Systemlink

lfcjfc

Currently researching heating/DHW systems for a new build and came across a website for these guys (www.systemlink.ie). The site is vey informative but the various calculators on there gave me some serious food for thought.

Firsty, their budget calculator (which they note is only approximate) gives me a quote of about €32k inc vat for the sort of system I had in mind - solar panels for DHW, UFH on ground and first floor fired by condensing oil boiler. This was for a 260sqm house and included their Systemlink zoned system. Now, my knowledge in this area is limited to what I've picked up here and on similar sites but this seems a lot more that I expected. Would anybody more knowledgeable folks out there know if this sort of figure is in the right ball-park?

Secondly, they have what appears to be a useful cost comparison calculator on the site that compares the running costs associated with different heat systems - oil boiler vs gas boiler vs ground pump vs air pump. I ran a comparison for my house and found a saving of €2k per year for geothermal pump vs oil (didnt specify condensing or not). Given that the same site specifies a cost of about €14k more for the geo system above condensing oil boiler, this is payback period of about 7yrs - does this sound plausible?

Has anybody had any experience with these guys? As I say the site looks very professional and informative but I hadnt come across any mention of them before.

Wobs

Hi,

If you are going with UFH you would be crazy to run it with an oil boiler, it will cost you a fortune. A geothermal system will do your DHW and Heating and the whole system should be less than 32K for your size of house.

lfcjfc

Hi Wobs,

Believe me this is decision that has consumed more of my time than other decision related to the build since we received planning permission. I have found sites like this and others to be a mine full of information - sometimes too much:) As yet, I remain unconvinced of the cost benefit in running a geothermal system - I have spoken to people that talk about running costs of €700 per year and I have talked to others that think its 2-3 times that. The reality is, I have not been able to see reliable running cost information that will convince me that Geo will pay for itself.
Having said that, if I can instal a Geo system to heat and provide DHW for my house for €32k you mentioned then its worth another look - can you recommend somebody? As I said above, the cost of geo system for my house was coming out at an additional €14k at €46k using the Systemlink calculators. I think I need to get some systems priced up properly!

Wobs

Hi,

We went with Climate Control, they do the Heliotherm system. Our house is about the same size as your's will be and our running costs are approx €600 for the year. This is for all heating and hot water. The COP is the highest and they dont have a heating element or emmersion to boost the water which can hike up running costs!

lfcjfc

Thanks Wobs - will take a look

marielle

Hi Wobs, I am curious about your last statement. I am building and am going with UFH throughout but am still wondering what kind of heatpump to go for, either Ground or Air Source. I was under the impression though that you always had to have immersion boosters for your hot water as the water for the UFH would never be hot enough for your hot water needs. Is that not true then?

Wobs

Hi Marielle,

The reason you need boosters for your domestic hot water needs is to kill bacteria. Warm or hot water sitting in a tank is breeding ground for bacteria so these tanks need to heated to above 65 degrees to kill the bacteria.

The heliotherm system is a fresh hot water system. The water in the tank is heated to below 50 degrees, but this water doesnt come into your house. There is a heat plate exchnager on the side of the tank and a feed of fresh water from your well or the mains and it takes the heat from the plate exchanger and you get fresh hot water.

yop

We also have a heliotherm geo system, yes there are people who are paying funny money for running their geo or air sourced pumps but that is down to the incompetent installers, of which are too common, putting these in.

For all electric including ligts, heating, hot water we are currently based on a 15 week period paying 16 euro per week.

I did the readings about 8 weeks ago.

ircoha

Yop & Wobs,
Just looking at the web site.

In situations where a heatpump is required for domestic hot water only, Heliotherm have developed a heatpump for this purpose. Using either a small ground loop or air as an energy source, this heatpump will prepare hot water for a family of up to five people. The unit has an inbuilt 280 litre cylinder

I see from your posts that it is an indirect system with a heat exchanger which eliminates the need for a heating booster system as discussed by Marielle.

In otherwords they seem to be instant hot water heaters so wondering what the spec is on the exchanger

What kind of flow rates do you get for showers?

How do they compare with the flow rate from electric showers which require between 10 and 12kw of 'heat exchanger' capacity?

Thanks

Wobs

Hi irocha,

The system I have can produce 18 litres of hot water a minute.

I also remember reading something about a 60kw transfer capacity!

muffler

Wobs wrote:

Hi irocha,

The system I have can produce 18 litres of hot water a minute.

I also remember reading something about a 60kw transfer capacity!

Sure thats right? - 18 litres = 4 gallons approx.

How hot is hot?

yop

You set the temp on the heat pump yourself, ours is currently 42 deg c for domestic water.

On the flow rates tbh I am lost, we have a pressure pump so the whole house has "hotel" showers so to speak. Never had an issue with the water temp *touch wood*

ircoha

Wobs wrote:

Hi irocha,

The system I have can produce 18 litres of hot water a minute.

I also remember reading something about a 60kw transfer capacity!

Thanks: that some feat!!

Also thanks to Muffler and YOP.

Will explore with the company and revert back here

ircoha

As promised I contacted Climate Control in Tuam re the above.
Spoke to Brian down there and this is what he emailed me back.

We have two different size heat exchangers available,
one 60kw, the other 75kw.
The 60kw can keep a constant temperature
on a flow rate of 21 liters per minute while the 75kw can maintain a
constant temp in 30 liters a minute.

The heat pump heats the water to a max of 50deg C.

He tells me that the tank heated by the heat pump is 500 litres and works best with a cold water header tank and a 2.5bar pump.

Extracting hot water from this system using the rising main, as discussed elsewhere on this forum is not a good idea and is in breach of most local authority regs.

He can be contacted on http://www.climatecontrol.ie/index.php?p=contactus

eoingaillimh

Hi Wobs / yop,

I live in an 250m2 dormer built in 2004, with underfloor heating throughout. We have an oil boiler but it is becoming too expensive now to run the underfloor heating on a regular basis with oil.

I've been looking into changing over to geothermal and specifically the Heliotherm system. I'd like to find out how you have found the system since 2007.

Have the heat pump and the 500 litre DHW cylinder proven reliable?

What are your electricity bills looking like lately?

Would you recommend the system overall?

Thanks

muffler

Dear God. The thread is over 5 years old and we dont really appreciate people digging these things up after that length of time. Use the PM facility or start a new thread.

Locked.