Farm, Worcestershire

A large field within the ownership of the farm running along the elevation of the property containing the utility room was the perfect place to site the ground loops resulting in a reduced distance for the interconnecting pipes to run.

A large pit was excavated close to the boundary between the field and the garden to allow the insulated tails of the ground loops to be fed under the patio area to the external wall of the utility room where the ground source heat pumps were to be housed.

To ensure minimal disruption to the customers landscaped garden a small area of patio was taken up to allow the moling machine to be sent underground to the previously excavated pit in the field the other side of the boundary between the garden and the field. This procedure was carried out four times ready to receive the four insulated interconnecting pipes from the ground loops.

Two of the holes completed by the moling machine ready for the insulated interconnecting pipes from the ground loops to be inserted under the landscaped garden up to the external wall of the utility room in preparation to be brought into the building.

Following a number of 1m deep trial pits excavated prior to starting the installation the ground conditions a meter below the surface were found to be saturated good quality soil of a loose nature. It was therefore decided to plough the ground loops in rather than excavate to keep installation time and cost to a minimum. Due to the ground conditions being suitable to adopt this method of laying the need for sanding bedding and backfilling was also omitted further reducing cost.

Once in progress the 15 tonne machine makes light work of installing the ground loops installing 800m of ground loop in a day.

Once the ground loops have been ploughed in the machine tracks back over the open wound in the ground which due to its weight re-seals the surface allowing it to heal naturally shortly thereafter.

The two ground loops installed running down the field converging into the pit adjacent to the boundary between the field and the garden.

Within a short time following installation of the ground loops the ground starts to heal and with grass returning concealing the wounds previously made in the surface.

The customer decided to relocate the existing washing machine and tumble dryer to make better use of the cupboard they occupied as it was the perfect size to house two new ground source heat pumps.

Four holes were core drilled through the external wall of the cupboard in the utility to bring the four insulated interconnecting pipes from the ground loops neatly into the building.

Although the majority of the back wall of the cupboard would be obscured by the heat pumps themselves the wall was still repainted as we believe any job worth doing is worth doing properly!

Inevitably the majority of first fix pipework installed by our engineers is never to be seen again. Nevertheless all our engineers take great pride in their work always ensuring pipework is well thought out, neatly clipped with brass fixings and aligned true and level.

With the front covers removed both heat pumps each receive a dedicated mains power supply protected by miniature circuit breakers (MCB's) necessary due to the start up currents of the internal compressors contained within the heat pumps.

Both heat pumps fully commissioned and in operation. All the settings and operation of the heat pumps were fully explained to the customer in a formal handover of the system accompanied by a handover pack containing all the appropriate user manuals, certificates and warranties.

The two buffer tanks symmetrically installed in the cupboard adjacent to the heat pumps to allow full zone control of the heating distribution system.

The completed installation neatly housed in the customers utility cupboards ready to provide green energy efficient heating and hot water for years to come.