Heat Pump Technology
What is a Heat Pump
A heat pump is an electrical appliance which extracts heat from one place and moves it to another. A good example of a heat pump is a fridge. In the same way that a fridge uses refrigerant to extract heat from the inside, keeping your food cool, a heat pump extracts heat from the outside air (air source heat pump) or a ground loop (ground source heat pump), and uses it to heat and/or cool your home and can also provide hot water. An effective heat pump system depends on 3 core factors:
- A quality heat pump product correctly sized for the application
- A constant and adequate source of environmental energy
- A properly installed heat pump system
Ground Source Heat Pumps
A geo-exchange system collects naturally produced low level heat from the ground, pond or lake through a series
of plastic pipes filled with water and anti-freeze. This heat is then converted into usable heat by a ground source heat pump for heating, cooling and supplementary hot water.
Geo Climate Systems are partnered with Waterfurnace to provide high quality efficient heat pumps.
Air Source Heat Pumps
In an air source heat pump, the heat produced from the outside air is used to heat water. This heated water then circulates through underfloor heating or radiators. Heat pumps produce hot water that is a lower temperature (typically 35-45C) than standard boiler systems which makes underfloor heating the most effective option.
An air-source heat pump has three main parts:
- The evaporator coil absorbs heat from the outside air
- The compressor pumps the refrigerant through the heat pump and compresses the gaseous refrigerant to the temperature needed
- The heat exchanger transfers the heat from the refrigerant to water
There are a number of different models on the market.