Heat pumps help fight high fuel bills (From Witney Gazette)

Heat pumps help fight high fuel bills

10:24am Thursday 2nd March 2006 in Witney

HEATING your home doesn't have to cost the earth especially when your central heating is powered by the earth beneath your feet.

As people across Oxfordshire brace themselves for higher fuel bills, one West Oxfordshire company has said its geothermal heat pumps could be a long-term solution to the rising cost of fossil fuels.

Eynsham-based company Ice Energy can provide ground-source heat pumps, which use solar energy stored in the earth, to supply 75 per cent of the energy required for central heating and hot water systems.

It works by a pipe, containing fluid, which is buried and warmed up by the heat stored in the ground.

The heat is then converted by a process similar to the one that heats up the back of a fridge, until it is hot enough to be used to heat a house.

Dave Brookes, 57, a plumber, from Kidlington, said: "Heat pumps are pretty simple to install on new builds, but it becomes more complicated when you have to begin digging up the garden for renovations.

"The heat pump supplies all my heating and hot water. It is on constantly, and keeps the house at a nice temperature."

Tony Heirtenstein

"I would urge the Government to put heat pumps on building regulations."

The heat pump is already one of the main standard sources of domestic heating in Scandinavian countries, particularly Sweden and Finland, where there is much less reliance on fossil fuels.

People who depend on oil to heat their homes are really starting to feel the disadvantages of relying on fossil fuels as the oil supplies have started to run out.

Tony Heirtenstein, a retired lawyer from Finstock, has just had a heat pump fitted to his home, and does not think it will be long before the technology is embraced by more people in the UK.

Mr Heirtenstein said: "The heat pump supplies all my heating and hot water. It is on constantly, and keeps the house at a nice temperature."

He added: "I haven't had the heat pump running for long, but I expect the heat pump to pay for itself over a period of five to ten years."

Prices for the heat pump range between £5,000 and £6,000, but the price is reduced by npower, which is encouraging the use of renewable energy by giving £1,500 towards the cost of each pump.

Andy Sheldon, managing director of Ice Energy, said: "Compared to other ways to heat your home, the heat pump costs 50 per cent less to run than natural gas, and 75 per cent less than oil and LPG."

There are just over 400 domestic heat pumps in Britain, and the idea is beginning to spread beyond the private sector, as West Oxfordshire District Council has received a grant to install a ground-source heat pump to warm its offices.

Councillor David Harvey said: "This is just another example of the district council taking positive steps to combat climate change."

For more information, contact Ice Energy, on 01865 882202.