Suitability
Lower energy use in buildings relies mainly on the building being constructed with high levels of insulation so that the heat requirements of the building are less. The introduction of new building regulations in the last few years has necessitated the construction of buildings to have much higher wall, floor and roof insulation in them and to be tested for air leakage. These are the prime factors in reducing energy use, insulation and building air tightness...
So whether the heating is from a boiler or heat pump the energy use will be much less in a well insulated, airtight building.
Heat pumps are efficient generally only when coupled with low energy buildings, so if the building has a high heat requirement it is more than likely that their use is not suitable. This is particularly important to remember when considering the use of a heat pump in older commercial or domestic buildings
Types of Heat Pumps
There are a number of types of heat pump the three types are
Air to Water
Water to water
Ground source.
Air to water. This type of heat pump extracts the heat from the outside air and transfers the energy received to water which is then pumped around the building.
Water to water.This type of heat pump extracts energy from natural sources of water by using a heat exchanger. the natural water sources can be a lake, river or sea water etc..
Ground source. This type of heat pump extracts energy from the ground. This is achieved by installing, boreholes our loops of pipework (called slinkies) in the earth, though which water is circulated. This circulating water picks up the temperature of the earth and circulates it back to the heat pump which the transfers the energy received to water which is then pumped around the building.
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