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The advantages of digital manifolds for heat pump engineers
Testo explains the important role of digital manifolds in the installation and servicing of heat pumps A
heat pump can be an alternative to a gas or oil boiler for homes and workplaces to supply both heating and hot water. They work in a similar way to a refrigerator using a vapour compression cycle – just in reverse. Instead of taking heat and extracting it from the coolness inside, heat pumps can extract heat from the air or ground outside or a water source nearby, concentrate that heat and then transfer it indoors to heat an indoor space or to warm water held in a tank. Potentially some types of heat pump can also be used reversed to take heat from a room and cool it instead just like an air-conditioning system does. There are two basic types of heat pumps: monobloc or split. With a monobloc
system, the refrigerant is contained in a sealed system outside the house and then a heat exchanger transfers the heat to a separate circuit, whereas with a split system, the refrigerant is circulated into the property and the heat exchange takes place within the house. Crucially a monobloc system as it has effectively a ‘sealed ‘ refrigerant cycle does not require an engineer to have F-gas qualification to handle/transfer any refrigerant gases. A heat pump’s COP rating (coefficient of performance) and SCOP (seasonal
coefficient of performance) determine how efficient it is. Despite requiring high levels of electrical energy to run, they are typically more efficient to run than a traditional gas boiler.
These aren’t the only reason more and more people are moving toward heat pumps from domestic boilers, and advantages can include: ¡ Lower carbon footprint ¡ Money saved on energy bills ¡ Longer lifespan ¡ Used for both heating and cooling ¡ Used for both space heating and hot water ¡ Easy installation process ¡ No fuel storage required ¡ Low maintenance ¡ High seasonal coefficient of performance So what does this mean for you as a heating engineer? It may be time to upskill. While the vapour compression refrigeration cycle lacks complexity in design, there are still parameters that require measurement by service engineers. As heat pumps work the same basic way as a refrigeration or air-conditioning system it could be that engineers from this existing field will have the skill set and knowledge to take on heat pump installations, commissioning, and ongoing service work. Taking into account the UK Government expectations regarding heating systems, jobs requiring engineers for traditional boilers could start to become obsolete longer term, and it is therefore essential to learn and develop skills within the heat pump industry, alongside your extensive knowledge, in order to remain relevant in this ever changing world of technology. The ideal solution – digital manifold are the ideal instrument for heat pump,
The UK Government are aiming for all new heating systems in UK homes to
be energy efficient by 2035, and with the many benefits of heat pumps, they are expected to play a major part in helping this decarbonisation within the UK heating market. This is because they will also reduce the fossil fuels used in the average home for daily activities such as heating, cooking and hot water, which takes up more than one fifth of the UK’s carbon emissions. “Heat pumps are significantly more efficient than traditional boilers and use cleaner electricity, so will reduce your homes carbon footprint.” -
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/five- reasons-to-get-a-heat-pump
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refrigeration, or air-conditioning system service technicians to check the operating characteristics of a system. Historically engineers would have used analog manifold gauge sets but this is old technology, and although it can be hard for some people to make the switch from analog to digital, especially if this is something they have been using for years, but there are undeniable advantages to a digital manifold, including: ¡ Higher level of accuracy ¡ Broad (typically 90+) selection of refrigerants via internal P/T charts ¡ Temperature, pressure, superheat and subcool values simultaneously displayed ¡ Many allow for wireless communication with smart phone or tablet ¡ Temperature compensated pressure leak test functionality ¡ High accuracy vacuum (Torr) measurement function ¡ Connection to digital scales for manual or automatic charging of refrigerants Testo offer a range of digital manifolds for heat pump installation and servicing.
For more information on how Testo’s range of products can assist you, visit
https://www.testo.com/en-UK/products/manifold
April 2023 21
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