The science of heat pumps is easy to grasp. If you've ever blown over hot food, or your cold hands then you've already experienced the phenomenon of heat transference.
To underscore this, it may interest you to know that there are already heat pumps in your home or where you work. These may include refrigerators and air conditioning units, but it's worth remembering that heat pumps can also heat spaces in our homes and businesses as well as cool them.
To trick the natural order of heat transference, heat pumps use electricity to achieve a cold-to-warm transfer. As they don't physically generate or create heat, they're not a true renewable technology. Having said that though, because the amount of electricity needed is less than the energy required to create the same heat, it still counts in many ways. This is one of the reasons heat pumps remain eligible for the government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).
There are three main types of heat pumps:
- Ground-source heat pumps, which use the solar energy trapped in the ground, and come in horizontal or deep-borehole varieties
- Water-source heat pumps, which can be used to heat air or water itself, and are most appropriate for properties with access to large bodies of water like rivers or canals
- Air-source heat pumps, which can come in air-to-air, split heat pump and air-to-water varieties
Air-to-air heat pumps are the most common for home heating in the UK, alongside ductless mini-split heat pumps. These systems collect heat via an external fan before compressing the heat and then circulating it as hot air indoors. You may be interested to know that there's no functional difference between an air-to-air heat pump and an air conditioner. A mini-split system is an air-to-air heat pump system designed to heat (or chill) a single room. Because they only require two components, they are relatively easy to install and are often retrofitted as add-ons for properties with existing heating systems.
In a perfect world, heat pumps work best in the following setting:
- well-insulated property
- not too close to other houses
- replacing existing gas, electric, LPG or oil-fuelled central system
If you live in Leicester or Leicestershire, you may be eligible for various grants to support your home energy efficiency upgrades.
For more information on air-source, water-source or ground-source heat pumps, our colleagues at the Renewable Energy Hub have a comprehensive guide.
