Heat pumps. Two words that have become increasingly more well known over the last few years, and two words that really don’t give the systems justice, provide the whole story or demonstrate the benefits.
Heat
Let’s start with “heat”. Those of us who have been in the industry for a few years know that it’s not just about heat for an air source heat pump. It’s also about the ability to cool and produce domestic hot water. The majority of residential and commercial air source heat pumps are reversible, meaning that they can reverse the refrigeration cycle and produce cooled water, allowing for the systems to provide comfort cooling for buildings. A huge advantage, but one that is sadly not fully utilised in its application. Yes, it is used in new build projects, however for refurbishment projects or public sector funded schemes, this is not an option. Sad really as it doesn’t cost anymore to manufacture, it’s a standard benefit of air source heat pumps and most importantly will provide year-round use of the system and provide a comfortable working/living environment.
Pump
Onto “pump”. When you think of a pump, do you automatically think of a heating, cooling, DHW producing piece of kit that sits happily outside your home or workplace? Probably not, if like me you may think of a bicycle pump, a flat tyre pump for your car, something that is used to drain floods away, but not a system that is used to provide something far more useful and expansive in its use.
So what do we do? Change the name? maybe, or do we as a manufacturer continue to supply and discuss the “other” benefits? I think the latter is far more feasible so here we go….
Comfort and Control
When I first started in the world of air source heat pumps, controlling them was a bit of a science. The controllers used were commandeered from far more complicated air conditioning systems and as such the end user needed a degree in building management control to use them. Thankfully that is not the case today. Screens are more “Apple” to use than ever before, easy to configure, easy to set up and without the need to have worked on the International Space Station for the end user to understand. Oh, and don’t forget, setting up Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter months usage is straight forward, even easier if you utilise our commissioning service.
Running Cost Savings
This is simple. If the system has been designed, sized and installed correctly for the particular building, and the building is suitable for such a system, then the air source heat pump will work incredibly efficiently. Efficiency = savings. The higher the efficiency the lower the running costs. The lower the running costs, the happier the building owner and users. Air Source Heat pumps are very, very efficient compared to fossil fuel or direct electric alternatives, we demonstrate this via our literature that details Coefficient of Performance (COP) and Seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP). SCOP is the one to take note of as it shows the efficiency of the system throughout the year, the higher the SCOP the lower the energy usage.
Read our article – “Its all about SCOP” for a more detailed explanation.
Maintenance
In most cases yearly. That’s it. Air Source Heat pumps require servicing just like gas boilers, they also need a little tlc every now and again, but this can be done by the onsite facilities team. For example, a big beige box can be seen as an ideal place to stack things against it, or on it or by it. This may result in restricted air flow, which in the case of air source heat pumps is not ideal. So once a month, have a little wander around the systems and make sure all is well, and the rubbish is the right place.
Environmental Impact
This is the big one and has been forgotten about by some manufacturers. The use of renewable heating technology ie heat pumps was always to decarbonise first. Energy efficiency is with this as a major plus point, but the removal of fossil fuels in this type of system and its use to provide heating, cooling and DHW production has got to be the priority. We know air source heat pumps use no form of combustion to work, they do not emit any form of Carbon or Nitrous oxide, they are clean in their use. Yes, as a country and a planet we need to “clean up” our electricity production by utilising wind, tidal, solar, nuclear etc but in the meantime heat pumps decarbonise every day and will be the norm in years to come.
So now we know a few more of the benefits, is it time to rename air source heat pumps? Ok I’ll give a few suggestions –
1 – Super-duper efficient heating cooling machine
2 – Ultimate hot water-cooling production unit
3 – Air source cool pump
Nope….I’ll stick to my day job and talk about the benefits and how we’re just going with heat pumps, not just in name but in use also.
