On 18/05/2021 13:59, Tim+ wrote:
RJH wrote:
On 18 May 2021 at 10:54:03 BST, ""NY"" wrote:

When my wife and I were looking for a new house, we saw one which had
central heating with an heat-transfer pump and radiators. The house was
perfectly warm, but we both agreed that the constant whine of the stale-air
extraction pump, audible in every room, would have driven us mad very
quickly. The boiler and floor-to-ceiling hot-water cylinder occupied most of
the utility room, and that was excluding the heat-exchanger (on the wall
outside) for extracting heat for the ground.

Interesting. My sister is thinking of getting a ground source pumped system.
Are there any decent sources of experiences of them in use? Hadn't thought of
the pump before . . .

No experience what what I have read is that you really need quite a lot of
ground OR you go for bore holes, both of which are expensive. For most
people , ground source just isnt economic due to lack of ground or very
long ROI due to high installation cost.


Also, does the cooling of the ground have any effect? I'd have thought
flora/fauna would suffer . . .

Cooling of the ground (and diminution in efficiency) can be an issue if you
dont have enough area or depth. Dunno about effects on flora/fauna.

Tim

If you are on heavy clay soil then that is the best type for
a ground source heat pump where the primary loop is not far down
but spread over a large area.

You only get water at 50C at most, out of it so it works best
in new-build houses with underfloor heating and loads of
insulation. What it won't do is give you lashings of hot water
as you would get with a gas/oil boiler delivering water at
80 to 90C.

Also, remember the most effective refridgerants have been banned
so it is slightly crippled, efficiency-wise from the outset.