Any recommendations for the most efficient/ reliable ground source heat pumps in the U.K ? I was most interested in having a Goodman
GSHP installed but apparently these are not available in the U.K. I was recently advised by a builder against heat pumps, he said that
that they are very high maintenance, so I can only assume he has met with people who have poor quality heat pumps. As all articles I have come across claim low maintenance surely there must be
some worthwhile make out there ?

The CO2 issue is irrelevant IMHO. Natural gas is running out and isn't a long term solution for heating. Electricity is the most "mobile" of all sources of energy in terms of delivery to the home.

GSHPs are very low maintenance unless you use an open loop ("pump and dump") system where you have to deal with mineral scale buildup on the heat exchanger. Closed loop systems are essentially maintenance free.

I don't know what brands are available in the UK, but in North America ClimateMaster and WaterFurnace are considered the leading brands. Perhaps there might be import channels.

All that said, PaulT's comments about reducing your energy needs in the first place are valid - just hope that the UK climate doesn't end up colder if you go the passivhaus route as the jury is still out about what will happen to the UK climate post-global warming.

Paul in Montreal.

Thank you so much, Paul ( Montreal) for the information, will keep the makes you mention in mind. I am certainly going the Passivhaus route. I have explored much in this area and hope to achieve optimum bratheable airtighness for our welsh cottage soon, old part as well as the additional extension. PaulT, I much admire the extent of your knowledge and in no way wish to offend but I really do have to ask. Do you in any way have vested interests in condemning groundsource heat pumps ? Perhaps you represent some other alternative energy supplier ? I have researched deeply into GSHP'S and have read many, many glowing reports. I have been most impressed and excited by the prospect of such an energy system. However, I am no idiot, well not much anyway ! ( : < I am aware of the influence and at times downright corruption that is often the preserve of big commercial companies extolling the virtues of their products and heat pumps may well be no exception to this..... Trouble is in a matter of weeks we are to have a large extension and I have to come to a firm decision on heating arrangements. I have very recently been considering wind power as an alternative choice, as we live in a very exposed position. I do need to be settled one way or the other with an informed decision on the most economical, sustainable, choice of heating for this presently freezing property. This will involve, naturally, thousands of pounds, which cannot easily be recouped. I am swayed one way and then another by the opinions of the various professionals which abound in this forum.......Oh for a simple life... Which is why, come to think of it, I'm living in this isolated cottage in the first place !!

Hi everyone.
I'm new to all this and certainly not up on all the technical speak.
My family and I have just received planning permission to build a large extension on my Fathers house for us to live in. We are fairly environmentally concious and also energy conscious as well as having to watch the pennies. This will be our first big biuld and obviuosly we want to get it right. I think insulating the property is by far the most important criteria compared to what type of heating source to use. Having said that a heat supply is needed,this is where I come unstuck. GSHP's? Solar pannels..what type...tubes or cells? log burners with sustainable woodland? etc.
I was just wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction. GSHP's is the way I seem to be leaning at the moment but with my limited experience any advice or tips would be appreciated.
Look forward to any replies.

Skippy, if you get your bit well enough insulated the heat lost from the house will more than keep you warm and save him heating losses too!

No heating system needed.

An afterthought: A representative from EON at the Ecobuild show, was enthusing about the kit they were having installed into municipal/housing association properties. The no gas ones in the countryside that often look like two bed bungalows, where there is little room for the ground loop and so they have to drill. By doing (say) 10 at a time probably to radiators, after insulation improvements to insulation, the makeover costs could be as little as 7K per property.
I've managed to track down a woman who is a recipient of such an upgrading of her night storage heating with stove in living room.
She is over the moon with the improvement in comfort and the reduced electricity bills; and does not spend so much time collecting drift wood.

I do have a reservation about the housing of the heat pumps in such retrofitting: To save space inside the properties, these dinky heatpumps are housed in something little better than a bin store in the garden. I have a big Austrian freezer in a shed in my garden; it too is well over 30 years old and still going strong BUT it is covered in rust.

I have yet to evaluate what the NOISE and START UP effects of a big compressor would be in reality. Any one know where I can go and see (say) a 2KW/8KW pump in action reasonably close to London. I would like to be able to put one in its own brick built small room off the hall in my bungalow but I don't want users of the bedrooms/living room complaining about the noise.
The starting current for a Worcester Bosch one (for example) is given as 70 amps. Probably enough to flicker the lights and upset broadband connection; so not wanting to upset my distant neighbours, I asked the South East's electricity supplier "EDF", what they thought. The cheeky devils wrote back saying "send us 215 GBP and we will let you know".
I reckon I could hire my own big compressor and do some experiments at that price.

Most of the properties I work on have mains gas
Is there any good reason they should use anything else for space heating, for the next 20 years or so.
this will leave lots of money in limited developement/improvement budgets for reduction in energy use rather
than fancy 'green' ? energy production.

Jim