We fully intended to decide our heating and power solutions early on (in fact we started getting quotes around Christmas) but somehow everything else seemed to get in the way. Plus it did feel a little like tempting fate to over-plan before we knew we could actually convert the buildings. But there’s nothing like a deadline to provide a bit of focus, as we’re now finding!
As our site isn’t connected to mains gas; we don’t have space for oil heating for each property; and we want a green alternative anyway, we need to find another solution. Our aspiration is to get ground source heat pumps fitted (electric boilers are so expensive to run!) – but we’ve been told we don’t have enough space for horizontal ones, and the vertical borehole ones are significantly more expensive without any extra benefit or efficiencies.
The other factor we’re struggling to understand is whether it’s more efficient to install solar PV (to power the pumps, and with the heat pump heating the water) or solar thermal (to support heating the water, lessening the demand on the heat pumps). The companies we’ve got quotes from so far don’t seem to do a complete solution and the cynic in us says they’re more likely to recommend the products they sell, so we’ve been looking around this week for an energy consultant who can help advise us.
Seeing the heat pumps in real life was pretty exciting. They’re bigger than we imagined, with various expansion tanks and a pretty large hot water cylinder, but much quieter than the ones we saw when looking for houses, which is a real positive as the ‘plant rooms’ are likely to be cupboards under stairs or in the corner! However, the company we visited only supplied heat pumps running off three-phase electricity meters – and as we’re at the end of the electricity line, getting three-phase meters would require upgrading just over a mile of wire back to the village, and lane closures/land access (think £££ and more £££). We’re investigating it with our electricity distributor, but the likelihood is that we’ll need to find a smaller single-phase option instead.
The other interesting option thrown into the mix was an air source heat pump. Much cheaper, and taking up less room inside (the heat pump is on the outside of the building), this could be a credible option if we can find out-of-sight spaces and get the council to approve it.
Either way – we’ll need to submit a further planning application for the solar panels and heat pumps, which will add another couple of months to our timelines. We’re also looking to submit a separate application for solar panels to the main farmhouse, as well as permission to section off part of the top floor bedroom to create a shower room, and open up the ceilings so there’s more headroom. Hopefully we can do both of these in parallel with the detailed designs, and we don’t have the same delays as we did with our first application!!
Ley Farm Cottages 
A few thoughts.
No doubt you are aware that heating a property with a Heat Pump appears to be most efficient when coupled with underfloor heating. You need good insulation to make up for the lower output temperature (compared with gas/oil) while maintaining good level of pump operating efficiency. A solar source will need good area on south facing roof, which may be problematic if properties are split at later date given that not all of the proposed dwelling face south. Maybe a ground source configuration for the property with the largest heating load, and air pumps for the remainder. Have you checked the power rating of the existing single phase supply? Of course, you could always go for an interim solution of oil powered heat sources (underground tanks) but with a radiator distribution systems heat pump ready, and then wait for the government grants to come online when whoever is in number 10 presses the button for the country to stop using oil and gas.
BJ
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A couple of friends in France had new homes built and both had air sourced heat pumps fitted outdoors and pleased with them
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