Ground Source Heat Pumps

Read an interesting article about Ground Source heat pumps the other day which got me thinking....

The basic premise of a ground source heat pump is that the below surface temperature in the earth is fairly constant, and by tapping into this you can use the ambient heat to heat domestic water for your home heating system (or conversly, use it as a cooler in the summer months). I won't go into the mechanics of it all, but at least in terms of carbon footprint it could be a partial solution for a lot of homes.

I guess people are put off the concept by the thought of large tranches of their gardens being dug up, which is fair enough - although one could argue that green stuff grows back pretty quickly - probably one for consideration if you were about to undergo a bit of serious landscaping.

Anyway, if we take this thought process laterally, then there are other areas where we are maybe missing a trick. As summer approaches we are closing in onto the major music festival season too. In places where there are effectively permanent showgrounds or even fields that need complete attention after each festival event, why don't the organisers think about burying the pipework for ground source heating. All the other componenture can be brought in as mobile equipment, hook it up, flush the pipework and you have on-site eco friendly warm water for all manner of uses on site.

Same logic could apply to camp sites or caravan parks. bury the pipework in the off season, and you have ready made eco-heating ahead of the next season.

If more organisers started to think laterally and go the extra mile, then it would make a difference to UK reaching it's carbon targets in 2016.

Now, I'm off into London this afternoon, so maybe transport is the next area for a bit of rumination.....