Heat Pumps Are Crucial To Renewable Energy Industry
As an increasing number of tradesmen take renewable energy courses it is important to examine the role heat pumps will play in the growing green economy.
Air to water heat pumps have a high coefficient of performance and for every kilowatt of energy it uses it produces anything between 4 and 5.3 kilowatt of energy back in to the home.
These are very efficient and are becoming more popular with the introduction of the renewable heat incentive scheme.
This pump takes in the ambient air temperature and through a refrigeration and compression cycle, similar to a fridge, it superheats the refrigerant and allows that stored energy to transfer in to the hot water cylinder where it can be used for domestic hot water use or space heating.
In an ideal world the space heating would be via under floor heating as this is low temperature heating and best suits the temperature out puts and maintains a high return of energy from the heat pump.
In order to install these systems you must also hold a current unvented cylinders certificate.
Air to Air heat pumps are called split systems as one part of the system sits outside the property and the other is located in the living space.
These systems work using the same principle of the air to water heat pumps, taking the ambient air temperature as a heat source and sucking air across a heat exchanger full of refrigerant.
This refrigerant absorbs the heat and through a compression vaporisation cycle superheats the refrigerant which is then passed over another heat exchanger to give off the heat in to the room.
These work in reverse when they are used for air conditioning purposes. The first system is a traditional wall mounted split system. The second system is designed to replace radiators and is a floor mounted application.
These systems can be installed without the refrigerant handling certificates as they are sealed systems; however it is advisable to do the Fgas-II certificate which will enable you to not only install these technologies, but also service and maintain them.
Ground source heat pumps again use a refrigerant and compression cycle to generate useable heat from the ground.
The geothermal pipe is buried one metre down or bore holes are drilled to capture low temperature heat from the earth. This is solar irradiation which the earth has absorbed and stored.
Tradesmen who want to learn more about heat pumps should look into taking renewable energy courses.
About the Author
Able Skills provide training through electrical courses, plumbing courses and much more. Able Skills have opened an Energy Saving Training Centre to provide approved training on the installation of energy efficient forms of heating and lighting. Visit the website at http://www.ableskills.co.uk/ for more information.
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