Hello everyone!
We are currently considering what and how we want to build. It’s about a new build that will be constructed by a developer. At the moment, a 36cm (14 inch) Ytong exterior wall is being offered. I would like to replace the standard heating system—a gas burner with radiators—with a heat pump and underfloor heating throughout the house, completely eliminating the need for a gas connection.
I don’t really want to use an air-source heat pump because I don’t want the noise or the unit in the garden, and I’m not thrilled about the decreasing efficiency during the cold season.
However, I have a few questions about the design and implementation. First, I have no idea how much more expensive ground source heat pumps are compared to air-source heat pumps. Do you have any rough estimates? I would prefer to use ground probes, meaning boreholes, since I consider that the most reliable method.
But what happens if there is damage to the system? A technician can simply open up and repair an air-source heat pump. However, no one would want to dig up the ground probes, right?
Also, how much space is needed for something like this? I was thinking the boreholes could be made in front of the house—that is, between the house and the sidewalk. There’s only about 3–5 meters (10–16 feet) of space there. If someone needs to access the pipes, you would have to remove the paving. I won’t be able to bring in heavy machinery to the garden later on.
To increase the efficiency of the system in the long run, I would also like to add photovoltaic panels later, but that would have to wait a few years due to cost and planning reasons.
Thank you for your help!
We are currently considering what and how we want to build. It’s about a new build that will be constructed by a developer. At the moment, a 36cm (14 inch) Ytong exterior wall is being offered. I would like to replace the standard heating system—a gas burner with radiators—with a heat pump and underfloor heating throughout the house, completely eliminating the need for a gas connection.
I don’t really want to use an air-source heat pump because I don’t want the noise or the unit in the garden, and I’m not thrilled about the decreasing efficiency during the cold season.
However, I have a few questions about the design and implementation. First, I have no idea how much more expensive ground source heat pumps are compared to air-source heat pumps. Do you have any rough estimates? I would prefer to use ground probes, meaning boreholes, since I consider that the most reliable method.
But what happens if there is damage to the system? A technician can simply open up and repair an air-source heat pump. However, no one would want to dig up the ground probes, right?
Also, how much space is needed for something like this? I was thinking the boreholes could be made in front of the house—that is, between the house and the sidewalk. There’s only about 3–5 meters (10–16 feet) of space there. If someone needs to access the pipes, you would have to remove the paving. I won’t be able to bring in heavy machinery to the garden later on.
To increase the efficiency of the system in the long run, I would also like to add photovoltaic panels later, but that would have to wait a few years due to cost and planning reasons.
Thank you for your help!
So, the calculation is somewhat flawed... you can't directly compare the efficiency of burning fossil fuels in a power plant with that in a private home. Also, the electricity consumption is assumed to be fixed. But that’s not really the point of my question. You yourself mentioned that the differences are not that significant. I agree with that but assume there will be positive developments as fossil fuel prices rise. Electricity can be generated independently if necessary (although, of course, the investment costs would then have to be calculated)... But I don’t want to go into such detail at the moment. The construction costs are currently the biggest unknown for me...
@Kisska86 Thanks for the info... That’s very interesting.
@Lexmaul79 Yes, if anything, I only want one borehole. The question is clearly whether that will be sufficient or even possible.
By the way, it’s about roughly 160m2 (1,722 ft2) of living space with three people. The plan is to build with 36cm (14 inches) Ytong blocks without additional insulation, although I haven’t finalized those considerations yet.
How about maintenance or repairs? If the borehole is made in the garden, as I said, heavy equipment wouldn’t be able to reach it, and no one wants to dig 50-100m (55-110 yards) by hand with a spade.
@Kisska86 Thanks for the info... That’s very interesting.
@Lexmaul79 Yes, if anything, I only want one borehole. The question is clearly whether that will be sufficient or even possible.
By the way, it’s about roughly 160m2 (1,722 ft2) of living space with three people. The plan is to build with 36cm (14 inches) Ytong blocks without additional insulation, although I haven’t finalized those considerations yet.
How about maintenance or repairs? If the borehole is made in the garden, as I said, heavy equipment wouldn’t be able to reach it, and no one wants to dig 50-100m (55-110 yards) by hand with a spade.
S
Sebastian7922 Jul 2015 10:16You can’t maintain or repair that – if something breaks, it’s broken and must be re-drilled.
We are doing a 140m (460 feet) drilling!
We are doing a 140m (460 feet) drilling!
S
Sebastian7922 Jul 2015 10:26Yep, you need one – it costs 60 euros....
S
Sebastian7922 Jul 2015 10:32I mean 7,200 euros all-inclusive (including thermally optimized grouting material).