The Climate Action Plan recently announced by the Government has been welcomed by Damien Mullins whose company, Heat Doc Ltd, is a specialist registered installer of energy saving technologies, including geothermal heat pumps, solar energy and heating solutions such as underfloor heating, wall and ceiling heating as well as energy saving radiators.
The ambitious plan, which aims to reduce emissions and make Ireland carbon neutral by 2050, will affect all sectors, with home heating being no exception. It accounts for about 10% of all carbon emissions and the plan aims to move the 80% of Irish homes that use oil or gas for their heating over to heat pump systems.
A heat pump is a device that transfers heat energy from a heat source such as the ground, where a ground source heat pump is used, or from the air where an air source heat pump is used. The generated heat in turn provides a home heating source for hot water, underfloor heating, radiators etc. Heat pumps are a very convenient and incredibly cost-effective way of heating your home or premises while also being exceptionally environmentally friendly. They are rapidly becoming a primary way to provide comfortable and economic home heat in Ireland, removing the need for oil or gas fossil fuels.
The first step of the action plan will be to phase out the installation of oil and gas boilers in newly-built homes. Most older homes will need upgraded insulation fitted before they are suitable for heat pumps, which only work well in well-insulated homes.
A massive retro-fitting programme is part of the plan to end the use of fossil fuels for home heating and this is expected to keep companies like Heat Doc Ltd busy for many years to come.
“People have been moving away from oil and gas heating for the past few years and this Action Plan is only going to accelerate the changeover to heat pumps,” Damien predicts.
“Heat pumps are the future – they’re what people are opting for. We all grew up with fossil fuels, but the next generation will grow up with heat pumps. It won’t happen overnight, but homeowners will be able to avail of generous grants to change over, while they will see a dramatic reduction in their energy bills.”
After studying engineering in Bolton Street (DIT), Damien worked as a plumber before establishing Heat Doc Ltd along with Phyllis Mullins in 2011.
“We set the company up as a specialist in heat pumps and underfloor heating. From my engineering qualification and practical experience plumbing I have developed a good name for understanding all types of heating systems, including fault finding and repair, and there was a lot of that to be done after the boom. We started taking oil and gas boilers out of homes and businesses, and replacing them with heat pumps that were more energy efficient. We embraced technology from an early stage and that has stood to us,” he explains.
From its base in Foulksmills, Co. Wexford, Heat Doc Ltd services most of Leinster and east Munster, including counties Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Tipperary, Waterford and Cork. The company advises and installs heating solutions for commercial and residential customers and has grown to employ 15 staff, some of who Damien went to school with.
“We have a top-class team of qualified plumbers who are experts in heat pumps and renewables,” the affable managing director continues.
Heat Doc are Better Energy Homes Scheme (BEHS) registered with the SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland). As consultancy experts, they guide customers through what can be a minefield in terms of understanding what Renewable Energy Grants are available, what will be the most cost-effective solution to suit their building, energy requirements and, of course, budget. But above all, the Heat Doc team only work with the best of technologies from a hand-picked number of specialist suppliers, including Mitsubishi Ecodan, Hitachi, NIBE, Viessmann, Variotherm, Aereco, Zehnder and CTC.
In addition, the company offers a complete customer service covering existing dwelling retrofits, new house renewable energy technologies and the increasingly popular passive house solutions.
Heat Doc provides a range of services, from passive home and residential energy solutions to commercial and leisure, servicing and maintenance, and consultancy. Solar panels remain as popular as ever and Heat Doc offers both solar thermal and solar photovoltaic solutions. Similar to heat pumps, solar energy can be converted into heat to generate hot water for domestic and commercial properties while at the same time helping to reduce carbon emissions and global warming.
The company has a wealth of experience in installing underfloor heating systems, wall and ceiling heating and cooling as well as the latest technology radiators. Heat Doc also offers customers both heat recovery ventilation and demand-controlled ventilation systems. Ventilation is the process of changing or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality. It is used to remove unpleasant smells and excessive moisture, introduce outside air, to keep interior building air circulating and to prevent stagnation of the interior air.
Heat Doc has carried out numerous installations across the country. One of the largest involved the installation of three Danfoss 42KW heat pumps using 10x150m geothermal boreholes and exhaust air recovery coil on dump air of pool air handling unit at Graiguecullen Swimming Pool in Co. Carlow. The heat pumps heat the swimming pool as well as the air in the pool hall, school house radiators and provide all of the hot water.
“We’ve worked on a lot of luxury homes,” continues Damien, whose experience of passive house solutions goes back to 2004.
“We worked on a new house in Wexford which was the first in the country to achieve an A1 Building Energy Rating and certified passive house status, making it arguably the most energy efficient building in Ireland. We collaborated with Mythen Construction, who are located beside us in Foulksmills, on the New Ross Community Hospital extension and full heating and ventilation systems for Bawn Developments on a social housing development they carried out in Wexford town.”
Heat Doc Ltd is also an approved contractor on the Tipperary Energy Agency SuperHomes Ireland Scheme which is a ground-breaking project designed to help homeowners to upgrade their homes to A3 BER. Funding of up to 50% is available to achieve this.
Heat Doc Ltd
Longgraigue,
Foulksmills,
Co. Wexford.
Telephone: 053 9168966
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.heatdoc.ie
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, September, Vol 5 No 9
