. 3 boreholes were drilled to a depth of 100m and a 4th to 150m. The drilling took place during the very harsh conditions in December and January and there were problems with drilling rig pipes freezing but the system is now installed, commissioned and up and running. It is anticipated that the heat pump will deliver around 4 times the amount of heat energy than it uses which represents a considerable saving on heating bills and reduces CO2 emissions.
Solar PV Panels deliver Electricity from the Sun
Keen to further reduce home energy bills and seeing that an investment in solar PV would provide an excellent return on investment, the Bolton home owners decided to have an 18 panel solar PV array installed on the roof of their south facing ground floor extension. Ecoliving specified a 3.69kW Kioto Q Cells integrated roof solar PV array. These Austrian made solar panels come with a 12 year product warranty and an impressive 25 year linear performance warranty.
It is anticipated that the solar PV array will generate 3,000kWh per year meaning £1,300 annually from the Feed-in Tariff and saving £250 per year on electricity bills as well as £45 income from the export tariff. So an anticipated total net annual gain of £1,595 which will be enjoyed tax free and index linked for 25 years.
Solar PV Panels a Winning Combination with Heat Pumps
Heat pumps use electricity to run the compressor which is where the refrigerant gas temperature is dramatically increased and the key behind their high efficiency. Solar PV panels produce electricity and the more of that locally generated electricity that is used within the home the bigger the saving on the electricity bill. This means that a heat pump / solar PV combination is an excellent investment that means low heating bills. Property owners benefit from the Feed-in Tariff, savings on energy bills and soon the Renewable Heat Incentive Premium payment.