Why Install A Heat Pump?
Installing heat pump technology makes sense whether you are a professional developer or homeowner looking to reduce your ongoing fuel bills.
As a Home owner
As a home owner looking to replace an out of date boiler or just wishing to reduce ever spiralling heating costs a heat pump installed by Heidi will provide reliable year round operation with a substantial saving on fuel costs compared to oil, LPG or mains gas. Existing fossil fuel boilers can, subject to survey, be replaced with an air source heat pump which will meet the heating and hot water requirements of the property throughout the year.
As a Professional developer
As a professional developer you may already be considering how to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes but will also be attracted to heat pump technology by the savings made in not having to provide mains gas, LPG or oil infrastructure to site. The low running costs and long running life associated with heat pump derived heating and hot water systems are an attractive incentive to potential customers who are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of switching away from traditional fossil fuelled heating systems.
The Other Benefits
- Up to 70% fuel saving compared to oil or LPG. 20-30% compared to gas condensing boiler.
- Reduced maintenance requirements compared to fossil fuel boilers.
- No need for expensive and unsightly oil/LPG storage vessels with the associated risk of potentially expensive leaks.
- Eligible for government grant under the Renewable Heat Incentive from July 2011.
- Up to 50% reduction in CO2 emissions.
- No risk of Carbon Monoxide poisoning.
- Vat on the installed system is rated at 5% for domestic systems
How Does It All Work?
Latent heat is extracted from the air, water or the ground and this heat is passed into a thermal store or heating flow pipe via a heat exchanger.
- Latent heat from the surrounding air passes over an evaporator containing refrigerant. The refrigerant is at a lower temperature than the surrounding air which causes heat to transfer to the refrigerant.
- This vapour is then compressed which causes it to rise in temperature.
- This hot vapour enters a condenser and passes its heat to the transfer medium.
- The refrigerant moves to the expansion valve, drops in pressure and then returns to the evaporator. During optimal operation, every 1kW of electrical power used in a heat pump will produce 3kW of heat output.
An exterior sensor monitors the outside temperature to pre-empt a fall in temperature by boosting the heat pump output to maintain pre-set temperatures. Flow temperatures in heating pipework are closely monitored by the heat pump to ensure maximum system efficiency. In some properties it is sometimes necessary to replace existing radiators with higher efficiency units. Heidi will specify the correct heat pump and recommend the upgrading of radiators if required.