Futuristic Buildings

It takes a lot of energy to heat rooms in winter and cool them in summer. In the United States, fifty-four percent of the energy used in the average home is for heating and cooling rooms. The three fuels used most often for heating are natural gas, electricity, and heating oil.

 

What is Air Source Heat Pumps?

Air source heat pumps absorb heat from the outside air. This heat can then be used to heat radiators, underfloor heating systems, or warm air convectors and hot water in your home.  Air-source heat pumps are classified as either air-to-air or air-to-water depending on whether the heat distribution system in the building uses air or water.

 

Air to water - This is the most popular type in that they  can be integrated into existing water based heating systems such as radiators and under floor heating. As they work at lower temperatures than standard boilers, the size of existing radiators may need to be increased, or replaced, with more efficient fan assisted radiators. Under floor heating is well suited to being used with a heat pump.

Air to air - Instead of heating water, this will heat the air inside your home. It requires an internal wall hung warm air unit or be incorporated into a HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system, which through ducting, can provide heating or cooling to each room from a central Fan Coil Unit. This works well with a new build to incorporate the ducting or retro fitting to a bungalow where the ducting can be placed in the attic. Another benefit of Air to Air is that they can be used to purify the air which is particularly advantageous if you suffer from allergies.

 

An air source heat pump extracts heat from the outside air in the same way that a fridge extracts heat from its inside. It can get heat from the air even when the temperature is as low as -15° C. Heat pumps have some impact on the environment as they need electricity to run, but the heat they extract from the ground, air, or water is constantly being renewed naturally.