How Do Heat Pumps Work?
There are several kinds of heat pumps you can choose from:
Ground Source Heat Pumps and Water Source Heat Pumps work by absorbing the heat from the sun which is stored in the earth or in water between 1m and 2m depth.
Ground Source and Water Source Heat Pumps use a system of flexible pipes containing fluid which are buried underground or in water which absorb, then carry heat into your house.
To find out more click on our special web pages for these types of heat pumps:
Ground Source Heat Pumps
Water Source Heat Pumps
Air Source Heat Pumps extract heat from the outside air temperature wth the help of an air handling system. Air Source Heat Pumps can include the following types:
Air to Water usually includes an external unit collecting heat from the outside air temperature which is then transfered to the internal unit which uses the refridgerant cycle to transfer the heat into a wet central heating and hot water system.
Air to Air heat pumps
take air temperature from internal or external units and transfer the heat via a air distribution system. External units can be used to heat apartments or open plan rooms such as church halls, offices etc and also work alongside or integrated with air conditioning systems.
Heat Recovery is a kind of air to air or air to water heat pumps, whereby the warm air from excessively warm areas of a building (kitchens, lofts) can be used to heat water or air.
Click on this Air Source Heat Pump LInk to find out more about these products
How Do Heat Pumps Work?
All Heat Pumps work a bit like a fridge (BUT BACKWARDS), transferring heat from one source to another.
Essentially heat is transfered to the heat pump by lops or air units and this low grade heat is used to boil refridgerant. The heat is then pressurised and the temperature goes up to 55-65degrees - this can now be used for heating or hot water.
All Heat pumps produce between 3 - 5 times the amount of renewable energy than electricity required to power them.
Most Heat pumps rely on an immersion to give them a boost when high hot water demand is required but Heat pumps can also be installed with solar water heating to provide a complete hot water and heating solution.
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What Do We Look for When Sizing Heat Pumps
Drawings of the building - especially for a new house build or housing development but also for existing houses
How much land or water is there for loops
How is the building constructed - what are the insulation levels and glazing
What is the heating system you are using, planning to use
What are your reasons for using heat pumps? Have you considered the alternatives?
Why Are There Such Requirements?
Heat pumps require quality insulation to protect them from the elements outside. Heat Pumps require a lower operating temperature to heat your house, in harmony with underfloor heating and require 12-24 hours to adjust temperature.
You can run heat pumps with radiators if they are large radiators or fan assisted. This means they can make better use of the lower temperature heat offered by heat pumps. In some properties we would recommend adding additional radiators once a heat pump has been installed to help those colder rooms.
If you install a heat pump in a house with poor insulation and normal radiators your heat pump may be less efficient and potentially cost you a lot of money to run as it will require additional mains back up power with an immersion heater.
Case Study
Brompton Lakes Lake Source Heat Pump project
Utilising traditional heat pump technology to harness heat from a lake for a new development of green residential holiday properties
Next Steps
Check your insulation and read our More Ideas pages and fact sheet for more help.
When you are ready, please call 0800 619 1262 or write to us via our Contact page.
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