Green heat meets high tech meets the hallowed cloisters of Manchester Cathedral.

Reverend Christina ten Wolde, NSM cleric-in-charge of St Peter's Aberdyfi is seen blessing a robot drill rig and its crew as it prepares to leave the wilds of Snowdonia for ultra urban Manchester. This specially designed radial rig is almost ballet-like in its flexibility and lightness of footprint and therefore able to bring all the benefits of ground source heat to the most inaccessible of places - that could mean out in the wilds or in the middle of the concrete jungle.

Its strength equals that of the big boys and it will drill the 1600m of heat extraction that will enable the ground source heat system that is part of the major revamp of Manchester Cathedral. Eco Friendly Installations is also concerned with the sustainabilty of its village - the drill crews, plumber, electrician, heat and geology assessor, system designer and admin staff who take these niche projects from drilling to complete fitting out of heat systems are all highly trained and MCS accredited local youngsters in an area where there are few full-time jobs.

"To thrive any village needs resident young families and I have been privileged to see most of the staff here grow up. I'm baptising another of their babies next month and we've had some lovely weddings. We had to sell our church hall some years ago to pay for work on the church roof but Eco Friendly has a beautiful conference room with state of the art loo and kitchen facilities and we hold our Messy Church, ecumenical bible study and prayer groups here in the evenings and at weekends. It's always lovely and warm!"

How Ground Source heating works

Ground Source Heat Pumps work by utilising the solar energy trapped in the earth as well as residual geothermal energy left over from when the planet was formed. In order to collect this heat, bores are drilled into the ground and pipes (or loops) inserted. These loops are then filled with water which is heated by the thermal energy. In Britain, the average temperature of the ground is around 8°C. Once the water has been heated to this temperature it is then pumped back to the Heat Pump where it is compressed - increasing the temperature so that it may be used for domestic hot water and heating.

This radial method utilises the ground beneath existing properties making it a truly unique system. Since the bores are drilled at an angle, we are able to bore beneath properties or other existing obstacles without causing any damage to foundations which may exist.

For your information....

Heat Pumps are only able to produce a maximum of 45°c for central heating which is why underfloor heating is ideally suited to this type of system as it runs on much lower temperatures than traditional systems.

Traditional radiators must be oversized in order to work with renewable systems

Underfloor heating works best with ground source as it runs on a lower temperature.

Traditional radiators may also be used but they must be oversized in order to gain the same heat output whilst running at a lower temp. Another effective solution is to use convection heaters, these work with the lower temperatures to achieve the same heat distribution as a more traditional radiator system and can be controlled at the point of use much the same as traditional radiators.

What sort of heating system can be used with Ground Source Heat Pumps?

• Underfloor Heating
• Traditional Radiators
• Convection Heaters

For more information on this and other heating methods for your church or listed building visit www.ecofriendlyinstallations.com