A heat pump is a device which moves heat from one area, otherwise known as the ‘heat source’ to another area, ‘the heat sink’ using an electrical input which can produce up to five times its own power in heating.

We use a heat pump in our everyday lives because the essential components are simply those which make up a refrigerator.

When a refrigerator cools the internal box which keeps food cold and fresh, the surplus heat is vented out the back; this heat can be viewed as a ‘waste product’.

A heat pump works with the same technology in that a heat pump is trying to cool the outside, whether it be air, earth or water.

The ‘waste heat’ which the system produces is then utilised to provide ‘useful heat’ in a building.

The Government has set itself an ambitious target of a 20% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2010 compared with the level in 1990. There have been various changes made to Building Regulations, in particular Part L, to help the Government achieve this target.

Since April 2008 every new planning application in England requires a rating from 1 – 6 under the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH). A figure of 1 indicates a slight improvement on Part L of the Building Regulations for 2006, whereas 6 is zero carbon. With the Government encouraging a low carbon future it has been mentioned that a rating of 6 will be required by all new homes from the year 2016.

The code measures a home’s sustainability against nine design categories and points can be gained in each. Renewable energy will prove essential for Authorities to meet targets for reduced or zero carbon.