HEATING TURNKEY

Heat pump

Air source heat pump

An air source heat pump works by recovering heat from the outside air. Its advantages in comparison with boilers are: the ability to work for heating, preparing hot water, and also cooling.

Moreover, the air source heat pump works more efficiently and at a lower cost. The efficiency of its work is confirmed by the COP heat conversion coefficient.

COP or COP of a heat pump is the ratio between the amount of heat generated (kW/h) for heating and hot water preparation and the electrical energy (kW/h) required for operation of the heat pump.

Thus, the heat pump operates with minimum energy consumption and maximum heat transfer.

It is important to understand that the heat pump operates at low temperature. Heat is distributed via the underfloor heating and radiators. For efficient heating with a heat pump, it is of a great importance to cover 100% of the house area with underfloor heating. 

Cooling becomes possible with a fan coil unit. Its feature is a water-based refrigerant that provides a smoother flow of cold or warm air. Fan coil units can be:

• wall-mounted - placed on a wall, visually very similar to the wall-mounted air conditioner unit;
• floor - placed on a floor, therefore they occupy space in a room;
• ducted - they are mounted in the ceiling space and remain almost invisible in the interior.

Before installing a heat pump, as well as a boiler, it is necessary to calculate and ensure the energy efficiency of a house: install high-quality double-glazed windows, provide thermal insulation for a roof and walls. Only in this case, the work of the heat pump will be efficient and pay back.

Ground source heat pump

A ground source heat pump operates with the thermal ground energy. To install a geothermal heat pump a client will need a significant area adjacent to the house for drilling wells and laying collectors in the ground. This makes it almost impossible to use a ground source pump for apartments in multi-storey buildings.

Conditions for the installation of a geothermal heat pump in a private house should be the same as for an air one: an energy efficient house, maximum coverage of a heated floor, correct piping hydraulics and low-temperature radiators.

However, a ground source heat pump works more efficiently than an air source. If the average COP heat conversion coefficient for an air heat pump is 3.5, then for a geothermal heat pump it is 5.5. That is, with less energy consumption, the ground source heat pump generates more heat. Nevertheless, take into account the higher cost of such a system. 

Gas condensing boiler

The condensing boiler works by burning natural gas. The lower the temperature of a heating system, the more efficient the operation of a condensing boiler. Therefore, a heating system based on a gas condensing boiler is designed for low temperature operation. The recommended temperature of radiators for condensing boilers is +55 °C. Gas condensing boilers can be:

• single-circuit - works according to priority: either for heating, or for hot water supply. That is, it accumulates a hot water tank (most often with a volume up to 300 liters) and then continues to work on the heating system. If the temperature of the water in a tank starts to drop, the boiler raises its capacity to the maximum and fills the tank with hot water. As soon as the tank is full, the system returns to house heating. This option is energy efficient, because in 15-20 minutes while the hot water tank heats up, the house does not cool down.
• double-circuit - simultaneously provide home heating and hot water supply. Double-circuit boilers have low hot water throughput. Therefore, Alter Air prefers single-circuit boilers.

Condensing boilers are often combined with a pump group module in a boiler room, which is responsible for radiators or floor convectors. It can also be done with a separate system on a mixing unit for controlling the temperature of the warm floor.

In most cases, a warm floor is installed under a ceramic coating. Underfloor heating can also be installed under a wooden floor. But it must be designed for heating with the ability to maintain the temperature (+ 26 °C).

The boiler room based on the condensing boiler is weather-dependent. That is, depending on the temperature outside, the boiler generates the required amount of heat for a house.

The efficiency of a gas condensing boiler consists not only in the principle of its operation, but also in the possibility of choosing different operating modes. You can adjust the temperature by zone, that is, a separate mode for each room: somewhere warmer, somewhere cooler. It is also possible to change the temperature depending on the time. For example, during the day when you are absent, you can set the temperature in the house slightly lower than in the evening when you return.

Though, the possibility of such a choice of mode is also available for electric boilers and heat pumps.

Electric boiler

Electric boilers heat with electricity. The choice of a boiler (gas or electric) depends on the characteristics of the building, the possibilities of the site, and the gas inlet. Most often, an electric boiler is used in the following cases:

1. for premises up to 180 m²;
2. in houses where there is no gas inlet;
3. if the budget does not allow to install a heat pump.

The system of operation of a single-circuit electric boiler is identical with a gas one - priority heating: first, filling the tank with hot water, then heating the house. When installing an electric boiler, we always recommend designing a heating system with the prospect of switching to a heat pump.

In Europe, everyone is already switching to heat pump heating. Given the high demand and high competition on the market, pump manufacturers are gradually reducing prices. Therefore, in the next 5 years, heat pumps in Ukraine will become much more affordable and popular. To make it easier for oneself to replace equipment in a few years, it is necessary to provide:

1. correct pipeline hydraulics;
2. cover the maximum area of a house with a warm floor system;
3. low-temperature mode of radiators (max. 45 °C)

If these conditions are not provided in advance, then it makes no sense to install a heat pump, since it will work ineffectively.