NEWSLETTER

Often customers are faced with a

conundrum. They don’t know

whether to stick with their old

ineffi cient oil powered boiler or,

replace it with renewable heat

pump technology.

Those with a boiler over 10 years old will

know that they face expensive repair bills

which is why they should always consider

replacing this with new more effi cient

technology.

The cost of an air source heat pump will vary

based upon the size of unit required and its

functionality. A typical 5kW domestic system,

suitable for a well insulated detached property,

costs in the range of £4,000 to £5,000 installed

(excluding VAT).

However, you may be eligible for a grant from

your Local Authority for installing air source heat

pump technology into your home/business.

To encourage the use of this technology,

the Government award grants through its

Microgeneration Certifi cate Scheme (MCS).

In terms of running costs, you know that air

source heat pumps generate 3 times the units of

heat for electricity used to power them. If you

translate this into monetary savings, it becomes

increasingly clear that they can save you money

on your heating bills.

It has been a busy few months in

the Renewable Heating World and

in this edition of the newsletter,

we’ve featured a number of recent

projects as well as (hopefully)

answer a number of questions that

you have asked us.

Issues and questions arising this quarter

include:

“How much am I going to save on myrunning costs by changing to a renewableair source heat pump?”

“How proven is this technology?”

“My oil system is costing far too much,is this likely to continue rising?”

ACS Renewable Solutions Ltd

Also, don’t forget that every year

the cost of conventional fuel rises,

the more cost effi cient an air source

heat pump becomes.

Ask ACS Renewable Solutions if you require

a specifi c calculation of how much money

you can save annually on your heating bills.

SUMMER 2010 ISSUE

CUSTOMER CASE STUDIES

FOR THE ACS RENEWABLE COMMUNITY

ACS Renewable Solutions Ltd Concept Park Watling Street Towcester Northamptonshire NN12 7YDT: 0800 988 4870 F: 01327 810 515 W: www.acsrenewables.co.uk E: enquiries@acsrenewables.co.uk

Mr & Mrs Burrows of Oxfordshire, were initially

reluctant to dispense with their two-year-

old condensing oil boiler. However with the

continuing rise in oil prices and the quantity of oil

they were using to get through a normal Winter,

they contacted us in Autumn 2009.

Following a survey, our recommendations were

to replace the oil-boiler with an air source heat

pump.

Through their own the research the customer

knew about the Low Carbon Building grant of

£900 and the Renewable Heating Incentive, a

payments scheme similar to the solar feed in tariff

which began in April 2010.

Taking these additional incentives into account

and realisation of the money they would save,

they made the decision to

switch from the oil-boiler to

an air source heat pump.

ACS Renewable installed a

Mitsubishi Ecodan 8.5 kW system.

Following our recommendations, they chose a

Mitsubishi Ecodan 8.5 kW system and it was also

decided to replace the hot water cylinder housed

in the airing cupboard for a more effi cient one.

A total of nine radiators were already installed

into various rooms throughout the house. These

were only a few years old and all quite large

in size ensuring their effi ciency and deemed

worthwhile to keep them.

We installed the new system in two days

disposing of the old boiler and oil tank and post

installation the customer has since reported

making a signifi cant saving in their fi rst Winter

quarter from November to January 2010.

Previously oil was costing the Burrows £350 per

Please see over...

HOW MUCH AM I GOING TO SAVE?

y yp y

RUNNING COSTSOF VARIOUS HEATING SYSTEMS

The graph opposite shows

that the typical running

costs for air source heat

pumps are far lower than

gas, oil, LPG or direct

electric powered boilers.

g g y

£0.000

£0.010

£0.020

£0.030

£0.040

£0.050

£0.060

£0.070

£0.080

£0.090

Heat Pumpwith COP

of 3.6

Heat Pumpwith COP

of 3.0

Gas Boilerwith efficiency

of 0.93

Oil Boilerwith efficiency

of 0.86

LPG Boilerwith efficiency

of 0.91

Direct Electricwith efficiency

of 0.99

£/U

nit

THE RISE OF OIL PRICESIf you are reliant on oil to power your heating

you will be a keen follower of the fl uctuations in

the price of oil and how it will impact on your

pocket.

Nobody can give you an accurate prediction of

what the oil market will do next but, we can

offer you a simple view of what impacts on the

market for oil and therefore you can make your

own valued judgement on where the price of

oil could go in the next two years.

