In an exciting expansion of its’ 25 year business, Solar Services is to introduce the range of heat pumps manufactured by Stiebel Eltron. The company is the sole UK distributor for Stiebel Eltron’s solar heating collectors and has attained the same status for the new products.

The anticipated high demand for heat pumps will mean the creation of a new division, to be launched in May 2005. Ian Clark, Solar Services’ Managing Director says ‘It is important that we create a separate identity for the heat pump range and at the same time have the capability to combine other renewable energy sources to provide sustainable systems’. Training of engineers and designers is already under way, using Steibel Eltron’s high-tech facilities at Holzminden, Germany.

Stiebel Eltron’s heat pumps take the latent heat from air, water or ground and transfer it to the heating system. Although they use an electric motor to drive a compressor, they can return up to 5kW of heat for every 1kW of electricity used. Ian Clark is keen to ensure that the electrical energy comes from a renewable source - ‘We handle the paperwork, so that our clients can switch to the new tariff with confidence’.

For the past three years Solar Services have been involved in a number of projects that have linked renewable energy into fossil-fuelled heating systems. It has been found that the lowest carbon emissions can be achieved by using fully-modulating condensing boilers that have the return flow pre-heated from the renewable energy source. Ian Clark has incorporated a high-efficiency plate heat exchanger into the design, making it an effective way of using excess heat energy. ‘It is an ideal solution for sheltered accommodation, hospices and care homes, where the presence of elderly persons often demands that the heating is on, even during the summer months. Our new division will be able to undertake the complete design and installation of these systems’.