Bungalow Upgrade
Location: Bourne
Property Size: 215 m2
System Type: Ground source heat pump with 3 X 250 m horizontal ground collectors
System model/size: Stiebel Eltron WPF 13 kW
Flow temperature: 50oC
Hot water system: A 400 litre hot water cylinder
Heat emitters: Underfloor heating in one room with radiators elsewhere
Extra features: Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery system (MVHR), I-boost, Solar Photovoltaic panels.
Whilst living and working abroad for many years our clients had been planning their return to the UK and eventual retirement. About 5 years ago they bought a house in a rural location with a 6 acre field. They immediately made a start by planting a boundary hedge of native species plants and an orchard. They approached Orangehouse for the next stage of the project to design and install some integrated renewable energy systems in their home. Their aim was to have an energy efficient home with low running costs thus moving towards a sustainable living model to see them through their retirement years.
We were excited to be a big part of such an interesting project and were able to schedule the works to coincide with the clients visits to the UK. Ground source heat pumps are very efficient but are more expensive due to the initial cost of the ground collector. However in this instance the adjacent field was ideal for long horizontal ground collector trenches and kept the costs within the budget. The scope of the ground collector works consisted of excavating 3 long trenches at the rear of the field and digging up and reinstating the path around the house.
The existing oil boiler had to be drained down and removed before setting up the new plant room. We specified a Stiebel Eltron 13 kW heat pump, which is a robustly engineered German unit. A well sized plant room was available to house the heat pump, a 400 litre unvented hot water cylinder, a 200 litre buffer tank and an MVHR system heat exchanger box. The clients wanted to keep the existing radiators where possible, so we set the flow temperature to 50oC for the space heating and 55oC for the hot water.
We installed the MVHR system to provide good ventilation with a “fresh air” feel to it and also temperate, gradual cooling. Solar PV panels were fitted by a specialist company, and an Iboost was added to optimise and store any excess electricity as hot water.
At Orangehouse we always enjoy rising to a challenge, so managing to source the matching bricks in Peterborough to fill the gap in the wall left by the oil boiler flue was a good example.
We were able to provide advice during the RHI claim procedure and our clients are now in receipt of their generous quarterly payments which will continue for the next 7 years!