One million could be installed in the UK before 2020

Geothermal International, a leading nationwide designer and installer of GSHP has welcomed an influential report which suggests that more than one million ground source heat pump systems, could be installed in the UK in the next decade.

The Environment Agency is calling on the Government to offer more financial incentives to home-owners and businesses to take up this low-carbon, energy efficient form of heating and cooling through the forthcoming Renewable Heat Incentive.

It is also predicting that, with the right financial support, GSHP systems, which tap into the natural warmth stored underground, could by 2020 provide nearly one-third of the UK’s renewable heat.

Patrick Sherriff, the company’s sales and marketing director, says: “We have always believed that GSHP systems can make a huge contribution to the UK’s campaign to combat climate change by cutting carbon emissions.

“It is heartening that the Environment Agency is now so convinced that GSHP systems have a major role to play in fighting global warming that it is urging the Government to offer more financial support.

“We are finding that more and more organisations are realising they can reduce building running costs while helping to save the planet by installing GSHP systems to heat and cool their premises. The figure of one million systems being installed by 2020 is far from pie in the sky – GSHP systems are truly a heating and cooling solution for the 21st century.”

GSHP systems work by circulating liquid through a network of pipes buried underground which extract the natural warmth which is present in the ground all year round. The liquid is transferred to heat pumps which raise its temperature so it can be used to heat a building. For cooling, the process is reversed.

The Environment Agency’s report predicted that in a “high growth” scenario up to 1,200,000 GSHP systems could be installed in the UK by 2020, with as many as one in ten homes and four out of ten commercial buildings using the technology.

Tony Grayling, head of climate change and sustainable development at the Environment Agency, says: “Ground source heating is a rapidly growing technology that has the potential to produce at least 30% of the country’s renewable heat needs, but it needs financial support in order to grow

More information: www.geoheat.co.uk