AN AIR TO WATER HEAT PUMP VERSUS THE TRADITIONAL HEATING EQUIPMENT – WHICH SHOULD WE CHOOSE?
Regardless of whether our house is still under construction or we are already living in it, we would like a heat source that is supposed to provide us with the right room temperature to be safe, cheap to use, and requires as little attention as possible. Currently, there are many different types of heating equipment available on the market. Choosing the right one will ensure our comfort for many years to come.
Everyone, who has ever used the conventional solid fuel boiler, knows how much effort and time it takes to make sure that the boiler has been properly cleaned and the fuel tank filled. It is also important to remember to keep an adequate fuel reserve, which must be sufficient for the entire cold period. The use of fire presents an additional requirement for an efficient protection and warning system, both against fire and the emission of carbon monoxide. These disadvantages are compensated by the relatively low price of such solutions.
Heat pumps – Advantages
When compared to boilers, heat pumps seem to be the ideal solution for anyone who does not even think about operating a heating device, but at the same time wishes to have thermal comfort, both in the winter and summer. The cooling function is an interesting feature in their operation, as it is not available in the traditional heating systems. What’s more, if you still store fuel in the house, then using a heat pump will help you gain an additional room, which is an advantage of the heat pump that usually gets overlooked.
Another argument in favour of the modern solutions is the convenience of use, because automation helps save time. In this respect, we have already seen significant technological progress, and the times of “firing up the boiler for the winter” have come to an end. However, it has not been possible to eliminate this problem in all types of equipment, while the devices that successfully got rid of the problem generated more costs. The technological solutions used in heat pumps allow it to maximize comfort, while maintaining reasonable prices. In addition to the periodic inspection of the external unit’s level of soiling, it requires virtually no attention from the user.
Many people, who heat up their homes using the traditional boiler, fear investing in a modern heat source thinking that an air heat pump will not be capable of heating their home, which is completely unfounded. Whether your house has an area of 100 m2 or 250 m2, we can replace any boiler with a heat pump. Naturally, the primary task is to estimate the heat demand of a particular building, and then select the appropriate heating capacity of the device. A heat pump will provide us with thermal comfort, regardless of whether the house was heated with radiators or underfloor heating. In the case of radiators, check the highest required temperature of the heating system. It is often the case with buildings erected over a dozen or even several dozen years ago, that the temperature of 50˚C generated by the heating system, when it is – 20˚C outside, is enough to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the house. With older buildings, it is sometimes suggested to change radiators to bigger ones. This one-time expense will both improve the temperature comfort in the rooms and reduce the costs of the heating system, which will translate into savings.
Heat pump – Why is it worth a try?
The fact that we can practically eliminate the cost of operation, by using popular photovoltaic panels, is an additional advantage presented by the heat pumps. As the heat pump will only need electric energy and the thermal energy collected in the air to operate, it requires no additional fuel. Thus, it fits into the modern trend of “green energy” and allows you to significantly reduce expenses. Air heat pumps also do not require expensive drilling, while purchasing an air heat pump can often be up to 50% cheaper than a buying a ground-source pump.
If your house is only being built and you have reached the phase of selecting a heat source, please remember that a heat pump does not require erecting a smoke chimney, while the technical room should only accommodate a small indoor unit and a tank for hot tap water. The lack of additional infrastructure and small room dimensions make the air heat pump a much cheaper solution to purchase than other heat sources at the investment stage. The modern pleasing to the eye design of the heat pumps helps eliminate the need to hide them away and makes it possible to install them in other utility rooms, as well.
Modern heat pumps have more features than just the basic functions of heating, cooling, and producing hot tap water. The calendar function, which makes it possible to change the temperature in the building and in the hot tap water tank, the function of quick hot tap water heating, or the holiday function, thanks to which the device will lower the temperature in the house during the winter, in order to significantly reduce the heat demand of the building – all this affects the comfort and economy of use.
Summing up, modern heat pumps are a comfortable and economical solution, when compared to the traditional heating sources. Many of the functions and the applied technology make it possible for us to adapt their operation to our needs and save the floor space. If we additionally combine a heat pump with a photovoltaic system, the cost of heating a building will be practically zero, which is an important argument in its favour, if we consider obtaining government subsidies for the both solutions. We should also bear in mind that there is no combustion process occurring in the heat pump, so there is no emission of any toxic substances into the atmosphere, which has a significant positive effect on the environmental protection, on our health, and the fight against smog. They also do not require any additional sensors for gas or carbon monoxide leaks. We must also bear in mind that the heat pump is also the only heating device featuring a cooling function, making it the only device used for temperature control all year round.
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