24 Heat Pumps Stop preaching to the choir, please
THE HEAT pump for space heating purposes has been around from just after the First World War, writes Colin Goode, Fujitsu VRF pre-sales engineer. In this country they started being widely available in the late 60s. I have been dealing with them all my working life. So why do I still come across people of vital importance to our industry who do not know what they are and/or what they do?
Most mainstream air conditioning units have the ability to heat as well as cool, and with VRF and other systems we are now moving further on with heat recovery and air to water systems. The pages of our trade press and every conference I go to is full to the brim with information about heat pumps; so surely everyone who needs to should be fully aware that air conditioning units can be used to heat as well as cool and that heat pumps are the most efficient way of heating homes.
Unfortunately, this is clearly not the case. Of course manufacturers, distributors and contractors know perfectly well what the capabilities and advantages of heat pumps are, but I keep encountering builders, developers, architects and even some specifiers to whom the properties of heat pumps are a revelation.
One of the aspects of my job is to talk to prospective purchasers and their advisors about their VRF needs, so, either I visit their premises or they come to our training rooms to see working examples of our units on display. Many have no idea what modern systems are capable of, or their superiority over other forms of heating. Some do not even realise that the air conditioners can heat. To them, the words ‘air conditioning’ are synonymous with cooling and nothing more.
In my view, the millions of words written about heat pumps in the trade press over the years have done a very good job, but they have missed a swathe of people outside the core of the industry that are vital to our business.
The assumption seems to have been that anyone involved in the purchasing of a heating system for a new development or major refurbishment would either read the air conditioning trade press, or be advised by someone who does. This is clearly not always the case.
As an industry we have to do much more to get the heat pump message over to our ultimate customers. To do this, we have to leave the comfort zone of the air conditioning press and do much more to
reach builders, specifiers, architects and even ordinary consumers directly. We need to take every opportunity we can; through their own trade journals, their exhibitions and even consumer media.
It is true that many organisations have already done this, but the problem is getting the odd article or advertisement into their target media, or doing the odd exhibition, is not enough. Like all successful marketing, it has to be both consistent and persistent, and we have to keep going until the average person hears ‘air conditioning’ and thinks cooling and heating.
Widening heat pump opportunities
HEAT pump distributor HRP is working with a number of suppliers of photovoltaic and solar thermal systems to offer their installers a wider range of options.
Eurovib ACR News November 2013
Initial training and product introduction days have been held for suppliers and their installers.
The aim is to enable these companies to widen the range of cost effective solutions offered to consumers.
The training covers specification, sizing and installation of domestic heat pumps and explains the technical support that HRP can offer to make it easier for installers to market heat pump systems.
HRP is the principal UK distributor for the Samsung EHS range of air-to-water heat pumps, claimed to be ideal for domestic installation, with high efficiency, low running costs and quiet operation.
As a leading national distributor of refrigeration and air conditioning, HRP has substantial technical resources around the country. “We are in discussion with a number of other suppliers of solar technologies about widening their offering to customers.” says Ian Shawcroft, commercial director, “We can support them with training, technical advice, supply and maintenance.”
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