In this environmentally friendly world that we all live in certain steps have to be taken to ensure that there is still a world for people to inhabit in the future. People all over the world are looking at ways to help save energy and the world’s resources. Household heating is a major consumer of energy so whatever can be developed to reduce the effect on the environment has got to be a step in the right direction.
By extracting heat from the ground or air (geothermal energy) and then compressing it to raise the temperature significantly, the heat generated can then be used for water or space heating.
Since there is quite a lot of heat energy in even very cold materials, heat pumps can use sources that appear to be very unpromising. For example, if the temperature of the air is 5°C, that might appear to be too cold to extract any heat. In reality 5°C is pretty hot compared to absolute zero (-273°C) and therefore an air source heat pump can produce useable heat all year round. Think of your deep freeze. Heat continues to be extracted from that area even though it’s well below freezing.
Heat pumps can use air, water and, increasingly commonly, the ground below your feet as a source of energy. Ground water is a particularly useful source of heat since it rarely gets much colder than 7°C.
Unlike more conventional heating or air conditioning, heat pumps minimise pollution and fuel use. By utilizing entirely free and renewable geothermal sources of energy they are very low carbon and very economic to run. During hotter summer months the latest models can even be run in reverse to passively extract heat from inside a home and ‘dump it’ into the ground. This method of cooling is one of the lowest carbon and lowest energy approaches available.
For every unit of electrical power needed to extract the heat, up to six units of heat can be obtained. That’s right, heat pumps can be up to 600 per cent efficient. It’s like buying a low-energy light bulb with an output rating of I00 watts but with an energy usage of only 20 watts. Remember, we spend very little on electricity for light bulbs in our homes compared to running our heating and hot water systems – so the savings are much greater.
The attraction of running a heating system this efficiently is obvious. It saves money and makes a real contribution towards a low or even zero carbon building and towards reducing the devastating impact of climate change. It’s worth recalling how, by 2016, every new home in the UK will need to be rated ‘zero carbon’. Given that the law in this area is getting tougher all the time and the 2016 date is now fixed, new business opportunities are growing rapidly.
More and more heat pumps will be installed in the coming years which can only be good news for the environment. Pioneering companies have already gotten to grips with issues around the ground works required and enterprising trades people are discovering how they can become part of the future of our industry.
The next generation of heat pump technology that is even easier to install, and operate further reduces running costs and improves the already impressive efficiency which will make the models of the future even more appealing to the mass market. These will offer air, water and ground source heat pumps to suit all household heating needs, helping to reduce the cost of heating water for your bath as well as heating the whole house during the colder months. In addition to being powerful systems in their own right the heat pumps of the future even come ready to connect to a solar heating system, complete with flat-panel collector array and solar cylinder, providing an integration of solar energy and heat pump for domestic hot water and central heating.
Heat pumps will make a huge difference to the way we heat our homes as well as making a big difference, for the better on the environment.
By: Harwood E Woodpecker
A Heat Pump is essentially the same as an air conditioner, but with one extra feature added. On cold days, a heat pump reverses its operations and heats the house instead of cooling it. What makes heat pumps stand out among other heaters is their heat gain. Today’s heat pumps at 0 Degrees Celsius outside return 3kw of heat for every 1 kw of electricity fed into them. It sounds too good to be true and immediately begs the question: Why don’t we use heat pumps in Toronto?
Low efficiency used to be the main reason. Up to 2006, most heat pumps were based on low-efficiency 10 SEER air conditioners, and they could not run at low outdoor temperature. In 2006 manufacturing of new units with less than 13 SEER efficiency was outlawed. Virtually overnight, new heat pumps’ efficiency increased by almost 30% and kept rising.
Heat Pump Pro’s
1. Heat pumps can be used in Toronto almost year-round. Air conditioners are only used for a few short weeks of summer.
2. The price difference between heat pumps and air conditioners is becoming smaller and smaller. Ductless units lead the way. Today ductless heat pumps cost only $200 more than their equivalent air conditioners. At this small premium, ductless heat pumps are already a no-brain winner against ductless air conditioners.
3. Central air heat pumps may still cost $1000 more that equivalent central air conditioner, but even at this premium a heat pump is an easy choice instead of an air conditioner if you use electricity, propane, or oil for heating.
4. “Smart” hydro meters are coming. Here in Toronto, electricity at night and on the weekends will cost only 3.2 c per kilowatt. At this price and at 300% efficiency, electricity is becoming the energy of choice for heating.
5. Heat pumps take advantage of global warming. As winters in Toronto are getting milder, heat pumps are becoming more profitable.
6. No reason to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning or fuel (gas, propane, oil) escape inside of the house.
Heat Pump Con’s
Heat pumps need supplemental heat. This can come from either a fuel-based furnace or an electric heater. There are two main reasons for this.
1. Because the same system is used for both heating and cooling, the heat pump is limited by the smaller of the two needs – the cooling one. On the coldest days of winter, the heating capacity of the heat pump may not be sufficient.
2. Cold outdoor temperature can also lower the heating capacity of the heat pump to the point where it has to be turned off and backup heat needs to be brought in.
Supplemental heat is not as a big a deal as it sounds. A couple of electric strips can be easily accommodated by the ductwork at a cost of a few hundred dollars. On the other hand, it may spare you buying a new furnace at $3,000.
And last, but not least – you can finally get rid of fuel heat inside of your house. People and fuels don’t really mix well in the same space.
By: Boris Sherman