Thermoplane Test house

Heat emitter technology thats “off the scale”

Test criteria: Test heat pump efficiency when connected to a Thermoplane system in a chosen detached property owned by a Director of the Inviron Group consisting of both new build and existing with an average thermal loss of between 50 to 55wm2.. 

Ground floor insulated slab and screed, 1st and 2nd floors traditional joists.

Utilising the minimum of flow temperatures as designated in the industries Heat Emitter guide;

1. What would be the resultant conditions
2. What would be the corresponding Thermoplane system parameters

Test period: 

Longest sustained cold period of 2012 between Friday 3rd Feb to Sunday 5th February. Highest temperatures of -2^oC lowest recorded at local weather station -9^oC

Findings:  

Based on a design day minimum outside temperature of -3^oC and utilising the minimum Heat Emitter Guide flow temperature specified for emitters connected to heat pumps of 35^oC (fluctuating to 37^oC) the resultant internal ambient air temperature was  23^oC.....too hot for the children to sleep under the bed covers!  These dramatic results become even more evident when the external minimum air temperatures of -6^oC and  -7^oC are taken into consideration.

Conclusion:  

Although further research is required under our test facility conditions, we estimate that given normal design criteria conditions of an interior ambient of  21^oC (or an Operative air temp of 20^oC) to an external temperature of -3^oC, the Thermoplane flow temperature required would be as little as  28^oC to 30^oC....actually, far off the scale of the best Heat Emitter Guide estimates.

Apart from the other obvious benefits of a responsive screed emitter when working with such low flow temperatures, there is is an outstanding, pivotal benefit to the Thermoplane system in this scenario:

As the house utilised timber decking on traditional joists, the Heat Emitter Guide suggests a minimum flow temperature of 45^oC  to either radiators or underfloor heating with wooden decking.

The Thermoplane system performing at 30^oC would improve the heat pumps Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) by:

Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) from 3.7 to Thermoplane 4.7 SPF
Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) from 3.0 to Thermoplane 3.9 SPF