Three properties at a renovated farm steading in Perthshire are reaping the rewards of a unique Dimplex communal ground source heat pump system.
A high power 40kW Dimplex ground source heat pump provides heating and hot water for all three properties at Millhills Farm, which includes a retail premises selling country clothing and two houses.
Dimplex’s heating design team worked with installer partners Ecoliving to design the communal ground source heat system, comprising of a Dimplex SIH TE 40kW heat pump with two heat exchangers. The system includes approximately 1,800 metres of ground collectors, laid one metre down and one metre apart, and more than 100 metres of pre-insulated ‘district’ pipework which takes heat from the plant room into each of the properties.
Domestic hot water is provided by high efficiency 200 litre hot water cylinders, specifically designed to work alongside the heat pump, located in each of the two dwellings.
The site was well suited to ground source technology thanks to a number of factors including the availability of land, climate and existing use of the land which ensured it was easy to manipulate, size and location of the plant room and the fact the farm’s owner already owned earth moving equipment. In addition, all three properties were well insulated with low-temperature underfloor heating installed.
Mark Henderson from Ecoliving said: “It is very rare to have a communal ground source heat pump system but thanks to a unique combination of factors, Ecoliving and Dimplex have been able to deliver an efficient, effective and reliable ground source system feeding three properties. Installation costs have been kept to a minimum and the land has been returned to its original use. Good design has also helped to maximise the efficiency of the system.
“The biggest challenge was to ensure sufficient insulation of the pipes in order to prevent lost energy between the plant room and the properties.
“Dimplex and Ecoliving’s design included over 100 metres of pipework and pre-insulated pipes were chosen to minimise lost energy and maximise efficiency of the system.
“The result is a high-power, high-efficiency system which delivers cost-effective heating when it is needed in all three of the properties. It is already delivering the results that were expected within a few months of installation and we are expecting the system to achieve a Seasonal Performance Factor of 3.5. It is also eligible for the non-domestic RHI scheme, which guarantees regular income tariffs for the renewable heat generated.”
Guy Rowan-Hamilton, owner of Millhills Farm, said: “I was already familiar with renewable heating technology having installed a biomass straw/log boiler in the main farmhouse property but with added incentives available through the non-domestic RHI and increasing running costs for the inefficient oil boiler system, I was keen to investigate renewable heat again for the trio of properties.
“Despite this, I wanted a system which didn’t rely on tenants to store and replenish fuel, which would have been the case with biomass.
“After some research it seemed that a heat pump system was the obvious choice and I’m delighted with the Dimplex communal ground source heat pump system.”
