Is this the first time you are thinking about installing a heat pump? There are a number of things you should know about it. These things as given by heat pump repair experts include:
They can save you money on your energy bills
If you replace an older, G-rated gas boiler with a well-designed heat pump, you might save a significant amount of money on your energy expenditures.
To save even more money, before installing a heat pump, add insulation to your home’s walls, floors, and loft. This will assist minimize the cost of operation.
If you already have solar panels, you can save even more by using the free energy they produce to fuel your heat pump.
A solar battery will save you money by storing energy and using it to power your heat pump later in the day.
As much as a heat pump has the potential to save you money on your energy bills, not everyone who installs a heat pump will get immediate savings.
You should work with heating experts and come up with strategic ways such as installing solar panels.
They work excellently in cold weather
If you live in a cold environment and you have the impression that the units won’t work due to the low temperatures, you should ignore it and install the heat pump as it will work perfectly even in the cold areas.
Finland, Norway, and Sweden are the countries with the most heat pump installations per 1,000 households.
According to the International Energy Agency, 60% of Norway’s buildings have a heat pump, followed by Sweden (43%), and Finland (41%). As you can tell, these countries experience extremely low temperatures during winter.
You can use your ground source heat pump year-round, including during the cooler winter months.
Air source heat pumps continue to operate efficiently at temperatures as low as -15°C.
Heat pumps help lower the carbon footprint
According to the most recent Climate Change Committee study, buildings account for around 17% of the emissions, with the majority of this coming from the use of fossil fuel heating systems in households.
Most residential properties are currently connected to the gas grid and use a typical boiler which adds to the carbon footprint.
The good news is that heat pumps can fix this. In every way, replacing an existing fossil fuel heating system with a heat pump reduces carbon emissions. The amount you save will vary depending on the size of your home and the type of heating system you replace.
A semi-detached home with an old, G-rated gas boiler, for example, might save approximately 2,900kg of carbon dioxide emissions per year by switching to an air-source heat pump.
Heat pumps sometimes require a heating boost
Heat pumps are sized to heat buildings when the outside air reaches the ‘outdoor design temperature’. This would typically be around -2 degrees Celsius.
Heat pumps can operate down to -15°C or lower, but there will come a time when the output cannot match the heating demand. However, these temperatures occur on only a few days per year.
When this happens, the heat pump might request two forms of help. First, it may activate another heat source, such as a boiler, resulting in a ‘hybrid heat pump’.
If you don’t have a boiler because it was removed during the heat pump installation, you can activate a feature known as ‘heating boost’ or ‘heating comfort’ on the control panel.
The heating boost feature means that the heat pump will temporarily use the additional heater element to provide energy to the system until the outside temperature returns to the design value.
It is not uncommon for the heat pump to need some assistance during the colder months. Because the time required is so short, it should not amount to much even over the course of a year.
You should note that the heating boost can be improperly set up or accidentally switched on and forgotten.
To stay on the safe side, check your instructions and make sure this is configured to turn on just when the weather outside warrants it. If you find yourself needing to use this function frequently, you should contact your installer.
You should be cautious of the heating curve
One area that can cause confusion is the ‘heating curve’, which is changed and established by the installation during commissioning. It is simple to implement, but if done incorrectly, it might result in greater operating costs
To be on the safe side, check that the curve has been accurately set. Sometimes installers may set these settings quite conservatively (high) to ensure that your house stays warm in the winter, but you may be able to reduce them greatly without sacrificing comfort.
You should lower the set temperatures to reduce the heating system’s reaction time, making it take longer to adjust the house temperature in cold weather. As you can tell, this has a significant impact on operating expenses.
To be on the safe side, turn it down in one-degree increments throughout the winter until you are certain there is a reduction in comfort levels, then turn it back up one degree.
You may need to switch it off during the night
Many people are accustomed to turning on their heating systems in the morning, shutting them off when they leave for work, and turning them back on when they get home in the evening.
Other people tend to leave their heating equipment on for longer periods of time, and instead of shutting them off, they just lower the temperature overnight or during the day while at work. This is an effective approach for managing heat pumps known as ‘set-back’.
If your home central heating is controlled in this manner, ensure that the heat pump does not attempt to heat the hot water cylinder or the house overnight when outside air temperatures drop.
It is not uncommon for the air temperature to drop by 5°C or more overnight during the winter, causing the heat pump to operate much less efficiently.
In most cases, you should be able to keep the house warm by leaving it on during the day but not at night. Unless you live in extremely cold areas, heat pump repair service Port Jefferson professionals recommend that you set back your heat pump to maintain high levels of efficiency.