A ground source heat pump is the most efficient way to heat a building, and the least commonly installed because of the investment, the groundworks or drilling, and the upheaval involved. It’s the technology that has set our team’s expertise apart, and it’s still where we spend much of our time.
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Retrofitting homes across the South West
Since 2009
GSHPA member
Since 2016
MCS Certified for
Ground source
We specify
Ecoforest ecoGEO+
Of every Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant paid in the UK, 97.6% has gone to air source and 1.9% to ground source. Ground source asks more of a project before anything is installed: a ground investigation, an engineered array, and either drilling or excavation.
The South West is well suited to it. Twenty-four per cent of properties here are off the gas grid, the highest of any English region outside Inner London, and rural plots more often have the land an array needs.
For ground source we specify Ecoforest, and nothing else. With wide inverter modulation, the output matches demand precisely rather than cycling on and off, which holds efficiency at part load. It has ecoSMART energy manager, built-in to bank surplus solar as heat without a separate diverter box or additional wiring.
Low GWP
Four Functions
Heating, Cooling, Hot Water, Swimming Pool Heating)
App-based monitoring and control for you, remote diagnostics for us, so when issues arise we have reports to help us diagnose quickly.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme puts £7,500 towards a qualifying ground source heat pump, or £9,000 where the property is off the gas grid and currently heated by oil or LPG, on applications made between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027. Qualifying work is zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027.
Ground source vouchers run for six months once approved, against three for air source. That difference matters when an array has to be coordinated with groundworks or a planning condition.
Capacity limits apply: 45kW for a single heat pump, 70kW for a cascade system, and 300kW for a shared ground loop. As an MCS certified installer we make the application on your behalf and secure the grant before we issue your contract.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant towards an air or ground source heat pump, plus 0% VAT on qualifying work.
Either can work. A horizontal array needs open ground, so it suits larger gardens. Where that is not available, boreholes reach stable ground temperature at depth on a much smaller surface footprint, at a higher drilling cost. The ground investigation tells us which makes sense.
What decides it is the building’s calculated heat loss and the thermal conductivity of the ground, not the size of the plot alone. Two sites of the same area can support very different arrays depending on geology and water table.
Existing homes take it well, provided the site has the space or borehole access and the emitters can run at a low flow temperature. Listed and period properties are often assumed to be unsuitable; in practice they are among the projects where ground source suits best.
Longer than air source and generally done in phases. Ground investigation, array design and drilling or excavation, array installation, manifold and fusion welding, backfilling, breakthrough into plant room, heat pump installation and connection to heating, cooling, hot water and any swimming pools. We give you a programme before we start and the six-month grant window is designed around exactly this. Larger projects often run beyond that window. When they do, we reapply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.
No. Ground array design, geology studies, drilling and excavation are generally contracted by the Client direct as it is specialist work. We have a number of partners we work with. We then usually design the array location and supply a CAD for sign-off by all parties and we then oversee drilling before we install the array and manifold. We fill and test the pressure and then sign-off the work for the ground team to commence backfilling the trenches.
It depends on the site, the building’s heat loss and the budget. Ground source costs more to install because of the array, but it delivers higher seasonal efficiency and holds it through the coldest weather, with nothing visible outside. Air source costs less and suits most sites. Where a property could take either, we model and price both at the survey.
Whether it was installed by us or by someone else, we service, diagnose and repair heat pumps across the South West. If your heating or air conditioning is due a service, underperforming or needs a repair, our service team can take it on, whoever fitted it originally.
Annual servicing keeps performance where it should be and catches small issues before they become expensive ones. If your system is underperforming, our diagnostic service will find out why.
Annual servicing to keep warranties valid and the system running at the efficiency it was designed for.
Something not performing as it should? We’ll identify what’s actually wrong before recommending any work.
Parts and labour repairs, including systems installed by other companies.
We maintain most major brands, including:
Ecoforest · Maxa · Kensa · Volta · Mitsubishi · Vaillant · Viessmann · Daikin · Samsung · Clivet · IDM
Based on 210+ reviews on Trustpilot
Whether ground source suits your site depends on land, geology and how the property’s heated now. Tell us about the project, or book a design survey directly and we’ll assess it properly.
Prefer to talk it through first?
We design renewable heating systes around your home and the way you live.
Prefer to talk to us first?
Call: 01271 850 040
Whether you’re looking to book a service or ask about diagnostics, it starts with understanding your project.
Prefer to talk to us first?
Call: 01271 850 040
