Homeowners Guide To Heat Pumps
HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM INVESTING IN A HEAT PUMP SYSTEM?
• Reduce your heating bills by improving your energy efficiency.
• Increase your home comfort levels.
• No need to burn fossil fuels at home
• Support the environment by reducing your greenhouse gas emissions.
Do you know that you are entitled to a grant through the SEAI Home Energy Grants programme to help improve your home heating system? Inefficient heating systems are wasteful of energy and costly to run because of the amount of fuel needed to maintain adequate comfort levels and hot water in the home. Replacing a conventional heating system with a heat pump system, particularly in a well-insulated dwelling, can transform the comfort levels in the home while reducing running costs, energy usage and harmful greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the heat pump system can eliminate oil and gas bills from the home.
To install a heat pump system, you must ensure your home is well insulated and that you have good double or triple glazed windows. In this way your heat pump system will perform well and your electricity bills will be low. The SEAI Home Energy Grants programme offers grants to help you install a heat pump system in your home and realise these benefits. SEAI also provides funding towards a Technical Assessment of your home by an independent SEAI registered Technical Advisor, who will help you make an informed decision and ensure your home and the heat pump system are a good match.
HOW DO HEAT PUMPS WORK?
A heat pump system harnesses energy from free renewable sources outside the building, for heating your house and producing your hot water. Electrical heat pumps use a compressor to draw heat from a low temperature source, such as external air or ground to heat the building interior. While conventional heating systems such as storage heaters and boilers cannot produce more heat than that contained in their fuel source, a heat pump typically will produce three to four units of heat for every unit of electricity consumed. The heat pump example in Figure 1 below has a Coefficient of Performance (COP) of 4.
Most heat pump systems have integrated heating controls, helping you to accurately match your space heating and hot water schedules to the working and living patterns in your home, so when heat and hot water are required, it is there; and when it is not required, it is turned off. Using the heating controls in your heat pump system will typically reduce your energy usage by up to 20%.
TYPES OF HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS?
Different types of heat pump systems draw heat from different sources: air, water or the ground. Heat generated is distributed via radiators, underfloor heating or warm air units. Heat pump systems will heat radiators to a lower temperature than conventional boiler systems, and this works well when the home is well insulated. Heat pump systems, excluding those providing warm air to the home, can supply most of the hot water needed for baths, showers and sinks.
Air to water heat pump systems are the most popular choice of system. Heat is distributed through radiators and underfloor heating and they can also produce cheap hot water all year round.
Air Source: The most common heat pump systems extract heat from external air, typically using an outside unit. These heat pump systems do not require underground piping to source heat and so can be cheaper and easier to install compared to ground source heat pump systems.
Exhaust-air to water heat pump systems are similar to air to water but include mechanical extract ventilation and recover heat from air drawn from the dwelling.
In Air to air heat pump systems the heat is distributed through air units. Air to air heat pump systems do not provide hot water.
Ground Source and Water Source: Ground source and water source heat pump systems are less common than air source units. A ground source heat pump system, also known as a geothermal heat pump system, uses the earth as a source of renewable heat. Heat is drawn from the ground through collector pipework and transferred to the heat pump. The ground collector can be laid out horizontally at a shallow depth below the surface or else vertically to a greater depth.
HOW DO I CHOOSE?
Selection of the right type of heat pump system can often depend on practical and budgetary limitations. Many people choose air source heat pump systems as they need relatively little space. If you have a large garden or are near a water source you may choose a ground source or water source heat pump. SEAI Registered Heat Pump Contractors (we are a registered contractor) and independent SEAI registered Technical Advisors can help you make the right choice. They will outline the pros and cons of each type of heat pump system.
ENSURE YOUR HOME AND HEAT PUMP SYSTEM ARE A GOOD MATCH: GETTING STARTED
Heat pump systems are at their most efficient and effective when generating heat at a lower temperature. On this basis, one of the requirements for a dwelling to qualify for an SEAI Home Energy grant for a heat pump system is that the dwelling has low heat loss. Some of the measures that can help achieve this are insulation upgrades such roof and wall insulation upgrades, which are grant aided under SEAI’s Home Energy Grants programme. Good insulation is needed to reduce draughts in the home and eliminate heat losses through open chimneys, which will affect the performance of your heat pump system.
To help achieve this in your home, you must engage an independent SEAI registered Technical Advisor before applying for the heat pump system grant. They will carry out a technical assessment and Building Energy Rating on the house before guiding you on the energy performance of the dwelling, particularly on the suitability of the dwelling for a heat pump system, based on the dwelling’s heat loss. They will provide you with independent guidance on measures that may be necessary to ensure that the dwelling fabric heat loss is lowered to an acceptable level for a heat pump system to perform at its best. A dwelling with poor insulation and single glazing could cost substantially more to upgrade to the necessary level than, say, a well-insulated dwelling with newer double glazing.
The Technical Advisor can also help you understand the types of heat pump systems available and the options most suitable for your dwelling, before you talk in more depth to a heat pump contractor. It is worth discussing home upgrades with friends and family who may have already carried out the measures to give you a better insight into the advantages, improvements and possible issues they experienced when upgrading their own homes. You should visit an existing heat pump system before proceeding with the installation.
Contact via the below form or call 0567811047 to hear more about the Mitsubishi Ecodan Heat Pump range and how to apply for the SEAI Home Energy Grants Programme