MHRV & Air Source Heat pumps advice please

play2day

My family and I have been fortunate enough to secure planning permission to build our new home. We want to incorporate some 'green' technologies into it and I am at a loss as to who to turn to for advice.

We intend to insulate the building very well but concede it has a large footprint and the loft space comprises of habitable rooms and so it will be a fuel greedy monster if unchecked. We foster disabled children and need to use & heat the house throughout the day. However, the upstairs does not need to be heated during the day.

Our initial thoughts are using a thermal store to run underfloor heating downstairs and most of the domestic hot water. Feeding the thermal store will be an air source heat pump (air to water) and solar panels. At a later date (when funds can afford) a woodburner with boiler may be added to the system; this would have its own air intake so wouldn't compromise the draught proofing. We hope to use a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system to recapture and redistribute heat as well as for our ventilation needs and therefore hope that upstairs will not need heating. However as a back up we plan to feed upstairs radiators - needed for about 4 hours a day if the thermostats call for them - and the rest of the hot water with a condensing gas boiler. This may be hooked into the thermal store if needed.

Having made decision on how we intend to heat the house we now need help to sort out drawings and calculations for building control. Does anybody know of a firm who do these at a reasonable rate? My husband is a gas fitter and so will be undertaking all the plumbing himself.

Thank you in advance.

Volcano

Can you fit ground source rather than air source heat pumps? I'm personally not convinced that air source will be very effective in sub or near-zero temperatures (assuming you're in an area of the UK that gets this cold for extended periods).

A_fiend_for_life

Have you checked out this site?:

http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/forum114/

play2day

Thank you for the replies, both in the forum and by private message.

We did consider a ground source heat pump and decided against for 4 reasons:
1, cost.
2, We went to see one in operation, it was noisy and the house was cold!
3, Husbands friend has previous experience of fitting them and has assured him of simplicity. He is confident about fitting himself.
4, I do not want to disturb mature trees and shrubs and so would need to drill down through heavy clay. More cost!

The forum looks very interesting and I will have a good read tonight.

Thank you once again.