Key factors that have impacted on the price of

crude oil in the last two years include:

Economic Pressures

A combination of global recession and rising

International debt levels have kept the price of oil

low since the peak of over $147 per barrel in June

2008. However, the greater the pace of economic

recovery, the greater the likelihood that the price of

oil will increase.

Demand

It is obvious that the demand from faster-growing

economies of South East Asia have led to a price

increase in oil. Some experts believe the consumption

of easily extractable crude oil has peaked which would

also lead to an increase the price of oil as production

costs then rise.

Natural events and confl icts

Natural Disasters and Confl icts in oil producing areas

also exert pressures on the price of oil.

The US Dollar

As oil prices are set in dollars, the higher the price of

the dollar against the pound, the more expensive the

cost of oil. This is what is happening at the moment

with the dollar starting to rise against pound sterling.

Ultimately we believe there is enough evidence

to suggest that oil prices will rise between

now and 2012 which undoubtedly means that

people who rely upon oil to heat their homes

will see their bills rise also.

If you think the time is now right to move

away from oil powered heating to save you

money, call us today and we can help you start

to quantify what you could save using cleaner,

more cost effective renewable energy to heat

your home.

ACS Renewable Solutions Ltd Concept Park Watling Street Towcester Northamptonshire NN12 7YDT: 0800 988 4870 F: 01327 810 515 W: www.acsrenewables.co.uk E: enquiries@acsrenewables.co.uk

SUMMER 2010 ISSUE

NEWSLETTER

HOW PROVENIS THIS TECHNOLOGY?A question we are asked all of the time!

The answer is that air source heat pump

technology is now common across Europe,

where many countries have been installing the

technology into their homes for a longer time

and in far greater numbers than the UK.

What really triggered interest in air source heat

pumps was the energy crisis in the 1970’s,

when the colder climates of continental Europe

demanded alternative sources of domestic heating.

Nowadays, the technology has been refi ned and

tested to a point that they are now commonplace

across homes in France, Germany and Sweden

as the table opposite indicates.

Estimated air source heat pump installations 2006-2008

2006 2007 2008

Sweden 70,856 57,000 56,500

Germany 40,000 45,000 56,000

France 53,000 70,000 150,000

With a track record for enhanced effi ciency,

colder Winters and a rise in domestic fossil

fuel prices, it is no surprise there is such a massive

increase in demand for air source heat pumps

now across the UK.

Did you know?

There are heat pumps installed inside the

Arctic Circle.

ASK AL...If you have a question for Alan, please call today 0800 988 4870or alternatively, email sales@acsrenewables.co.uk

TIME FOR A CHANGE

Continued from front...

winter quarter.

In their fi rst quarter using the air

source heat pump the cost of

heating and hot water had fallen

to approximately £185, a saving of

£165 in it’s just three months.

In addition to the savings, Mr & Mrs Burrows enjoy

very effi cient heating and hot water throughout

the year.

With last Winter’s common delays in oil

deliveries no longer an issue, and the prospect

of more income to come from the Renewable

Heating Incentives - due to start in April 2011 -

the change from oil-boiler to air source heating is

increasingly looking like a wise decision.

Mr James’ heating system had served him well

for more than 20 years; however oil and fumes

began leaking from the system. With spare parts

no longer available he decided it was time for a

change.

His East Sussex home is not on the gas grid and

built in a traditional cavity block and brick with

cavity wall insulation.

With ample loft insulation

and all the windows double-

glazed, it was a relatively

simple choice for Mr James -

a Mitsubishi Electric Ecodan

system, which produces

all his hot water and central heating needs,

whilst avoiding retrofi t work that would disrupt

decoration, furnishings, carpets and fl oorboards.

Most of the radiators installed in his home were

deemed to be large enough to cope with the

lower water temperature required by air source

heat pumps, making sure the house is warm

enough and costing less to run. An air to water

heat pump stores the hot water using a typical

copper cylinder.

To supply all of the hot water for Mr James’ home

including two-bathroom towel rails, a 210-litre

twin coil Cylinder was installed with the system

connected using a 24-hour 7-day programmer,

and room stat controlling the towel rails.

Mr James and his family now enjoy constant

heating and hot water. In one smooth operation

they managed to get rid of his old oil-boiler, the

storage tank and connecting pipes, whilst making

savings from reduced energy costs.