Welcome, to a Warm, Comfortable, Energy Saving Home . . .

It's not good news for any of us that home energy costs are at an all time high. So, what can we do about it? These pages will give you an insight into our range of energy efficient solutions which could save you many hundreds of dollars each year, whilst also combatting the adverse effects on the environment by reducing carbon emissions.

Heating your home with panel radiators/convectors

Hydronic Central heating
If designed, installed and used correctly, hydronic central heating can be economical and highly effective in most homes. (Skyline Energy can provide you with a no-obligation quote for a heating system designed for your home)

Water is heated, and then pumped through piping to panel radiators or convectors positioned in each room. Heat is transferred directly from these to the room air.

Benefits include:

• Manual or automatic control valves to each panel allow individual rooms or zones* to be heated independantly
• Panel radiators provide effective heating for rooms with high or low ceilings
• Response time is generally good, and you should start to feel a difference within 30 minutes.
• Low maintenance requirements.
• The proven effectiveness of central heating - widely used in Europe for almost a century.

How much does it cost ? Skyline Energy can provide a full design, and supply a complete kit and technical support for your builder/local trades to install - it's not rocket science, or a full installation (depending on actual location) Generally, the larger the project the lower the cost per square meter. We don't recommend using traditional solar or evacuated tube boosters, as these provide the least input when needed most We DO recommend using Solar Electricty to offset heat-pump use! Fully installed using Natural GAS boiler - from about $130 per square metre area Fully installed using a Cold Climate air-sourced Heat-Pump - from about $170 per square metre We do NOT recommend using under-capacity Heat-Pumps boosted by GAS/LPG/electric elements, as these "HYBRID" systems may considerably reduce efficiency and increase running costs, instead use the correct sized heat-pump from our extensive range (up to 200kw output) Fully installed using a geothermal Heat-Pump - from about $250 per square metre Fully installed using LPG - operating cost is too high - use air-sourced Heat-Pump (only use LPG if no mains electricity, but beware! - installation cost similar to Nat Gas boiler)

Finance for Hydronic Heating If you have unused increased equity in your home, you may find that refinancing will offer you the opportunity of installing hydronic heating (and/or Solar Electricity) which increases the value of your home, without breaking your budget. Why not have a chat with our finance experts at Next Generation Financial Planning an independent financial planning firm familiar with our products and services. They may be able to provide much more than just access to finance for your purchase from us. 1300 921 327 Ask for Andrew Melling.

email your house plan here

• Safe - There is no danger of burn or scald as the system is fully enclosed with radiator temperatures well below boiling point. The surface temperature of natural convectors is pleasantly warm to the touch.
• Efficient - Our "New-Age" heat-pump systems require minimal energy to maintain a comfortable temperature.
• Quiet - Natural air flow will caress your body with warmth,

Home heating with water filled radiators

THEY DON'T WORK WELL ENOUGH IN WINTER! Ask this question of your Solar Hydronics supplier: Over the heating season, what percentage of the total energy will come from the Solar, and how much from the "back-up" heater ? For most homes, solar is just not a cost-efficient option for hydronic heating, typically providing only about 20% of the energy required. (unless you have massive water storage - thousands of litres in insulated tanks, to collect and store lots of energy when it available, and deliver it over winter) Note: The only other exception to this would be if the energy harnessed over summer could be fully utilised for a secondary purpose such as Pool heating. The additional cost of including a solar tube array system may then be justified. In normal winter conditions, a Cold Climate Hydronics heat-pump will use less energy than the booster required in a solar-boosted GAS/LPG/Electric hydronics system. If you are in a natural gas area, you'll probably just use a straight gas boiler, if no gas use a correctly sized hydronic heat-pump. (Natural GAS is NOT a renewable resource and still causes greenhouse gase emissions when burned, but at the moment it's very cheap. The electricity used by heat-pumps can be supplied by 100% clean renewable energy systems . . . . ) We recommend Air-Sourced heat-pumps over Geothermal heaters, WHY? click here for a more detailed explanation. If you don't have natural gas or adequate electricity power supply for the required heat-pump, only then would you choose an LPG boiler. In summer, solar systems can provide 100% of the energy required for domestic potable hot water In winter and in the colder climates solar systems will need to run their boosters to ensure a safe water temperature. In the Southern States, home heating in winter requires far more energy than potable hot water. In the Southern States where winter heating is a necessity, Solar systems (incl evacuated tubes) just do not provide enough energy when needed most, and for most home installations, can therefore at best only provide a token input. If you are in a natural gas area, you'll probably just use a straight gas boiler, if no gas use a heat-pump. In normal winter conditions, a Skyline Energy Air Sourced Cold Climate Heat-Pump will use less power than the booster required in a solar or evacuated tube hydronics system. If you don't have adequate power supply for the required heat-pump, only then would you choose an LPG boiler.

