Heat Pumps Today

Info Visit: www.klima-therm.co.uk . www.acrjournal.uk/heat-pumps 23 T E C H N I C A L According to the Heat Trust, an independent, non-profit consumer champion for heat networks, “it can be more economic to have one large heat generator and pipe the heat to many properties, than for each property to have its own generator, especially where there is a large capital cost associated with the heat generator (for example, ground arrays for heat pumps)”. Combined with the latest heat pump technology, heat networks are key to cutting carbon emissions according to the government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy. A spur to this approach is being provided by the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF). The GHNF ( https://bit.ly/3hs4UaS ) – a core element of the government’s Heat Network Transformation Programme – is a three-year, £288m capital grant fund which opened to applicants in March 2022. Since heat pumps are modular and scalable, they are particularly well-suited to this type of heating provision, so district heating schemes can be designed to heat any number of properties of all sizes, from flats to detached houses. Heat pump systems can also run in tandem in multiple bases and plant rooms to provide heating and hot water for an essentially limitless number of buildings. High temperature heat pumps, some of which ironically operate on carbon dioxide, can play a significant role in ( https://bit. ly/3W4BSME ) supporting heat networks. Eco-friendly refrigerant Heat pumps use energy from the environment to generate heat. Non- flammable carbon dioxide is an exceptionally eco-friendly refrigerant, so CO 2 heat pumps can considerably reduce harmful emissions. CO 2 is also an excellent refrigerant because it is not flammable and there is an abundance of it on earth. The fundamental principle of heat pumps is to absorb heat at low temperature levels and dispense it as useful heat at a higher temperature, thereby making use of heat sources that would otherwise have been rejected. For instance, a high temperature heat pump can increase the temperature of geothermal energy from 10 °C to 90° C. In addition to geothermal energy, it can use surface water and seasonal heat stores as heat sources. High temperatures CO 2 heat pumps use waste heat and convert it into useful heat. It is possible to achieve very high e˜ective temperatures with CO 2 , up to 120 °C. For this reason, CO 2 is particularly suitable for the provision of heat in municipal and industrial heating networks, as well as in drying technology, such as in automotive paint shops. CO 2 heat pump technology is also suited for applications that require chilled and hot water simultaneously – a hotel could use it, for example, for its air conditioning and even its hot water supply.