Welcome to Cotswold Energy Group

Roof Insulation

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Bath / Shower

Just because you have a heat pump it shouldn’t mean you have to make sacrifices elsewhere in your home.

Many people think that a heat pump will not be able to heat their water to the same temperature as a traditional boiler or they think it will not be able to heat as much water, neither is the case. the water comes out of the taps at around 50c. Our average cylinder can hold enough water for over 3 full baths. With our largest cylinder holding enough for over 6!

Solar

Solar PV and Heat Pumps, a marriage made in heaven. Making heat whilst the sun shines. With rising wholesale electricity prices it makes sense to try and create your own fuel wherever possible. Solar PV is a straightforward add-on to nearly all roof or ground types - we would be happy to survey your property and put together a proposal that works for you.

There are two options to mount your solar installation, roof-mounted is often the preference as it tends to be a more straightforward installation. Ground-mounting a Solar PV array requires planning permission and ground works to bring cables back to the property.

Radiators

Because heat pumps operate at a lower flow temperature (the temperature of the water going through the radiators) than traditional boilers we sometimes must upgrade more outdated radiators to ensure the system achieves British heating standards (21c in living areas and 18c in bedrooms.) With a few well-placed radiator improvements, we can insure a more comfortable and efficient system.

When installing radiators, we always look to minimise disruption by maintaining the footprint of the radiators and replace them for a modern equivalent. If you are aiming for a specific style of radiators, we can also accommodate this.  

Underfloor Heating

One of the biggest myths surrounding heat pumps is that for the system to work efficiently you must have underfloor heating. Whilst underfloor heating compliments heat pumps it is by no means necessary. Virtually any property can be switched to a heat pump if approached in the right way. Get in touch with us and we can talk you through everything that is required and how we can bring your home into the future.

Ground Source Heat Pumps

Heat pumps have been used to provide domestic heating and hot water in Scandinavia for over 50 years, during which time constant developments and advancements have ensured that the technology is tried and tested.

Ground Source Heat Pumps work using the principal of heat transfer. Heat transfer uses a small amount of electrical energy to transfer low temperature heat from the ground to higher temperature heat, suitable for heating water to usable temperatures – essentially transferring heat from a ‘free heat source’ like the ground to a ‘heat sink’ like your home. This is a similar operation to a refrigerator – but in reverse. It uses a process known as the vapour compression cycle.

All ground types are different and require thought and design to determine how much heat can be obtained, i.e., the thermal conductivity. There are two options for installing the pipes that collect heat from the ground, the most important factor is surface area, which can be achieved either vertically via boreholes or horizontally via trenches.

Boreholes tend to be a better option when space is at a premium, we drill up to 180m straight down and the hole is around 6 – 8 inches in diameter, leaving no trace once completed. An average 4-bedroom house might need 3 boreholes, spaced 8 metres apart so this is a very efficient solution in tighter spaces.

Trenches are the most cost-effective way of installing a Ground Source Heat Pump. Pipes need to be located under the frost line at around 1.2m deep, trenches are roughly 1m wide and an average 4-bedroom house may need 350 linear metres of trenching to provide enough heat transfer for the property’s heating and hot water demand.

Manufacturer’s life expectancy of a GSHP system is more than 20 years and there are minimal maintenance requirements. Annual servicing can be as little as £225 per annum and warranties can be as long as 7 years giving you total peace of mind.

During winter, the frost acts as an insulator and temperatures in the ground at 1.2m deep are consistent throughout the seasons at roughly 10 degrees C.

Air Source Heat Pumps

Heat pumps have been used to provide domestic heating and hot water in Scandinavia for over 50 years, during which time constant developments and advancements have ensured that the technology is tried and tested.

Air Source Heat Pumps work using the principal of heat transfer. Heat transfer uses a small amount of electrical energy to transfer low temperature heat from the air to higher temperature heat, suitable for heating water to usable temperatures – essentially transferring heat from a ‘free heat source’ like the air to a ‘heat sink’ like your home. This is a similar operation to a refrigerator – but in reverse. It uses a process known as the vapour compression cycle.

It's important to locate your heat pump close to the property, ideally on an outside wall close to the hot water cylinder if possible, this will help keep costs down. One of the main aspects of a heat pump installation is installing new pipework to connect the outdoor unit to the hot water cylinder. If you have already have a hot water cylinder in your home, we can reuse the same location, but will need to install a new heat pump compatible hot water cylinder.

We can often integrate a heat pump to your existing thermostats such as Nest, Heatmiser, Hive, Honeywell and others or can install a totally new control system as part of the installation.

Installation of an Air Source Heat Pump is considered to be permitted development, therefore no planning permission is required, provided that certain criteria is met, please see HERE (link = https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/heat-pumps/planning-permission-air-source-heat-pump) for more information about planning consent.

Manufacturer’s life expectancy of an ASHP system is more than 20 years and there are minimal maintenance requirements. Annual servicing can be as little as £175 per annum and warranties can be as long as 7 years giving you total peace of mind.

ASHP technology can extract heat from the air even when the temperature is as low as -15c and uses electricity to increase heat as and when required, meaning that you will always be warm and comfortable whilst positively contributing to climate change.