Natural GAS Boiler

Nothing to get excited about here, its just a GAS boiler!

• Cheap to buy, cheap to run etc. etc.
• Combo models available for domestic hot water AND hydronics in single unit
• Available in various sizes to suit system demand
• LPG models also available - but LPG is VERY expensive to run - recommend using air-sourced heat-pump if adequate electricity supply available

Heat-Pump Water Heaters:

Geothermal

You may hear a lot of good things about Geothermal Energy - don't confuse this with domestic geothermal hydronic heating systems - they are usually talking about specific commercial-scale projects accessing underground special hotspots, not your backyard!.
Generally, below ground, the temperature doesn't fluctuate as much as above ground. We can take advantage of that by burying pipes underground to extract heat. Generally, the deeper you go the ground gets warmer. The problem with Geothermal systems is that the significant cost of burying or drilling the pipes far outweighs the operating cost savings compared to an air-sourced heat-pump. (you will never save enough in lower operating costs, when compared to the installed cost of an air-sourced system) If you spent some of the Geothermal Groundworks dollars on Solar Electricity, you could have an air-sourced hydronic heating system 100% offset with solar electricity - with spare solar electricity to run your aircon/cooling system for free too!

Air-Sourced

HEATING THE NATURAL WAY: An air-sourced hydronic heat pump uniquely extracts solar heat energy found abundant in the in air and transfers it to water.  

The completed system is comprised of:

Radiators & towel rails 1 or more SK-xxx Heater Units Flow & return lines Buffer Tank & expansion sub-system Recirculating pumps Wall mounted thermostat (Zone control) Can be offset by Solar Electricity system

We create a primary circuit through the heat-pump and buffertank, and secondary circuit through the buffertank and radiators

• They have sensationally low running costs
• They can keep your home warm all winter regardless of weather
• They are very durable and robust
• Various sized units from 10kw to 200kw output
• We do NOT recommend using under- capacity heat-pumps boosted by LPG/GAS/electric elements - (lowers overall efficiency)
• We do NOT recommend using multiple domestic-type storage tank heat-pumps for hydronics, as these work best with fairly static water - hydronics requires continuous water flow, better suited to co-axial heat exchangers which are more efficient
• A geothermal heat-pump costs about the same as an air sourced heat-pump, but you have to add the substantial cost of groundworks. (Put the extra towards Solar Electricity instead!)
• Although an LPG boiler is about the same cost of a natgas boiler - forget it! the running cost is too high - use Heat-Pump (only use LPG if mains power is not available)

How does it work?

An Ecological Solution:

HEATING THE NATURAL WAY: 
An air-sourced heat pump uniquely extracts solar heat energy found abundant in the air and transfers it to water.

The mysterious heat pump.
At first, our claims about this being a high efficiency solar system may seem outrageous, but really its quite simple - there is no magic, just science. Pushing refrigerant through a massive heat-exchanger at about -28^oC, it readily absorbs solar energy in the form of heat out the air. Because they don’t rely on direct sunlight radiation, they can operate in all seasons of the year, under all conditions; shade, overcast, sun, rain, frost, even at night.

Long after a conventional solar collector array or evacuated tube system has given up and reverted to its booster, our air-sourced heat pump is still absorbing vast amounts of solar energy.

With zoning control and even remote activation by telephone if required, used in conjunction with good building practices such as good insulation, hydronic heating with our state of the art, correctly sized air-sourced heat pumps can be an economical and ecological solution to your home heating requirements

During the life of this product, electricity will be generated more & more from renewable resources, making it the energy of choice:

Using the Sustainability Vic target 12% green power figure of 1.093kg CO²/kwh, and the solar contribution for our heat-pump under melbourne conditions (67%), it will produce 4% less CO² than gas.