01206 383444
Ground/air source heat pumps.
Ground/air source heat pumps.
A heat pump takes low grade heat from the air/ground/water and turns it into useful thermal energy for space heating and hot water. A heat pump works on the same principal as a fridge but in reverse; a fridge takes the heat from the contents you put in it and releases it out into the room.
A heat pump takes the heat from the ground/air/water source and transfers it into a living space.
A ground source heat pump takes heat from the ground via buried loops which are filled with an antifreeze solution. The loops can be placed horizontally in a trench or vertically in bore holes; both are equally efficient.
Heat pumps contain a refrigerant that boils at minus 40oC, when this liquid is exposed to temperatures above that it begins to boil and turn into a gas. (When gas is compressed heat is generated). A compressor in the heat pump is used to compress the gas which creates energy to heat space and or hot water.
The liquid circulating in the loops takes low grade heat from the ground (typical temperature of the ground a metre down in the UK remains a constant 10 – 12oC all year round). The liquid travels through the loops into the mains powered heat pump, the absorbed heat is extracted and the liquid travels back outside to repeat the cycle.
Heat pump efficiency
The performance of heat pump is rated as a CoP or Coefficient of Performance. This measures how many units of heat are generated per unit of electricity used to run the system. A typical CoP rating on a ground source heat pump would be 4 to 1 – for every unit of electricity you put in you generate 4 units of heat. An air source heat pumps work in a similar fashion but uses air rather than a brine solution to heat the refrigerant within the heat pump. However the CoP is a little less more likely to be 3.5 to 1.
Created using it'seeze website design
