Air Source Heat Pumps
Air Source Heat Pumps
Find out about using an air source heat pump to heat water in your home
geothermal | energy efficiency | heatingIn our article
Geothermal Heat Pump we introduced the
ground source heat pump, a device which uses the heat stored in the earth to heat water for a home efficiently.
Air Source Heat Pump
An
air source heat pump works in exactly the same way as a ground source heat pump, only it extracts
heat from the air (instead of the ground) outside a building, and uses it to heat water in the building (air-water system), or the air in the building (air-air).
The advantage of an
air source heat pump over a ground source heat pump is that an air source heat pump requires far less space to install, and no excavations. This makes air source heat pumps far more suitable for the average urban home.
How Does an Air Source Heat Pump Work?
An air source heat pump is made up of three main components - an
evaporator coil, a
compressor, and a
heat exchanger.
The
evaporator coil is fitted to the outside of an external wall. Here it absorbs heat from the outside air. The
compressor pushes the refridgerant gas through the system compressing it until it is at the desired temperature (typically up to 35-40 degrees Celcius). The hot refridgerant then passes through the
heat exchanger where the heat from the refridgerant is transferred to water or air.
In the schematic above the evaporator coil is labelled as
outdoor coil, and the heat exchanger is the
indoor coil since the system illustrated is an air-air heating system.
Note that the operation of a heat pump can be reversed and used to cool down the air in a building by radiating it outside - behaving in exactly the same way as a refridgerator:
Coefficient of Performance
Heat pumps are measured by their
coefficient of performance (CoP). The CoP for
air source heat pumps is very similar to that for ground source heat pumps at approximately 2-3. With a CoP for instance of 3, 3
units of heat are produced for every 1 unit of electricity consumed. (The two
free units of heating were extracted from the outside air). Even with ambient air temperatures of -10 to -15 degrees Celcius, an air source heat pump can extract useful heat (i.e. > 1 unit of heat generated per unit of electricity consumed).
For more information on
air-source heat pumps and their
emission reducing and
cost saving benefits over the latest super-efficient gas-powered
condensing boilers read:
Compare Heat Pump to Condensing Boiler.
Buy an Air Source Heat Pump
Good quality domestic heating
air source heat pumps range in price from £1,000 to £10,000. A good starting point is to have a look at these listings on
eBay for
Air Source Heat Pumps.
Article Last Modified: 10:27, 31st Mar 2009Comment on this Article
If you have any comments on this article, please email them to
neil@reuk.co.uk.
Recommended Related Articles
People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:
Compare Heat Pump to Condensing BoilerShould you choose a condensing boiler or an air source / ground source heat pump
Article Last Modified: 16:13, 29th Jan 2009geothermal | energy efficiency | heatingGeothermal Heat PumpFind out about using ground source heat pumps to heat your home
Article Last Modified: 13:57, 29th Jan 2009geothermal | energy efficiencySimple Solar Water Preheating SystemUse solar power to pre-heat water and reduce electricity/gas consumption
Article Last Modified: 14:47, 7th Oct 2009solar | heating | waterSolar Hot Water Heat ExchangerFind out about a heat exchange coil which can be retro-fitted to standard hot water tanks for solar water heating
Article Last Modified: 16:47, 5th Sep 2008solar | heating | waterCombined Heat and PowerFind out more about domestic (micro) combined heat and power systems
Article Last Modified: 10:27, 31st Mar 2009heating | energy efficiency | biomass | generalDirect Solar Water Heating SystemFind out how to put together a simple and cost effective direct solar water heating system
Article Last Modified: 09:25, 16th Nov 2009solar | water | heatingDIY 2kW Wind TurbineRead about a home built 2kW wind turbine constructed from scrap
Article Last Modified: 08:46, 4th Oct 2007wind | recyclingMake a Stirling EngineMake your own demonstration Stirling Engine
Article Last Modified: 14:37, 17th Apr 2006educationMake a Simple Solar Air HeaterHeat a room or outhouse with a solar heater made from recycled aluminium cans
Article Last Modified: 14:55, 1st May 2007solar | heatingEvacuated Tube Solar Water HeatingLearn about the most efficient way to use the sun to heat water
Article Last Modified: 11:51, 21st Jul 2008heating | solar
|
|
|
