This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk


HeatPumps OCT 2010 SPN


59


HEAT PUMP TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO FLY THE FLAG FOR CONSERVATION


The Government’s increasing desire for high energy efficiency standards is likely to get tougher every few years. This is even better news for a buoyant and high quality heat pumps market – and for the industry


S


ales of heat pumps to heat swimming pools are expected to double in the next three years. Now the message from the Government is – ‘if you are not using heat pump technology in your pool – why not?’. Two recent reports have stressed the role heat pumps have to play in low carbon strategies. One comes from the Government’s Committee on Climate Change which has urged greater use of heat pump technology in what it classifies as energy intensive needs – such as swimming pools. The move is part of a strategy to reach a target of


an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. Secondly, the report, The UK Supply Curve for Renewable Heat, has set practical ways to achieve the target for 15% of all heating to come from renewable sources by 2020. It concludes that it expects heat pumps, along with biomass boilers, to provide the most significant contribution to meeting this target.


The bulk of heat pumps are expected to be used in the domestic sector and there are already incentives in place for installing them. The technology was included in the £65m made available for low-carbon community heating systems and small scale renewables in this year’s Budget.


The planned changes to Part L of the Building Regulations also regards heat pumps highly, seeing them as the best way of meeting carbon


outside air. The benefit is that they can deliver more heat energy than the electrical energy it takes to run them.


Certainly heat pump technology continues to fly the flag for conservation issues in the specialist pool industry with more advanced machines and higher temperatures being available. Heat pumps are the number one pool heating method in the UK and growing dramatically. The double pressure on consumers of rising carbon fuel costs and Government demands to find environmentally better alternatives has made an impact. One supplier told us: “We don’t have to have a sales pitch these days. There’s an understanding that a heat pump is an essential and effective way of heating a pool. All we are discussing now with the client is which brand.”


ABOVE: Heat pump production – the market is set to double in three years


reduction targets after wood chip and wood pellet boilers.


So what’s the attraction? Heat pumps aren’t a new technology – after all, air-conditioning units use them. But what is gaining ground in the UK are the air-to-water heat pumps that can replace conventional systems. They work by extracting heat energy from large volumes of


“The benefit is that they can deliver more heat energy than the electrical energy it takes to run them”


Carbon awareness has always encouraged heat pump sales as they have clear lower emissions than other fuels. Yet it’s a market which has changed dramatically over the last two years for other reasons. More demand, more applications have led to better, more efficient pumps offering higher and more consistent temperatures. Increased sales have also lowered prices making the decision for the pool owner to buy even easier.


Legislation is now under way that will demand lower heat losses and higher heating system efficiencies on all newly built UK properties and any existing properties that fall under building regulations for refurbishment.


From the start of 2010 many new properties have required, by law, a degree of recognised renewable heating – a regulation which many are taking to include domestic dwellings that contain swimming pools.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91
Produced with Yudu - www.yudu.com