News - February 2012
First Renewable Heat Incentive Applications Approved by Ofgem
An umbrella company and five holiday lets are the first two successful applicants to benefit from the... read more
Bringing Down The Cost of Heat Pumps
Do I need planning permission?
Planning permission for ground source heat pumps is not normally required, if an open loop system is being used, an abstraction license is normally needed and in some cases an environmental impact report may be necessary. Planning permission for air source heat pumps is currently necessary in... read more
How efficient are ground and air source systems?
Ground and water source heat pumps are generally more efficient than air source heat pumps and produce around 4 kW of heat energy for every 1 kW of electricity used to drive them. Air source heat pumps produce around 3 kW of heat energy per 1 kW of electricity, but are more noticeably affected by... read more
What incentives are available?
The government has recently confirmed that the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will be available to all building owners including householders and businesses. The scheme will pay the owners of the equipment an annual subsidy for the lifetime of the system. read more
What's the payback on a heat pump system?
Depending on the fuel being displaced the paybacks can be very short. If the alternative is oil, LPG or direct electric heating (storage heaters for example) then a heat pump system can pay back in less than ten years depending on the level of fuel price inflation. Oil and gas prices are on the rise... read more