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Email us onIf your business were able to make use of a government grant to invest in either a domestic or commercial heat pump, would you consider making the switch to this renewable energy technology?
The Ground Source Heat Pump Association will soon be urging the government to provide such grants for heat pump installation as part of a new support framework for low-carbon heating, president of the association Bean Beanland explained to Utility Week.
The Renewable Heat Incentive is due to run out in 2021 and its replacement should set a goal of one million installations annually by 2035, the association states.
Mr Beanland went on to say that by reducing the upfront costs of installation could help drive the market for this particular type of technology, adding: “We want long-term signals so that we can start weaning people off fossil fuels and persuade plumbers that they can deliver heat pumps alongside their existing business.”
Investment in infrastructure like this could deliver similar long-term benefits to society that investment in the water and energy grid delivered 50 years ago, Mr Beanland continued.
A quick guide to heat pumps
Heat pumps are machines or devices that move heat from one location at a lower temperature somewhere else with a higher temperature using either a high-temperature heat source or mechanical work.
They can easily replace the energy-intensive systems you may have in place right now, connecting to your existing heating and hot water systems, as well as operating an existing radiator set-up. They can also be linked up to underfloor heating, so you won’t have to forgo any luxuries you might have in place.
Another major benefit of using a heat pump is longevity. The average gas boiler has a lifespan of about 12 years but heat pumps will work for 25 years.
Boilers will also lose two per cent of their efficiency annually on average and you’ll also have to carry out regular checkups each year. But heat pumps do not lose their efficiency over time and regular maintenance isn’t necessary.
There are air source and ground source heat pumps. Air source heat pumps extract low-grade heat from the air outside, which is then drawn across an evaporator by a fan. The low-grade heat is compressed to produce high-grade heat, typically between 35 and 60 degrees C.
Ground source heat pumps, meanwhile, collect heat from the ground, with the low-grade heat collected to produce high-grade heat through a refrigeration process. This kind of heat pump is very efficient – for every kWh of electricity used to power it, approximately 4kWh of energy is produced in the very latest models.
If you’d like to find out more about heat pumps and their benefits, get in touch with the Greenfields Penrith team today.