ground-source

The white box shows the property, the yellow line shows the approximate route of the underground pipe (450mtrs)

That was what it looked like, and it's all filled in now, and there's not much point of showing you 450 metres of trench that isn't there any more. It'll be a while before the ground settles properly and the grass grows back. I'll put in a picture of that next spring.

The trench gave us the added bonus of a free levelling and clearing of the proposed drive extension, so although it's well boggy in places, we have a 1/3 mile drive from the road to the house, entirely on the property! Of course you can use the 50 foot one if you are in a hurry.

The rest of the Ground Source Heat Pump is a big metal box that looks like a American sized fridge and isn't that exciting to look at. Otherwise the radiators and the rest of the house look much the same. I'll be able to remove the old oil burner from the kitchen at my leisure and the freezer can go in it's place. All in all it's a peculiar installation, it came with a huge amount of mess, 225 cubic metres of mud for a start, Diggers all over the place, mechanical and biological, more mud.... but now it's just the absence of an oil tank, no oil smell when the wind blows and a gap in the kitchen. And, importantly, no oil bill. The electricity it does use is largely provided by the solar panels, and both are practically maintenance free. Looking good so far. Installation by Barry Sharp of Grange Energy Services 0787 989 5702

www.renewableheat.com Same business, same phone. new business name.

Ground-source Heat Pump

At home, the next phase has started, the ground-source heat pump is in. Shown here as mainly a long trench which will be filled in and the return trench put in next to it, one metre to the left. It was completed before the weather closed in, here's a couple of pictures of the trench. Not the most exciting images, but they'll do for the moment. I made a bridge for the cats who didn't think the mud was at all funny.