Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) take advantage of the relatively constant temperature below ground throughout the seasons, ensuring a predictable source of heat. Whilst they can require a larger initial investment than other sources, their high levels of efficiency make them a popular choice.
Ground source heat pumps extract latent heat from below ground, either from soil, rock or water. This can be done using either an open or a closed loop system. Open loop systems extract water from the ground, usually an aquifer, drawing it up then extracting the heat from the water before returning it to the aquifer. Closed loop systems use a refrigerant contained within buried pipes (known as slinkies or coil collectors) that absorb the heat from the ground or water its submerged within.
Ground source heat pumps fall into two main categories, so their suitability will depend on the land available. The first requires a large area of land to lay out the ground array of slinkies / horizontal coil collectors, buried approximately 1-2m underground. The second requires ground suitable to drill a borehole up to 100m deep. If this is possible then ground source heat pumps can be the most efficient type of heat pump to run, however they can be more expensive to install due to the ground works required. We can discuss the most suitable option for your project.
