Derby Plumbing Solutions Services
Plumbing & Heating Services Derbyshire
Heat Pump
A heat pump is a device that transfers heat energy from a source of heat to what is called a "heat sink". Heat pumps move thermal energy by absorbing heat from a cold space and releasing it to a warmer one.
A heat pump uses a small amount of external power to accomplish the work of transferring energy from the heat source to the heat sink.
While air conditioners and freezers are familiar examples of heat pumps, the term "heat pump" is more general and applies to many HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) devices used for space heating or space cooling.
Types of Pumps
Air source heat pump:
- Air source heat pump (extracts heat from outside air)
- Air–air heat pump (transfers heat to inside air)
- Air–water heat pump (transfers heat to a heating circuit and a tank of domestic hot water)
Air-air heat pumps, are relatively easy and inexpensive to install that extract heat from outside air and transfer this heat to inside air, are the most common type of heat pumps and the cheapest. These are similar to air- conditioners operating in reverse.
Air-water heat pumps are otherwise similar to air-air heat pumps, but they transfer the extracted heat into a water heating circuit, floor- heating being the most efficient, and they can also transfer heat into a domestic hot water tank for use in showers and hot water taps of the building. Ground-water heat pumps are more efficient than air-water heat pumps, and therefore they are often the better choice for providing heat for the floor heating and domestic hot water systems.
However, they suffer limitations due to their use of the outside air as a heat source. The higher temperature differential during periods of extreme cold leads to declining efficiency.
Ground-source heat pump
- Ground source heat pump (extracts heat from the ground or similar sources)
- Ground–air heat pump (transfers heat to inside air)
- Soil–air heat pump (soil as a source of heat)
- Rock–air heat pump (rock as a source of heat)
- Water–air heat pump (body of water as a source of heat, can ground water,lake or rivers
- Ground–water heat pump (transfers heat to a heating circuit and a tank of domestic hot water)
- Soil–water heat pump (ground as a source of heat)
- Rock–water heat pump (rock as a source of heat)
- Water–water heat pump (body of water as a source of heat)
Ground-source heat pumps are also known as geothermal heat pumps, typically have higher efficiencies than air-source heat pumps. This is because they draw heat from the ground Ground water which is at a relatively constant temperature all year round below a depth of about 30 feet (9 m. They carry the heat exchange fluid (water with a little antifreeze).
GREY water recycling
Water used in homes has long been thought of in terms of clean drinking water (known as potable water) (flow in blue pipe) coming into the house from the mains. However, the wastewater from baths, showers, washing machines, dishwashers and sinks fits somewhere in-between and this is referred to as greywater, which typically makes up between 40-70% of a household’s waste water.
Roughly a third of the water used in households is used in toilets, which comes into contact with human waste and is known as blackwater. Greywater is much easier to treat and recycle when compared with blackwater because there is no faecal matter that is a haven for harmful bacteria and disease causing pathogens.
If recycled properly, greywater can save approximately 20 to 60 litres of potable water per person per day in domestic households.
If your house is metered, recycling greywater can significantly reduce the volume of water you use thereby saving you money on your water bills.
Solar heat & hot water
Solar water heating (known as solar thermal) systems capture the free heat from the sun and use it to heat up water for use in the home. It is a simple process panels on your roof absorb heat from the sun – they are known as the collector.
The ideal situation for solar panels is facing due south, although they are effective facing anywhere between south east and south west. As a rule of thumb you need between 1 and 2 m2 of collector (solar panels) per person living in the house. Shade on the panels at any time of day will reduce the performance.
Solar panels are compatible with most existing hot water systems. Solar hot water with can be used with combi boilers . it is more difficult, but still possible. If you have a combi boiler it is important to check with the manufacturer that it will accept pre-heated water.
If your present system is gravity fed, it will need a control (such as a valve and pump) for the hot water circuit so the panels can work effectively in winter when the boiler is running for central heating.
Solar thermal panels should provide most of your hot water from. The Energy Saving Trust field trials found that solar thermal panels will provide about 60 per cent of a household's hot water needs, if well-installed and properly used.
Allowing hot water temperature to vary. If you do not need high temperatures all the time, you will have less need for back-up heating. You will also reduce heat loss. However, it is important to make sure your cylinder reaches more than 60 degrees centigrade at least once a day to aviod a risk of legionella.
Wet Rooms
A bathroom is a room in the home for personal hygiene purposes, generally containing a basin and either a bathtub, a shower, or both. It may also contain a toilet and sometime bigot.
Wet rooms is a new form of a bathroom in which its water tight from the floor and some part of the bathroom walls to avoid water damaging the floor and walls. Its also beneficial for the people with special needs as it is design according to their needs.
Water leak detection
Water pipes gets damage or corrode in time and the pipe burst, as a result higher bills due to large amount of water is wasted.
We are specialised in water leak detection. We not only do the detection but also repair or replace the damage section of the pipe work.
We use MDPE pipe commonly known as Blue water pipe for this purpose.
MDPE (Medium Density Polyethylene) pipe is used for transporting water above and below ground for underground piping.
Underfloor heating
With a water-based underfloor heating system, a series of pipes connected to a boiler via a manifold, it circulates warm water throughout the floor to heat the space. As the heat emitted from an underfloor system is more evenly distributed than a single radiator, the system can use water at a lower temperature.
Legionella Bacteria
Legionella disease is a deadly as its survive in a human body. Young kids and people above age 45 are at a high risk.
The genus Legionella is a pathogenic group of Gram-negative bacteria that includes the species L. pneumophila, causing legionellosis including a pneumonia-type illness called Legionnaires' disease and a mild flu-like illness called Pontiac fever.
Although there are at least 54 species of legionellae, Legionella Pneumophila is by far the most important human pathogen.
Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria. You usually get it by breathing in mist from water that contains the bacteria. The mist may come from hot tubs, showers, or air-conditioning units for large buildings. The bacteria does not spread from person to person.
The bacteria multiply where temperatures are between 20-45°C and nutrients are available. The bacteria are dormant below 20°C and do not survive above 60°C.
It is born in static water in your house, in water storage tank ,dead legs in the pipe work, etc.
To keep the water clean Disinfectants are used for system disinfection. Sodium hypochlorite is a chemical we use to clean the pipe works.
It is important to normally flush the system with water once a week in a property if the property is not used or left empty.
If the property is left vacant and water system is not used for a longer period it needs to be Disinfected to avoid legionella bacteria.
Customer Feedback
What our happy customers have said:
We are extremely happy with the work you have done and quite prepared to give a recommendation should you ever require one.
- Alan Draycott
