Heat Pump Site Selection

Heat pumps require quality insulation to protect them from the elements outside. Heat Pumps require a lower operating temperature to heat your house, in harmony with underfloor heating and require 12-24 hours to adjust temperature.

You can run heat pumps with radiators if they are large radiators or fan assisted. This means they can make better use of the lower temperature heat offered by heat pumps. In some properties we would recommend adding additional radiators once a heat pump has been installed to help those colder rooms.

If you install a heat pump in a house with poor insulation and normal radiators your heat pump may be less efficient and potentially cost you a lot of money to run as it will require additional mains back up power with an immersion heater.

Each of the heat pump technologies also have their own basic requirements which need to be considered when selecting a location. We have listed these requirements below:

If you are looking to install a Ground-Sourced Heat Pump:

  • The ground heat exchanger can be buried in either a borehole (vertical) or a trench (horizontal).
  • Borehole depth varies depending on size of heat pump and can be achieved across a number of separate boreholes which should be 20 metres apart. Typically the depth required can be anything between 70 and 190metres.
  • A medium sized, new build detached house would need at least two narrow trenches, each 300 mm wide and 40 to 50 metres long and 1.8 metres deep. The trenches can be straight or curved and laid in any direction to suit your site, providing they are always a minimum of 5 metres apart.

If you are looking to install an Water-Sourced Heat Pump:

  • The minimal dimensions required for the water source are 20x5m with a depth of at least 1.5m,
  • An ideal water source should have around 20 x 40 m surface area.

If you are looking to install an Air-Sourced Heat Pump:

  • The smallest external unit in the EcoDan range sold via the Good Energy Shop is the 5kw solution. The unit size is 950mm wide, 360mm deep and 740mm high.
  • Ideally the external unit should be placed in a southerly facing location to pick up warmer air, where it is out of earshot/sight of neighbours (5m+ ok) and where it is within 12m of the point of use. The unit can be either wall or floor mounted, as long as there is a secure flat surface for mounting.