Heat Pumps Today

18 Why vibration isolation is critical for many heat pump installations. Adam Fox, Mason UK, explains how and why this is a problem and what can be done about it. What you don’t hear about heat pumps Around one fifth of the UK’s carbon emissions are produced by the country’s housing stock. To reach net zero by 2050, decarbonising households will be vital. Heat pumps have been celebrated as a means of achieving this goal and incentives are in place to encourage their uptake. However, without the correct guidance and mitigation strategies, heat pumps have the potential to lead to significant acoustic and vibration problems. Here, Adam Fox, Director at vibration isolation specialist Mason UK, highlights the potential problems and solutions that lie ahead. A heat pump is a device that is powered by electricity and absorbs heat from the air, ground or water around a building. It works a bit like a fridge in reverse. Heat pumps are roughly three times as energy efficient as gas boilers, so the benefits of replacing the latter are clear from a decarbonisation point of view. October | November 2022 T R A I N I N G In 2018 there were just 27,000 heat pumps installed in the UK. For comparison, there were 1.7 million gas boilers installed in the same time period. The government has therefore mandated that all new heating systems installed in UK homes from 2035 must be low-carbon technologies, like heat pumps or hydrogen- ready boilers. Grants are available to incentivise their uptake. There’s no doubting that heat pumps could play a massive part in helping us reach net zero and that we should move toward increasing installations as soon as possible. However, one thing that is being overlooked in the discussion so far is the noise and vibration problems these devices will cause if not installed or isolated correctly. Heat pumps and vibration Like all mechanical plant equipment, heat pumps generate vibration and noise. Vibration is generated by the rotating or reciprocating components, compressors and fans. If transmitted into a building’s structure, this can manifest as noise disturbance. Manufacturers are improving the technology and making it quieter, but vibration remains a problem. Adam Fox, Director, Mason UK