Eco-friendly new homes to halve energy bills
Thursday, 12 Oct 2006 08:49
Heat pumps are set to be more commonly used in new homes (photo: Ice Energy)
With energy bill rises announced by different providers every few months there is more reason than ever for homeowners to start thinking about how they can harness their own renewable energy source.
With this in mind, new homes specialists Linden Homes has announced it is installing ground source heat pumps in two homes at its Fusion development in Woking.
The pumps, which can save up to 70 per cent on energy bills, are part of Linden Homes' ongoing commitment to finding new ways to harness renewable energy on its sites.
As well as cutting bills, the heat pumps will also reduce the carbon footprint of the homes.
Peter Hawkey, director of innovation at Linden Homes, explained: "The installation of heat pumps at these two homes at Fusion is the latest in a series of steps in our research aimed at minimising environmental impact and saving money for our customers.
"Renewable energy is going to become even more of a selling point owing to the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates next year, as these will highlight the benefits of an environmentally friendly home.
"We are confident that heat pumps will be popular with buyers at Fusion, and we expect to be using them on other developments soon, helping the environment as well as our customers’ finances."
The pumps use heat that naturally exists in the ground from the sun, which remains at seven to thirteen degrees celsius throughout the year.
Boreholes 15 centimetres in diameter and 85 metres deep will be installed in the back garden of each house, into which a continuous loop of pipe will be fed. The pipe, which contains a non-toxic liquid, collects the heat and pumps it to a heat exchanger in the garage.
The heat exchanger increases the temperature to make the heat more usable, and then produces hot water to heat radiators in the normal way.
The heat pumps installed at Fusion are supplied by Ice Energy and contribute to a total of almost 15 per cent of renewable energy for the homes.
For more information on heat pumps see
www.est.org.uk
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