What is a heat pump?
A heat pump is an electrically powered heating system that uses a small amount of energy to move heat from one location to another.
The two main types are air source heat pumps used to pull heat from the air outside your home and ground source heat pumps used to pull heat from the ground outside to provide both hot water & heat for your home or office building.
So how does the heat pump pull heat from the air or ground outside?
On the face of it you would think this can’t possibly work, taking heat from the air or ground outside! But in fact you already have a form of heat pump in your home and we take for granted that it continually works every day. Your fridge or refrigerator is a simplified heat pump, taking heat from inside your fridge through a series of coils fitted to the interior and transferring this heat to a panel of coils at the rear of the fridge unit. Quietly and efficiently this appliance performs the role of a heat pump day and night (and if you go to the electrical store you will see very high energy rating cert.’s on fridge’s, of the order of A or B rating).
The heat pump in your home right now
A heat pump uses a small amount of energy to switch that process into reverse, pulling heat out of a relatively low-temperature area, and pumping it into a higher temperature area. In a heat pump, this heat is transferred from a heat source (e.g. the ground or air) into a heat sink (e.g. your home). Heat pumps are extremely efficient because they simply transfer heat, rather than burn fuel to create it.
For example: as mentioned in my last post the ratio of energy used in a heat pump to heat the hot water & space heating provided into to your home or business is from 3:1 up to 4:1 i.e. the pump uses 1 kilowatt of electricity and transfers 3 kilowatts of heat into the home heating system and hot water tank.
Making a heat pump from 350 – 400% efficient!
Some Heat pumps are also a bi-functional unique type of heating system, because they can do the work of both a heating system and an air conditioner – i.e. They can be switched into reverse to also cool a building taking the heat inside your home or office in the summer and expelling it outside in the same manner as your fridge.
Basic heat pump operation cycle
Heat pump information on our website :
Air source heat pump : – How it works
Ground source heat pump : – How it works
Quick Glossary -
ASHP : ( Air Source Heat Pump )
GSHP: ( Ground Source Heat Pump )
COP: ( Coefficient Of Performance = The amount of heat created : divided by the amount of work [electrical] required to do so)
GEOTHERMAL: ( Ground source or Water source underneath ground )
In my next post I will provide the ‘back of the envelope’ approach to calculate the cost ‘versus’ payback of a heat pump heating system and discuss some of the other benefits of using this renewable energy heating / cooling system.
M.F
February 14th, 2011 at 7:58 am
I admire what you have done here. I like the part where you say you are doing this to give back but I would assume by all the comments that this is working for you as well.Cheers
February 14th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
I suspect that during the ‘Big freeze’ heating bills are at a all time high! And if we should expect these cold winters every year, then Ground Source Heat Pumps would be a sensible choice for long term savings!
February 20th, 2011 at 9:10 am
It is a smart investment to buy Heat Pumps for they can be used in long terms. Some Heat pumps are also a bi-functional system, because they can do the work of both a heating system and an air conditioner. They can be switched into reverse that helps you cool down in summer days or kill chills in winter seasons.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:59 am
Hi Malcom,
Please post comment with details of a copy of your newsletter for my review and I would be happy to allow use of my content & a link back etc.
Regards,
Michael Fleming
February 27th, 2011 at 3:06 am
Hi l.skufrapoh,
permission granted with link back (of course ! )
Rgds,
Mike Fleming
March 17th, 2011 at 12:15 am
Hey frnd,
whats the URL for your directory? Doing some submit’s at the moment.
m.fleming
March 25th, 2011 at 2:33 am
Hi ,
thanks for the support. you can find us on :
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/renewable_ireland_blog/
networked blogs on facebook.
cheers
MF
April 1st, 2011 at 7:30 am
Heat pump is one of the best ways to cool or warm your home as they will in the long run reduce your heating costs in general. Some heat pumps also have the facility to heat water as well. Some pumps utilize air, while some utilize ground sources for their functioning.
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yes we will always review relevant content to contribute. mf
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What type of businesses, in RE ? or just in general.
Mike F
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