Heat Pumps Today

Heat pumps are seen as a major solution for decarbonising the energy market on the way to achieving Net Zero by 2050. Heat pumps need Low GWP refrigerants as the market is set to expand radically Combined with using a renewable energy source they will help reduce the impact of Climate Change, lower carbon footprint whilst also reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Their main advantage is they are very energy efficient, providing up to 4kW of heating energy for every 1kW of electrical energy consumed. The UK Market Heat pump technology is not new and has been around for many years but the UK has tended to lag behind other countries in its utilisation. Traditionally they have found favour with those who are not on the mains natural gas grid, however, the heat pump market is set to grow exponentially in the UK over the next few years as the energy supply chain moves away from fossil fuels to meet Net zero CO 2 emission targets. The UK Government has signalled its intention to stop the use of gas boilers in new build houses from 2025 with the ‘future homes standards’ setting criteria to achieve carbon emissions reductions. A stated target of 600,000 heat pump installs per annum by 2028 was set to encourage www.acrjournal.uk/heat-pumps 07 L O W G W P R E F R I G E R A N T S Patrick Harvie addresses delegates at the GHF launch on 8 August Sandra Cummings at the launch of the Green Home Festival. manufacturing investment in the UK. As volumes increase then the cost of heat pumps will become much more competitive but with just 36,000 heat pumps installed in 2020 there is still a long way to go. It is estimated that in the UK 23 million homes still have gas boilers. On this basis, and with a ban on installing any gas boiler from 2035, the retrofit market also needs to grow substantially as old boilers are replaced. This is aided in part by the new Boiler Upgrade Scheme with Government providing £5K towards the cost of installing Air Source Heat Pumps and £6K for Ground Source Heat Pumps. About the technology Heat pumps are often said to work like a fridge in reverse and can provide very energy efficient heat with high coefficient of performance (COP) values, in the region of 3-4, whereas the best condensing boilers can only deliver a COP of 0.9. The main types of heat pumps are Air Source, Ground Source and Water Source. As the names suggest this is where the majority of the energy is derived, using a vapour compression cycle to transfer the energy to the space or water to be heated. Air Source Heat Pumps have the largest market share and are the cheapest and easiest to install. However, Ground Source Heat Pumps are more efficient, have a longer lifespan and provide a constant source of heat in different seasons, but are more expensive to install and require pipes to be laid in the ground. They are well suited to new build and in particular apartments and social housing. Water Source Heap Pumps require a pond, lake, water course or a bore hole. Whilst the headlines focus on the domestic housing market there is considerable scope for heat pump use to become much more prevalent in commercial and industrial applications to provide, heat, hot water and cooling in summer months. On a much larger scale District Heating is also growing, again providing much more efficient heating.