Heat Pumps - A brief explanation
There are three types of Heat Pumps:
Air to Air – this converts outside colder air into warm air
Air to Water – this converts outside colder air into warm water
Ground source – this uses a loop in the ground to convert heat to water
All three methods use electricity to run, however because of the efficiency of using a refrigerant through a compressor, if fitted correctly they will give substantially more heat per kw than they use – under certain circumstances 500% efficiency is possible and around 300% is very achievable.
For the vast majority of houses the only heat pump that would make sense would be Air to Water. With this the heat pump a unit sits outside the property and extracts heat from the air by using a refrigerant (works like a fridge in reverse). This heat is then transferred to your heating system via a heat exchanger and then pumped into your property for use in Radiator/UFH or hot water cylinder.
FAQs
Are they very noisy?
Not the good ones, some old heat pumps are noisy however Vaillants new range of heat pumps are very quiet.
Will I need to have a cylinder fitted?
Yes, there are no combi versions of heat pumps and its hard to see that there ever could be so you will need an unvented cylinder fitted. We would quote for this as part of the installation.
Is it true that they don’t work when its cold?
They will work above -20c, the colder it is the more the efficiency drops, however if designed correctly they still give very good performance. If you average it out over a winter they will be extremely efficient (if installed correctly).
Will I have to have all new central heating, radiators or underfloor heating fitted?
This depends on your property and heating system, unless they are fitted to the right central heating system they are not a good idea. For the heat pump to work well it will need larger radiators than a boiler as the radiators will not be super hot, they work very well with underfloor heating. We would always advise and quote for all improvements needed.
I’ve heard there are some heat pumps that can provide 70c flow temperatures so why would I need bigger radiators?
They can, but this should only be used for hot water, if we use this for radiator the heat pump will be very expensive to run.
If I don’t have enough outside space I can’t have one fitted. Is this true?
Yes, this is true, we will check this for you. If you don’t have enough space we would advise you to look at a very good boiler instead.
Do they cost lots of money to run?
If not fitted correctly they will, however, when fitted properly they will be very cheap to run. If they are fitted to a heating system without proper upgrades they will be expensive to run and may even fail to achieve the temperature you need. We would only ever fit a heat pump if the property and heating system are suitable.
I have heard they are banning gas boilers so I will have to have a heat pump. Is this true?
Not true, the only properties gas boilers are likely to banned for is new build, you are completely welcome to have a boiler if you prefer.
Will I need to have lots of insulation?
Yes, however this makes sense whatever heating system you have otherwise you are throwing money away. We can advise if your insulation is currently good enough or would need improving for a heat pump to work.
