Underfloor Heating
In simple terms, if a building meets the levels of insulation required by Part L of the current Building Regulations, a Nu-Heat underfloor heating system can heat it.

At its simplest, the more insulation in a building, the lower its heating bills and the colder the climate, the more important a high standard of insulation becomes. It is easiest to achieve a high standard of insulation during building or major renovation work.

Because the warmth passes into the room from the floor, it is important to prevent downward heat losses into the ground or the floor below. In a new building that meets the regulations, there will always be an adequate level of floor insulation, but if a building is being refurbished it is important to increase the levels of insulation to at least current Building Regulation standard.

Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are regularly specified as heat sources in both new-build and renovation projects. All new builds must meet Part L of the Building Regulations making them ideal for heat pump installations. Insulation levels in older properties should be improved broadly in line with these regulations and a high heat output floor construction such as Nu-Heat’s Clippaplate or a floating floor option with aluminium heat spreader plates such as DPF14 should be specified. Nu-Heat will advise on the option that will provide the best possible performance for your property.

Ground source heat pumps require a ground area approximately 2.5 times the floor area to be heated to accommodate the ground loops. Alternatively, one or more boreholes can be drilled to take the loops.

Air source heat pumps are often a practical alternative to ground source models as they require no digging or drilling and fewer plumbing connections are used during installation, making them cost effective to install.

Exhaust air heat pumps extract the latent energy from the internal air of a property and use the recovered heat to recharge both the underfloor heating and domestic hot water. In doing so they also provide a means of controlling ventilation within the dwelling. The exhaust air unit is best suited to apartments and smaller houses with low heat loss and will often provide an excellent solution for housebuilders wanting to meet the requirements of The Code for Sustainable Homes.

Solar
Most households can generate a good proportion of their domestic hot water needs using Nu-Heat’s modern, maintenance free, well engineered solar energy system. This figure can be as high as 100% in the summer, but falls during the cooler months giving an average annual provision of up to 60%.

Where should collectors be sited?
Any roof with a 0˚(flat) to 60˚ slope and facing between southeast and southwest is suitable for solar collectors. The minimum angle for mounting the panels is 22˚ with the optimum angle between 30˚ and 45˚. Additional collectors can be fitted to compensate if the orientation is less suitable but north-facing roofs should be avoided.

How many solar collectors are needed?
Nu-Heat individually sizes each solar system, recommending the optimum number of collectors required. The number will vary depending on hot water demand, orientation and angle of the panels and the amount of overshadowing present from trees and buildings.