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Q&As
Can I install my plant room separate to the house?
I am building a 5 bed house in Lancashire. My local council have higher than standard eco guidelines. Most people go for PV but I don’t really want it so opted for Air or Ground source heating. I can go either way.
My issue is the size of the plant needed for the Air/Ground source equipment.
I don’t think I have allowed enough room in the house to accommodate it but I have plenty of room in the detached garage.
The garage is around 12m away from the main house across a drive.
Is it feasible to run that far with underfloor heating pipes and hot water?
One Answer
Noting that PV and heat pumps aren’t mutually exclusive – they do very different jobs – that said, I’m glad you have not fallen into the trap of installing both and then claiming to be carbon neutral as there is a mismatch between supply and demand – the production of electricity by PV during heating season is very low so a heat pump relied on grid electricity. I regularly see very long heat mains when inspecting RHI installations – and the heat losses through well insulated (eg Duo) pipework is minimal and over 12m should not materially impact the performance of the system.