Air Source Heat Pump Resources

You may want to save the planet, save yourself money or simply enjoy the idea of generating your own electricity or heat.he bullet points below give you some things to consider. Broadly speaking, you will save more CO² emissions the higher up the list you plan to be.

1. Heating your space and water using renewable instead of conventional electricity.

2. Heating your space and water using renewable instead of oil-fired heating.

3. Powering your lights and appliances with renewable instead of conventional electricity.

4. Heating your space and water using renewable instead of gas-fired heating.

5. Heating your space and water using combined heat and power instead of gas-fired heating.

It helps if you have an idea of the amount of energy you use in your home or business. There are some useful on-line tools that help you calculate your usage taking into account your house-type and occupancy. You should make sure that you feed in the information about your actual consumption from your fuel bills (gas, electricity, oil &c.). Both gas and electricity usage are measured in kWh (kilowatt hours). It is important that you have an accurate idea of your total expenditure on energy before you install your own generator.

The company you are dealing with must provide you with written estimates of the anticipated performance of the generation system it recommends for you. They should make it clear whether it is based on data specific to your property, or whether it is based on a similar or ‘typical’ property. You should expect the company to be interested in your actual energy usage, and so lack of interest on their part should give you cause for concern.

You should compare this to your current total expenditure to calculate whether the generator will save you money and, if so, how much. Based on information about the Government’s incentive schemes, and some assumptions about interest rates and future energy prices, you can calculate the likely period it will take you to ‘pay back’ your up-front investment.

Here are some important points to bear in mind before you sign a contract:

• If you are not on mains gas, then it is likely that you will get financial value from generating your own heat, for example from a ground- or an air-source heat pump or from solar thermal water heating.
   
• Remember that heating hot water generally accounts for about 30% of your total heating and hot water costs, while ‘space’ heating accounts for the remainder.
   
• If you have a large, un-shaded, predominantly south-facing roof space, you are fortunate as this is ideal for solar panels, either for heating water or for generating electricity. A south-west or west-facing roof would also be suitable, though a little less productive.
   
• If you are planning to build your own home, or extend your existing home, then again you are fortunate. It is cheaper to incorporate small-scale generation systems or underfloor heating at the time you are building, rather than ‘retro’ fitting them later.

This is one of the most common myths you’re likely to hear about air source heat pumps. Today’s heat pumps are no longer the big, bulky and noisy pieces of equipment they were when they first came onto the market. Modern heat pumps are compact, energy efficient and make about as much noise as your refrigerator, some even less. Any auidible noise is from the pump’s fan pulling air into the system. When installed correctly by Blueflame you shouldn’t be able to hear the sound indoors

The ground stays at a fairly constant temperature under the surface – so ground source heat pumps can be used all year round, even during the colder winter months. The efficiency of an air source heat pumps will gradually reduce as the outside air temperature falls. However, they are still capable of extracting heat from the air when temperatures are as low as -15°C.

Related Info : How does an air source heat pump work ?

Both air source and ground source heat pumps are compatible with underfloor heating and radiators – although it may be more efficient if connected to an underfloor heating system. Larger radiators, which give out heat at lower temperatures over longer periods of time, can help to maximise the benefits of heat pumps. It’s also worth ensuring that you have suitable insulation in your home, as this will help to minimise heat loss.

Related info : Types of heat pump

The upfront cost of installing a heat pump can be significant but research this properly. Yes you still have to pay fuel bills with a heat pump because they are powered by electricity (unless you have solar PV panels for electricity generation or another system), but you’ll save on the fuel you are replacing.

Related info : Renewable heating grants for homeowners

The UK Government has committed to a target of 600,000 heat pump installations every year by 2028. While the focus is on newbuilds, heat pumps can be installed in most properties – regardless of the type of building or age. In fact some newer heat pumps are designed to be easily be fitted into different property types – from semi-detached houses to high rise flats. While you’ll need quite a bit of garden space to install a ground source heat pump, air source heat pumps are similar in size to an air conditioner compressor and can be a great solution for retrofitting an older or outdated heating system in your home. You should always check whether you require planning permission from your local planning authority before installing any new renewable system, especially if you live in a conservation area or listed building.

Related info : Types of heat pump

A properly installed air source or ground source heat pump is more efficient than a gas boiler, which could save you money on your heating bills.

Currently air source heat pumps are around 3-4 times more efficient than boilers, because they give out far more heat than the electricity they use to run. Although electricity is a lot more expensive than gas or oil at the moment, the higher efficiency means that the running costs often work our similar. And if you’re replacing an old and inefficient system, your bills could go down dramatically. The Energy Savings Trust estimates that replacing an old (G-rated) gas boiler with an air source heat pump, for example, could save you up to £375 a year on your heating bills (based on an average sized, four-bedroom detached house in Great Britain)

Related info : Renewable heating grants for homeowners

Air-to-water heat pumps are the most common type found in the UK. They work by absorbing heat from the outside air and transferring this heat to water. The system then distributes heat via your wet central heating system, to provide heat to radiators or underfloor heating, as well as hot water to your taps, bath and shower. Ground source heat pumps can also be used for both heating and hot water. Heat from the ground is absorbed at low temperatures into a fluid inside a loop of pipe buried underground. The fluid then passes through a compressor that raises it to a higher temperature, which can then heat water for the heating and hot water circuits in your home

Related info : Types of heat pump

Heat pump systems typically come with a warranty of two to three years. Just like a boiler, a heat pump should be serviced annually to ensure it’s working efficiently and to extend the lifetime of the system. You can expect a well maintained and well operated heat pump to operate for 20 years or more.

Related info : Air source heat pump maintenance, servicing and repair

The biggest component of a heat pump – whether ground source or air source – is usually installed outside your home, so you don’t need to worry about it taking up too much space inside the property. For ground source heat pumps, if you have enough garden space, the ground loop can be laid horizontally in a trench about a metre or so below ground. Where there isn’t room to do this, you can drill vertical boreholes to extract heat from much further down, typically between 90m and 160m deep.

For air source heat pumps, you’ll need to ensure the external unit has some space around it to get a good flow of air – but this is usually no bigger than an average air conditioning unit. The external unit is connected to an internal unit containing circulation pumps and hot water, which is usually smaller than the average boiler.

You will usually need a hot water cylinder if you have a heat pump, but if you really haven’t got room for one, you could consider a heat battery instead (this does the same job as a hot water cylinder, but it’s much smaller). Or you could consider a hybrid system with a heat pump and a combi gas boiler – you won’t gain the space from getting rid of the boiler, but you won’t need to find somewhere to put a hot water cylinder either.

Related info: Is air source heating right for me ? 

See also the renewable energy investment considerations points below