Technology

Times Renewables

Renewable energy technologies, such as Heat Pumps and Solar systems, offer homeowners the opportunity to generate their own electricity, reduce their energy costs, and lessen their environmental footprint. These technologies have been advancing rapidly, making them more efficient and cost-effective.

How they work

Air Source Heat Pumps

Air to Water Heat Pumps (ASHP)

Air-to-water heat pumps take heat from the outside air and feed it into your wet central heating system (similar to your existing gas central heating). As the heat produced is cooler than that from a conventional furnace or boiler, you may need to install larger radiators or underfloor heating in your home to make the most of it.

Air-to-water heat pumps may be best suited to new-build properties or those that are energy efficient. As well as heating the property they also heat the water for domestic use eg showers, hot water taps.

Air To Air Heat Pumps

Air-to-air heat pumps take heat from the outside air and feed it into your home through fans. This type of system can be used for heating but can’t produce hot water.

Ground Source Heat Pumps

A ground-source heat pump system harnesses natural heat from underground by pumping liquid through it in pipes. The heat pump then increases the temperature and the heat is used to provide heating or hot water.

It performs the same role as a furnace or boiler in a central heating system but uses ambient heat from the ground rather than burning fuel to generate heat.

Ground-source heat pump systems are made up of a ground loop (a network of water pipes buried underground; the larger your home and heating needs, the larger the loop) and a heat pump at ground level.
A mixture of water and anti-freeze is pumped around the ground loop and absorbs the naturally occurring heat stored in the ground. The water mixture is compressed and goes through a heat exchanger, which extracts the heat and transfers it to the heat pump. The heat is then transferred to your home heating system.

This heat can then be used in radiators, for hot water, or an underfloor heating system.

Hybrid Heat Pumps

A hybrid heat pump system, also called a dual energy system, integrates a heat pump (air source or ground source) with your traditional gas furnace or boiler heating system – and potentially in the future, even a hydrogen powered boiler.

A hybrid heating system monitors the temperature outside and automatically chooses the most energy efficient option to keep your home comfortably warm and your water piping hot.

You should know that all heat pumps are powered by electricity so a grid connection is still required. However, as electricity can be generated from renewable sources such as wind or solar, which is a much cleaner and greener alternative to fossil fuels.

Solar panels and battery storage are a great way to take advantage of all the free energy from the sun and lower rate tariffs and the energy from solar can be used to power the heat pump- which means lower running costs!

Our Times Renewables team has the expertise to install all these new technologies and help make your home and the planet greener and cleaner while at the same time reducing your bills!

Speak to us about your project or Want to see a live working heat pump? We can arrange an onsite visit at a showroom or even at one of our customer’s properties!

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How they work

Solar PV

Solar panels (solar photovoltaic cells) are an increasingly common site throughout the UK and can often be seen on the south-facing roofs of houses and commercial buildings.

They work by converting the sun’s energy into usable electricity which you can use to provide ‘free’ electricity to power your home, sell back to the National Grid using a ‘feed-in’ tariff, or even store in a solar battery to use later.

They are a fantastic complement to heat pumps as the electricity generated by the panels can be used to power the heat pump. This means that for a large part of the year the heating and the domestic hot water can be powered for free by the sun’s energy.

At Times Group we have the knowledge, skills and experience to coordinate and manage simultaneous heat pump and solar installs. Meaning you get personal, attentive and long-term attention

With rising energy prices and cost of living increases now could be an ideal time to get in touch with us and start your journey to a cleaner and greener home.

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the older brother of Solar PV

Solar Thermal

Solar Thermal Collectors are the original solar technology and are still a great way of harnessing the power of the sun to heat your property and slash your energy bills.

There are two main types of solar thermal panels:

Flat-plate collectors

These devices look very much like solar PV panels. They are composed of a dark absorbing surface, a transparent cover, a heat insulating backing and, most importantly, a fluid that transports heat from the absorber to a water tank.

The absorber can be made of different materials, namely polymers, copper, aluminium or steel. Copper is the most expensive, but it’s also a better, more durable conductor. Polymer collectors are indicated for colder climates since materials such as silicon are much more freeze-tolerant than metal.

Evacuated (or vacuum) tube collectors

Unlike solar panels, these collectors are made up of several glass tubes through which the transfer fluid flows.

These systems are more efficient than flat-plate panels, especially in cold climates, but lose efficiency in warm weather due to the risk of overheating. That is because vacuum tubes avoid heat loss, while flat panels tend to lose some heat.

The evacuated tube structure, with gaps between the tubes, allows snow to fall down and thus minimises its impact on efficiency since the lack of radiated heat makes it impossible for the snow to melt.

Solar Thermal panels can be used in conjunction with Solar PV as well as heat pumps. You can use the collectors to heat the water in your hot water cylinder and provide up to 90% of your domestic hot water usage during the summer months.

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Here’s a great video explaining how they work

graph showing typical heat pump installation cost

HOW IT WORKS

Insulation

Improving the insulation of your property is one of the best ways of improving its energy efficiency and, in some cases, one of the least expensive.

Here’s a link to The Energy Saving Trust’s section on insulation and draft proofing.

If you are considering a low temperature heating system whether it’s a traditional gas boiler or a heat pump the fabric and ventilation heat loss of the property must be reduced so you can optimise the efficiency and reduce your running costs.

Here are a few common examples of major areas of heat loss in average houses:

Poor quality windows eg single glazed, damaged or leaky windows
Large open fireplaces with open flue or chimneys
Less than 300mm of loft insulation- remember if the loft insulation is compressed between floor joists or under boarding this is often only 100mm!
Solid brick walls
Uninsulated cavity walls

When our experts visit your property they will assess the fabric and ventilation of your property and advise you on how to improve this. We have a dedicated team of insulation specialists who are accredited to install the following measures:

Loft insulation
Cavity Wall Insulation
External Wall Insulation
Internal Wall Insulation
Underfloor Insulation
Room in Roof Insulation

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