Air to water heat pumps are now supplied by an increasing number of manufacturers with different capabilities and variable quality. They come in a variety of capacities to suit different types and sizes of properties. Therefore it is difficult to determine an exact cost for a full installation due to the amount of variables.
Installation costs vary from property to property, but as a guide costs will be similar to that of a conventional gas boiler. A competent installer should take 1 – 2 days to install and set up the system. For new build, as no gas supply is required, costs are actually cheaper.
From case study analysis running costs can be reduced over a conventional gas boiler by more than 40%. These saving are achieved using standard tariff electricity.
Because of the energy conversion efficiencies within an air to water heat pump, the running costs against the other main gas, oil or direct electric heating systems are significantly reduced.
Air to water heat pumps are a suitable complete or partial solution for the majority of existing houses as well as new builds. Most properties that can achieve a reasonable level of thermal insulation could be suitable for an air to water heat pump. In order to achieve the highest levels of efficiencies, all properties should have been updated with the basic thermal improvements i.e. cavity wall installation, loft insulation and double glazing. The air to water heat pump then needs to be able to meet the maximum heat demand of the property under its maximum (coldest) conditions.
Yes, with suitable control systems, air to water heat pumps can be operated to act in either a lead or support mode with any other fossil or renewable heating technology.
Sufficient ventilation space is required at the front of the unit (1m) and at the back of the unit (250mm).
During the cold spell please ensure the correct amount of inhibitor is put in the system to prevent it from freezing.
Yes. The water flowing through the radiator circuit will be the same temperature as the water flowing through the underfloor heating circuit.The radiators will need to be sized using the water temperature of the underfloor heating circuit.
Ground source heat pumps draw on the absorbed energy stored in the earth whereas air to water heat pump collects thermal energy within the air which is renewed daily by the sun.
Yes, you just need to ensure that the air to water heat pump is sized to meet the maximum heat load conditions for the property.
Yes, Sirac heat pump works at temperatures as low as -25oC. The SIRAC system is designed to operate at the optimum efficiency level at any time of year.
The Co-efficient of Performance (COP) of a heatpump is the amount of useful energy delivered by the heat pumpdivided by the energy it consumes.
