Todridge Farm

Ground Source Review: Todridge Farm

Charlie Shirley-Beavan lives on Todridge Farm; a traditional farmhouse complete with four cottages set in meadows and woodland on the outskirts of Newcastle. With six bedrooms, the large farmhouse has a high demand for heating and hot water, but was heated by an old, inefficient oil boiler.

Looking to upgrade his heating system, Charlie was referred onto Calibrate Energy by another of their satisfied clients. Calibrate Energy is a Kensa Partner Installer that provides heat pump systems designed to deliver maximum energy and cost savings.

Shane McDonald, Managing Director at Calibrate Energy said:

Our expertise lies in harnessing the natural energy resources surrounding a building by cleverly integrating ground source heat pump systems with other renewable technologies.

At Todridge Farm, Calibrate Energy specified four of 21kW Kensa Hybrid Heat Pumps to provide heating and hot water for the farmhouse and four cottages. The ground source heat pumps were linked together in a cascaded system, which enabled the high heat demand to be efficiently met. Calibrate Energy also suggested installing a field-mounted Solar PV system to generate the electricity needed to power the ground source heat pumps. This made it a very cost-effective solution and 100% of the property’s energy needs are now supplied by renewable technologies.

Calibrate Energy used a sophisticated online control system which ties electricity generation with usage, maximising income and savings. The 30kW photovoltaic cell system has sun-tracking technology to increase output and, where possible, the ground source heat pump only operates when the PV is producing energy.

Pipework for the ground source heat pump was installed in a nearby marsh which was later flooded to exploit heat recovery, efficiency and aesthetics. Being able to extract heat energy from the flooded marshland makes this system particularly efficient, as water is an excellent conductor and has a higher heat transfer rate than the ground.

Altogether the farmhouse and cottages had five separate radiator systems from five different eras, which presented a challenge during installation. Calibrate integrated Kensa’s heat pump technology with these existing systems using a bespoke controls system.

Charlie received funding from the Renewables Finance Loan and the Non Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI: this scheme has now closed – please visit this page to explore other funding). As the property has multiple outbuildings, it is eligible for the tariff which enables the customer to receive 20 years’ worth of quarterly payments from the Government based on the buildings’ metered heat usage.

Calibrate Energy estimates that the ground source heat pump system will save the customer £23,744 pa with an additional £7,583 pa from the field-mounted Solar PV. The Renewables Finance Loan will be paid off in seven years and for the remaining 13 years the inflation adjusted earnings and savings for both technologies will total £438,423.

Charlie said:

I’m chuffed to bits! It’s a hassle-free solution that provides a substantial income. I have found the process to be logical and Calibrate a pleasure to deal with – I am happy to recommend them.

Ground Source Review - Todridge Farm - Kensa Hybrid Heat Pumps

Ground Source Review - Todridge Farm - Pipework

Ground Source Review Todridge Farm - Solar PV System