Ground Source Heat Pumps take heat from the ground, stored in the soil, ground water or rock, and use it to heat your home. In the UK, if you dig down just a few feet, you will discover an average temperature of a fairly constant 8°C to 12°C. This trapped energy is a vast reserve of low grade heat waiting to be used.

Tubes are filled with a mixture of water and glycol, and pumped through a pump, in a similar way to a modern refridgerator. These tubes are buried into the soil or groundwater outside collecting the heat stored there. This is then extracted, and pumped into the house to warm underfloor heating, radiators and the hot water tank.

They do require electricity to operate, but they are very energy efficient, producing up to five times the amount of heat energy for every unit of electrical energy needed to power it – this electricity can in turn be provided by renewable means.

There are several methods of collecting heat from the ground outside.

Click on each to find out more:

SURFACE COLLECTOR    GROUND PROBE       GROUND WATER