FAQs

A ground source heat pump is an electro-hydraulic system that gathers low temperature heat (0-14C) from the sun and rain stored in the ground, and multiplies this collected heat through exchange and compression into usable hot water for both room heating and hot water.

Visit KensaHeatPumps.com for more information on 'what is a heat pump'.

A Shared Ground Loop Array is a low temperature heat network consisting of multiple buildings, each with their own ground source heat pump (GSHP), all connected to one common, shared ground loop. In its simplest form it could consist of two houses each with their own GSHP connected to one common borehole.

No. Shared Ground Loop Array GSHP systems are infinitely scalable for large developments. However, in practice, it is likely that on a large project a number of shared ground loop systems would be installed to suit the layout of the site. See Kensa SGLA project examples in our Knowledge Hub.

No. The individual heat pumps are connected to the electricity supply of each individual house. Consequently, each householder pays for their heating via their own electricity bill and has freedom of choice over which supplier and which tariff to use.

No heat loss in distribution pipework. No overheating in risers & corridors. No need for metering & billing. Freedom to switch electricity suppliers. No central plant space required. If a heat pump does fail, only one household is without heating.

Typically, it is closed loop boreholes up to 200m deep. Where space allows it is possible to use slinkies. Other options include open loop systems (using e.g. an underground aquifer or mine water) or surface water systems (pipes submerged in water).

Visit KensaHeatPumps.com for more information about heat sources and ground arrays suited to shared ground loop array systems.

Kensa deliberately supply our heat pumps without heating controls & make them compatible with mainstream heating controls familiar to anyone who has used a gas/oil boiler. This also allows installers freedom to use simple or sophisticated controls depending on property/customer needs.

The GSHP itself is very reliable and is expected to last for between 20 to 25 years. The ground array should last for at least 100 years.

There is no requirement for an annual safety inspection or service of the GSHP itself. However, it is usually good practice to carry out periodic checks on the internal central heating system itself as would be recommended with any heating system.

A GSHP system has the lowest running costs of any heating system, even when compared to mains gas boilers. The cost of one unit of heat produced by a GSHP is usually around 4 to 5 p/kWh on a standard flat rate tariff.

GSHPs have the lowest carbon emissions of any heating system. With the new carbon factors proposed in SAP 10, a Ground Source Heat Pump will produce less than 1/3 of the carbon of a gas boiler or direct electric system, with bigger savings against both oil and LPG.

For more information on how to Reduce Compliance Costs visit our page here.

Time-of-use tariffs will lower energy bills further, especially if combined with thermal storage or smart controls. PV-T systems will increase ground array temperature and increase the efficiency of the PV system. The ambient temperature ground array can also be used to provide passive cooling.

Our latest blogs explore these themes, including:

• How to reduce the costs of carbon compliance now and in the future;
• The scope and opportunity for low carbon heat in cities;
• How ground source heat pumps can overcome overheating and provide passive cooling; and
• The low impact of large scale heat pump deployment on the grid.