Ground Source Heating

With the ever increasing focus on energy saving systems, we were fascinated to hear about a local builder who has recently trialled a revolutionary new type of heating in their development at Polgooth in Cornwall. Jonathan Haward recently met with Rosemullion’s Managing Director, Roger Carson to find out more about the system.

Why did you choose ground source heating?

As a Company, Rosemullion Homes is involved not only with building houses of distinctive character in Cornwall, that blend well into their settings, respecting the county’s landscape and traditions but also identifying sustainable development solutions. With this mission in mind, and the very natural development of The Orchard, being just two houses, built in harmony with their surroundings, self-sustaining ground source heating was a natural choice.

Do you think ground source heating is the way ahead?

Apart from the obvious sustainability benefits, Cornwall is one of the best areas in the country for tapping into ground source heat. To heat a house, from a resource that cannot be depleted, has to be the answer to concerns about rising fuel bills. With the news that all houses will have to be carbon free by 2015 Rosemullion is keen to show people the rapid progress we are making towards achieving this target.

Is there a cooling function?

The technology of a heat pump is based on a similar principle to a domestic fridge. Heat pumps take advantage of the principles of thermodynamics in order to achieve their results. A water and glycol mixture is pumped around the collector circuit and causes the refrigerant in the evaporator to turn into gas. This refrigerant passes through the compressor, causing the temperature to rise significantly. The hot gas moves to the condenser, where it condenses and the latent energy is released into the heating circuit. (There is no facility for this heating function to be reversed to one that cools.)

What does the future hold for home insulation and self sufficient heating systems?

There is concern amongst people at the moment regarding rising energy costs, with gas, oil and electric bills also seeming likely to increase further, so what better way to help combat those rises by utilising the warmth from the ground, or from other sources such as solar heating, in a totally environmentally friendly way. As a matter of course, we insulate in excess of Building Regulation requirements as far as our new properties are concerned, using insulation that has been made with minimal impact on the environment.

At Rosemullion Homes we are continually improving our construction processes to minimise the impact our developments have, not only on Cornwall but on the environment. With technology for self sufficient heating systems progressing rapidly, the future looks exciting, and the challenge of producing unique houses built in an environmentally friendly way, is very much embraced by the team at Rosemullion Homes.

Roger Carson (left) and Jonathan Haward outside one of the houses on the Polgooth development