The ground source heat pump system installed at Tankersley Golf Club was designed to use the thermal energy stored in the earth below the course fairways to provide heating and hot water to the Club House all year round. To achieve this, we used a Vaillant 46kW geoTHERM ground source heat pump.
The heat pump, with its 46kW output, is designed to supply space heating via a radiator system to the 730 square-metre Club House, which is spread over three floors including the caretaker’s accommodation. The heat pump also supplies a 500 litre hot water cylinder which provides for all the Club House facilities.
The source for all this energy is the practice fairway at the club, underneath which lies nearly 2km of horizontal ground loop. These loops transfer heat from the ground to the Club House to be used for heating and hot water.

Given it was imperative that the fairway was kept in as pristine as condition as possible, Pure Renewables utilised a ‘slit-trenching’ method to keep disruption to a minimum.
The system was configured on set up to be a minimum of 280 per cent efficient, and therefore it only consumes 37,500 kW of electrical energy in to generate 105,000 kW hours needed each year.
The Vaillant geoTHERM is a highly efficient ground source heat pump, which uses energy stored in the ground to provide heating and hot water from domestic and commercial applications with a range of sizes from 6kW – 46kW.
Approximately 12 months after the installation was completed, we reviewed the system and were pleased to report it was exceeding expectations in every area.

The practice fairway is green again and we’ve been told that visitors to the club are amazed when told of the work that went on and how it looked a year ago.
The installation has been successfully registered with the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme. Payments for the renewably generated heat are being received every quarter are going towards paying off the cost of the system as intended.
The heat pump installation included a heat meter and electricity meter, meaning that assessing the efficiency of the system is very straight forward. From data submitted by the system owner, we can see that the whole system is outperforming the MCS predictions by over 10%. The heat pump is running at an annual average efficiency factor of 3.1 instead of the predicted 2.8. This means that the system is generating all of the required heat but with less electricity than was anticipated and as a result, the running costs of the system are lower.
One year on since the completion of the installation, the club is saving approximately £5,500 a year on its heating and hot water bill compared to its old oil burning system. In addition to this, the system is reaping the benefit of the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, with annual payments of around £5,800 reported by the owner. The Non-Domestic RHI scheme runs for 20 years and the payments are index linked, so they will adjust in line with inflation. It is reported that the cost savings made by switching to the Ground Source Heat system will be used to improve the facilities at the club for members and visitors.
Taking into account the RHI and running cost savings over the replaced oil burning system, the ‘payback’ of the system is estimated at just five years.
At the time the system was designed, a decision was made by the client that it was preferable to re-use the existing radiators rather than replace them. As the efficiency of a heating system is influenced directly by both the heat source and the heat emitters, the radiators in this case somewhat limit the overall efficiency of the system. Should the owners replace the radiators in the future with new ones with a larger surface area, greater system efficiencies could be achieved. Depending on the type of radiators installed, the system could potentially reach an average efficiency of 430%.
We’re told the owner isn’t thinking of replacing the radiators just yet, as he is very pleased with the fact that the current performance of the system is already exceeding all expectations.
For more information or to see how a Ground Source Heat Pump could benefit you or your business, please contact our office on 01482 846005 or by emailing us at info@purerenewables.co.uk.
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