System 1 Installations - plumbing and Heating Specialists

Solar Hot Water Heating
Ground Source/Geothermal Heat Pumps
Biomass
Rainwater Harvesting

Solar Hot Water Heating Solar water heating systems uses heat from the sun to work alongside your conventional water heater. The technology is well developed with a large choice of equipment to suit many applications & your individual requirements. A well designed solar hot water system can typically provide 80% of your hot water requirements during the summer months April to September & still contribute for the winter months also. Generally a typical system will provide 30-70% of your annual hot water requirements for the year. Solar Hot Water Heating Operation When choosing a suitable Solar hot water heating system you need to consider a number of factors including the area of your south facing roof space, the existing water heating system & your proposed budget as you can have a vented or un-vented system & an direct or in-direct system. A vented system is designed to use your existing water storage vessel while an un-vented system uses a new water storage vessel. Solar indirect system will allow the solar panels/collectors to pre-heat your hot water requirements in a water storage vessel while a direct system will use the solar panels/collectors to heat your water requirements directly. For both options you will require 3 main components; • Solar panels or collectors are fitted to your roof. They collect heat from the sun's radiation. There are 2 main types of collector: Flat plate systems - which are comprised of an absorber plate with a transparent cover to collect the sun's heat, or Evacuated tube systems - which are comprised of a row of glass tubes that each contains an absorber plate feeding into a manifold which transports the heated fluid. • A heat transfer system which uses the collected heat to heat your water requirements. • Hot water cylinder. Solar benefits With the cost of fuel rising rapidly solar heating can make a valuable contribution to reducing your overall fuel costs. By using solar energy you could make a significant reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide your household produces, and so reduce your contribution to global warming.


Ground Source/Geothermal Heat Pumps Ground Source/Geothermal Heat Pumps Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) extract heat from the ground and pump it into a building to provide space heating and to pre-heat domestic hot water. Air source heat pumps extract heat from the ambient air surrounding it. GSHPs are the most popular heat pump technology used in households ideal for under floor heating. Heat pumps are designed to transfer heat from one place to another using a compressor. Ground Source/Geothermal Heat Pump Operation. The earth's surface acts as a huge solar collector, absorbing radiation from the sun. In the UK, several metres below the surface, the ground maintains a constant temperature of 8 to 10°C. In the winter this temperature is warmer than the air above it. GSHPs are used to extract this heat and transfer it to a building, where heat is required. There are three important elements to a GSHP system; Ground loop Lengths of plastic pipe are buried in the ground, either in a borehole or a horizontal trench. The pipe is a closed loop, which is filled with a water/antifreeze mixture. This mixture circulates in the pipe, absorbing heat from the ground. Horizontal trenches are drilled to a depth of 1 to 2 metres and cost less than boreholes, but require a greater area of land. An alternative is a vertical borehole is drilled to a depth of approximately 100 metres and will benefit from higher ground temperatures than the horizontal trench, although installation costs will be greater. Heat pump The heat pump works by the evaporation and condensation of a refrigerant to move heat from one place to another. A heat exchanger transfers heat from the water/antifreeze mixture in the ground loop to heat refrigerants. A compressor is then used to increase the pressure thus raising the temperature at which the refrigerant condenses. This temperature is increased to approximately 35 - 40°C. A condenser heats to a hot water tank, which then feeds the distribution system. Geothermal heat pumps operate like air-to-air heat pumps, moving rather than creating heat; however, they use the ground or water as a heat source and heat sink, rather than outside air. And, because the ground or water temperatures are much more constant year-round (warmer in winter and cooler in summer) geothermal heat pumps operate more efficiently than air-to-air heat pumps. Heat distribution system Because GSHPs raise the temperature to approximately 40°C they are most suitable for underfloor heating systems, which require temperatures of 30 to 35°C, as opposed to conventional boiler systems, which require higher temperatures of 60 to 80°C. Ground Source Heat Pump Benefits Although the installation of a ground source heat pump to an existing building can be disruptive it has the following advantages: Providing domestic water heating is essentially free or at substantial savings. Less complicated appliances which means they are more reliable & robust compared to conventional systems. Reduced emissions as there is no requirement for external ventilation.


Biomass Biomass is produced from organic materials, either directly from plants or indirectly from industrial, commercial, domestic or agricultural products. Biomass fall into two main categories: • Woody biomass includes forest products, untreated wood products, energy crops and short rotation coppice (SRC), which are quick-growing trees like willow. • Non-woody biomass includes animal waste, industrial and biodegradable municipal products from food processing and high energy crops. Examples are rape, sugar cane, maize. For small-scale domestic applications of biomass the fuel usually takes the form of wood pellets, wood chips or wood logs Biomass Operation There are two main ways of using biomass to heat a domestic property: • Stand alone stoves providing space heating for a room. These can be fueled by logs or pellets but only pellets are suitable for automatic feed. Generally they are 6-12 kW in output, and some models can be fitted with a back boiler to provide water heating. • Boilers connected to central heating and hot water systems. These are suitable for pellets, logs or chips, and are generally larger than 15 kW. There are many domestic log, wood chip and wood pellet burning central heating boilers available. Log boilers must be loaded by hand and may be unsuitable for some situations. Automatic pellet and wood chip systems can be more expensive. Many boilers will dual fire both wood chips and pellets, although the wood chip boilers need larger hoppers to provide the same time interval between refueling. Biomass Benefits Producing energy from biomass has both environmental and economic advantages. It is a carbon neutral process as the CO2 released when energy is generated from biomass is balanced by that absorbed during the fuel's production. Furthermore, biomass can contribute to waste management by harnessing energy from products that are often disposed of at landfill sites.


Rainwater Harvesting Rainwater harvesting is not a new concept. Only recently have the benefits been recognised now that mains water supplied from the tap has become a much more precious (and restricted) commodity. Rainwater Harvesting Operation The system works by taking the rain from your roof gutters, filtering out leaves and debris and storing the water in an underground tank. The water is then pumped into the house to be used for non-potable applications such as toilet flushing and washing machines. If the tank runs empty, the system switches to mains supply.

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