Heat Pumps and Fossil-Free Building Heating

Heat Pumps and Fossil-Free Building Heating

Heat pumps for fossil-free building heating are a good alternative now that the government has abolished ban on building heating powered by diesel. The advantage of using heat pumps is many.

Firstly, a heat pump will use less electricity than a traditional fan heater. A COP of 3 or 4 is common, which means that for every kW you put in you get 3 to 4 times out. This in turn means lower operating costs. With the electricity prices we see now, this is a favourable solution.

Secondly, there will often be limitations on how much electricity you can extract on a construction site. Here a fossil-free heat pump will contribute in a positive direction. If you go over 63A it can pose challenges, and if you go over 125A it is almost always a problem.

Different types of heating sources

As mentioned in the article fossil-free building heating there are several heating methods one can use to boast fossil-free and emission-free. As mentioned earlier, we think that heat pumps used for fossil-free building heating have some clear advantages compared to fan heaters.

The two most applicable heat pumps are air-to-air heat pump and air-to-water heat pump. The main difference is that the former delivers warm air directly, while the latter produces hot water.

Which effect is best suited to heat pumps used for building heating?

What emitted effect can one expect from a heat pump for fossil-free building heating is always a recurring question. We usually say that the area 25-90kW emitted effect is a nice size. Then you cover most needs, and you stay within the available power supply as mentioned earlier.

The outside temperature plays a significant role, both for the power draw and emitted effect. A reduction in the outside temperature of 1 degree normally results in a reduction measured in emitted effect of around 2-4%. For this reason, it's good to know what temperatures the heat pump is designed for, also known as nominal effect.