Heat pumps 2 Specification
ground Gaining
Heat pump products continue to be launched into the marketplace as they promise to become more affordable. So, asks Ian Vallely, how do manufacturers see this technology taking over from more traditional services?
T
Communal heat pump systems for multi-dwelling developments could become more common
he UK heat pumps marketplace has been bubbling over with new products in recent years, as more manufacturers have launched versions of the technology. The expected arrival
of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in the UK will boost the heat pump sector by making this technology more affordable – although at the time of writing the industry is still waiting to hear the fate of the RHI, which hasn’t been finally confirmed by ministers.
Vent-Axia, the maker of extractor fans and other
ventilation systems, is an example of a company that has gone outside its traditional market and become a provider of heat pumps as it seeks to offer a range of low carbon solutions for social housing and other sectors. According to Richard Paine, product marketing manager for heat pumps at Vent-Axia: ‘Putting a heat pump in now will result in massive rewards in the future. That, I think, is the real point that is being missed [by some specifiers].’ Heat pumps are flexible in terms of the applications
for which they can be used. Nonetheless, for Paine, a focus on which type of heat pump works best in which situation can miss the point. For him, the preparation of the building is far more important: ‘As you insulate a building and make it more airtight, its heat loss drops. Heat pumps work at a lower temperature than boilers – the lower the temperature that you can get them to operate at, the less hard you drive them and the more efficient they are.’
Thermal drivers Lee Marshall of renewables group ENER-G agrees that a consideration of certain types of heat pumps for particular applications is shooting at the wrong target. He says: ‘What tends to happen is that people think from the heat pump forward rather than the building back. ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s a hospital, a school, a
retail building, or whatever – the building will simply have a requirement for heating and/or cooling. So the basis of design is about how much heating or cooling a building needs. Then it is about selecting appropriate technology. ‘This is driven by legislation and the thermal
performance of buildings by keeping the heat losses down, reducing the energy consumption of the plant and fundamentally the reduction of CO2 that is emitted
40 CIBSE Journal August 2010
www.cibsejournal.com
Dimplex
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