English
4 min Reading time A heat pump is a device that provides hot water for both heating and domestic use (such as baths and showers). It runs on electricity instead of conventional gas. In itself, this isn’t a new concept—electric heating elements in devices like electric boilers have long been used to produce hot water. What makes a heat pump smart, however, is that it doesn’t rely solely on electricity. It also extracts warmth from its surroundings, enabling it to produce more heat using less electricity. When designed properly, a heat pump system can heat your home using far less electricity than the amount of gas needed in a comparable gas-powered heating system.
A heat pump operates on a similar principle to a refrigerator. In a fridge, a circulating fluid removes heat from inside the unit and releases it at the back. A compressor powered by electricity ensures the fluid is continuously cooled and heated.
The heat pump does essentially the same thing, but instead of drawing heat from inside a fridge, it extracts energy from the environment—typically the air or the ground. This energy is transferred into the home, where it's released via a heat exchanger. On one side of the exchanger is the fluid from the heat pump system; on the other is the water used for heating and domestic hot water.
A well-designed and installed system offers important benefits for you as a homeowner. You’ll use less energy—and thus spend less money—on heating compared to a traditional gas boiler. If, in the near future, the net metering scheme for solar panels is phased out, it will become increasingly important to use your self-generated electricity directly. A smart integration between solar panels and a heat pump can help with that. There are already control systems available that prevent your solar energy from being fed into the grid and instead use it to power your heat pump for heating your home and water.
Important conditions for optimal efficiency:
The home is heated via low-temperature systems such as underfloor heating
Ground drilling is possible in the garden to extract geothermal energy
The homeowner is willing to make a substantial initial investment in exchange for significant savings on energy bills in the long run
