F.A.Q
What Is A Heat Pump?
A heat pump is a home appliance similar to a fridge or freezer that heats and cools the atmosphere in your home. It heats, cools, dehumidifies and continuously filters the air of dust and other impurites. It can also circulate the air - without heating or cooling to eliminate stuffiness as well. A typical heat pump has two parts to it, an indoor unit and an outdoor unit and for this reason are often called a Split System. Like many of your home appliances a heat pump is operated using a remote control.
How Does A Heat Pump Work?
A heat pump comprises three main components. An outdoor coil for absorbing heat from the atmosphere, an indoor coil for dispersing the heat into the home and a compressor that pumps refrigerant gas that carries the heat from one coil to the other. By changing the direction of the refrigerant gas flow, heating or cooling is selected by use of the remote control, a fan then circulates the conditioned air throughout the home.
But How Can It Heat The Home In Winter?
A home freezer can take the temperature of its food compartment below zero degrees, in fact as low as -20 C. The same process used in heat pumps can extract enough heat from cold outside air to warm the home. Although bodies feel cold at these low temperatures, there is still a lot of heat energy in the outside air at zero degrees celsius and below.
What Size Will I Need For My Home?
Every home is as indivdual as its owner. The key to selecting the right heat pump for your home is accurate estimation of the heat that will need to be transferred into your home in winter for heating and out of your home in summer for cooling. This needs to be carried out by experienced and qualified specialists such as those on our sales team.
What Factors Will Affect The Size Of Heat Pump I Need?
The amount of heating needed will depend on the heat your home loses through walls, windows, and roofs. To minimise this loss, good insulation is recommended. By insulating first, the size of heat pump selected will generally be smaller and therefore cheaper to run. The Northern aspect of the home is also an important factor as North facing rooms are generally warmer and need less heating.
Do Heat Pumps Take Up A Lot Of Room?
No. Heat pumps are designed to be unobtrusive in their size, are neutral coloured or can be painted to fit into your decor and run at low noise levels so as not to be noticed. There are also different types of heat pumps from high wall and floor console split systems to ducted systems which are hidden in the ceiling or under the floor.
How Much Does It Cost To Run A Heat Pump?
To answer this the amount of heating required will need to be known. Assume 5kW of heating is needed, electric heating is normally 100% efficient so for 5kW of heating you pay for 5kW of electric energy. Gas heater are less than 100%, lets assume 80% efficient. This means to gain 5kW of heating you pay for 6.25kW of gas energy. Although gas may be cheaper per kW you need to use more of it to produce the same heating effect. Heat pumps transfer heat from outside air and in this way produce three to four times more heat. Its efficiency is 300% to 400%. This means for 5kW of heating you pay for around 1.5kW of electric energy. Heat pump heating is roughly one quarter the cost of electric heating and about one third the cost of gas heating.
How Can A Heat Pump Be Cheaper To Run With More Moving Parts?
A heat pump uses electricity to "transfer" heat. Electric heaters "convert" electric energy to heat energy and are thereby limited by the amount of electricity they can use. A heat pump has no such limitations and can transfer three to four times the heat from the outside air than could be converted from the electricity it uses.
Are Heat Pumps Noisy?
No. Heat pumps are generally not noisy. The source of noise in a typical heat pump is air impinging on the grill as it is forced out of the unit. Air noise is marginally higher than ambient background noise and is usually not distracting.
Are They Reliable?
Yes. Heat pumps are reliable. They use the same process as a home fridge or freezer and have the same level of dependability and life expectancy.
How Easy Are They To Repair?
Provided the service person is experienced and qualified, repairing heat pumps is as straight forward as repairing a fridge or freezer.
Do They Need Servicing?
Like a car heat pumps should be serviced regularly for optimum performance. This involves cleaning the air filters, drains and coils, checking temperature readings, refrigeratant gas charge and running a fault diagnostic check. It would only be necessary to service your heat pump every two or three years provided you are cleaning your filters regulary.
How Are Heat Pumps Better Than Other Forms Of Heating?
Apart from being cheaper to run than any other form of heating, heat pumps offer many more benefits that heating only systems cannot. Heat pumps do not burn oxygen or create stuffiness like open fires. They are designed for year round comfort not just the 4 months of winter. Heat pumps produce low density heat which is safe for children and the elderly, unlike fires or electric heaters. They are unmatched for convenience and ease of use (Remote Controlled). They don't pollute our atmosphere with the products for combustion and they use ozone friendly refrigerants.
