4. Miss Bowe - North Yorkshire, Ground source heat pump (Trenches)
Nibe trenched ground Source Heat pump case Study in North Yorkshire (North East)
CLIENT:
Miss Bowe, Bedale, North Yorkshire
BRIEF:
Provide heating and hot water for a 3-bedroom bungalow on a hilltop in rural North Yorkshire.
SOLUTION:
To meet all requirements via the installation of a single ground source heat pump and under floor heating.
PROJECT:
Val is an interesting convert to the benefits of heat pumps having previously run a successful oil distribution business. She made the switch when her oil-fired boiler caught fire less than a year after being installed destroying the garage and causing other damage.
“I had previously considered heat pumps but went ahead with a new oil-fired boiler. But as soon as the fire took place that was it. Because I live in a very rural location I had real concerns about whether oil supplies would be able to reach me in very bad weather and I knew from personal experience how busy oil companies can get. So I went and saw some heat pumps and decided to go ahead. “
So why pick Natural Warmth: “I did talk to a few installers,” admits Val, “but Steve was a local man speaking my language. He seemed to know his stuff far more than some of the others who ran non-specialist heating companies.”
But Val says heat pumps might not be for everybody – in fact the cost of them may prevent some people being able to install them.
“Although my heat pump was about three times more expensive than installing another oil boiler I reckon I will get my money back in something like 5 or 6 years. And I was lucky in that I had the money to spend.
“My bills have come down on average and with the bitterly cold winter we have had this year I reckon I have saved something like £1,500 to £1,800.”
Val is fortunate in that she owns land surrounding her property so the trenching and pipe laying could be done in a paddock next to her home, with the unit itself standing in a corner of the garage. The only problem with that says Val is that the hot water can take a little time to draw through and come out of the tap, but she says it is just a minor inconvenience. And there were a couple of teething troubles;
“The first electricity bill that arrived after the heat pump had gone in was a whopper,” she said. “After saying ‘ouch’ I rang Steve and he came over and made a few adjustments to the system – it’s run like clockwork ever since.”
SUMMARY:
Although Val didn’t go for a heat pump purely on environmental grounds she is glad she did. She says the job needed doing anyway and she is pleased with her choice. She says: “I have had no second thoughts about it at all, in fact I wish I done it earlier. People have stopped me to ask how the pump has coped with the bitter cold this winter – I am happy to tell them I have been as warm as toast.
Val wanted to make one final point: “I just wanted to praise the team that came out to install the system,” she said. “They were absolutely brilliant in the way they were punctual, kept me in touch with every stage of the installation and stayed late some nights to complete various sections of the process. In fact, although they didn’t install the under floor heating the fire had caused some damage to the system which they put right!
“They were never intrusive, even when they were working in the house and I had no qualms about leaving them in my home if I had to go out. I highly recommend Natural Warmth.”
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