What Are The Benefits Of Commercial Heat Pumps?

Businesses considering their options where renewable energy is concerned might want to start looking into commercial heat pumps and how they could benefit from this kind of installation on site.

Air source heat pumps work by absorbing heat from the air outside, heat that can then be used to heat radiators, provide hot water, heat air convectors and power underfloor heating systems, working in much the same way that a fridge would extract heat from its interior.

While these pumps will still have some environmental impact since they require electricity to work, they’re better than other options because the heat that they extract is naturally renewable, whether it’s from the air, ground or a water source.

So  You’ll soon see reduced fuel bills (particularly if you’re replacing conventional electric heating) if you opt for a heat pump, as well as the possibility of making some income via the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

You’re also able to heat the property as well as your water and there’s not a huge amount of maintenance associated with these pumps, which is certainly good news for companies of all sizes… the pumps basically take care of themselves!

In well-insulated properties, air source heat pumps are able to provide all your heating needs on their own, but older sites may need to use a hybrid heat pump (also known as a bivalent system). This means that if the heat pump is unable to provide sufficient heat by itself, for whatever reason, your gas or oil boiler will be switched on.

With regards to maintenance of your heat pumps, you should expect them to work well for 20 years at least, but you will need to carry out regular maintenance work. Check them over once a year and then schedule a visit from a professional installer every three to five years just to be on the safe side.

From a domestic perspective, chancellor Philip Hammond announced in his spring statement that gas boilers will be replaced by low-carbon systems in all newly built properties after 2025 in a bid to tackle the climate change problem we’re now facing.

He explained back in March that new properties would have to turn to alternative systems like heat pumps to help the UK drive down its carbon emissions.

Interestingly, it’s also being suggested that HS2 could help provide green energy to hundreds of new homes, with the proposed scheme making use of five air source heat pumps to draw warm air from the tunnels.

The waste heat from trains is typically extracted by ventilation systems before seeping into the ground around the tunnels. But these new plans would see this heat fed into a local district heating system, with the investment in this network paying for itself after four years.