Though photo voltaic panels can be utilized to assist energy an air supply warmth pump, photo voltaic assisted warmth pumps are a unique product in their very own proper. However how do they differ from regular warmth pumps and is there any worth in contemplating one in your plans?
On this article I check out precisely what they’re, how they differ from different varieties of warmth pump and contemplate the professionals and cons that can assist you determine if putting in one is a good suggestion for you.
I will additionally present some particulars on budgeting for a photo voltaic assisted warmth pump so you’ll be able to issue this into your potential residence renovation or extension plans, do you have to contemplate it a viable choice.
What’s a photo voltaic assisted warmth pump?
Photo voltaic assisted warmth pumps, often known as thermodynamic water heaters, are successfully a small warmth pump that doesn’t have a fan like an air supply warmth pump, or a floor loop like a floor supply warmth pump, however as an alternative has a black metallic panel (or 2 panels) which can be roughly 1.5m2 every and are both mounted on the roof or on an exterior wall.
The panels include refrigerant and are linked to the warmth pump physique within the residence by way of a refrigerant pipe. The thought is that the warmth from the solar, and ambient air, will likely be absorbed by the refrigerant and be transferred to a water cylinder by the warmth pump.
The warmth pump itself can be a really small capability. Normally the compressor ranking is round 600W and the producers expectation is that it ought to produce round 1800W of warmth. Photo voltaic assisted warmth pumps have been initially developed, and are historically utilized in hotter climates, however because of the low energy output, are finest suited to sizzling water preparation fairly than as a way of heating your house.
Customary photo voltaic thermal panels are glazed and have pipework and insulation and are round 2m2. The photo voltaic thermal panels often have handled water in them that’s pumped via the panel and again to a coil in a water cylinder. Because the water travels via the panel it absorbs warmth from the solar after which deposits it into the water within the cylinder.
By having a refrigerant within the panel, the idea is that the tremendous cool refrigerant can take in extra warmth than water after which it may be compressed to reinforce the temperature in order that extra of the power and latent warmth might be transferred to the house.
Professionals and cons of photo voltaic assisted warmth pumps
Benefits
The benefits of a photo voltaic assisted warmth pump are that they’re compact, reside within the residence, don’t have any exterior condenser such as you would have on an air supply warmth pump, and don’t have any disruptive groundworks such as you would encounter when putting in a floor supply warmth pump.
In contrast to photo voltaic thermal methods they’ll nonetheless produce warmth when there isn’t any direct daylight on the panels – albeit the effectivity and resultant output might be decrease.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of photo voltaic assisted warmth pumps are that they require a specialised refrigeration engineer to put in them and so they additionally require an space of roof or wall to mount the panels.
If they’re mounted on the roof then care additionally must be taken in ensuring that if any snow or rain have been to freeze on the panels that it couldn’t dislodge because the ambient situations improved and resulted in a block, or sheet of ice descending to the bottom the place it might, at finest injury property, and at worst injury animals or folks.
The Vitality Financial savings Belief web site additionally notes that as a result of the system works by constantly producing a low quantity of sizzling water, should you use all the recent water up, it takes time for the recent water cylinder to warmth up once more. Doubtlessly not excellent in a bigger family with babies, operating a number of baths every day.
A more recent concern, and one for the long run, is using flammable refrigeration gasoline. At the moment the photo voltaic assisted warmth pump unit doesn’t use flammable refrigerants, however many non-flammable refrigerants are being phased out in warmth pumps and flammable merchandise changing them.
This poses an issue for photo voltaic assisted warmth pump models because the refrigerant goes into the house and can must be safely managed. Solely time will inform how that will likely be achieved.
How environment friendly are photo voltaic assisted warmth pumps?
The effectivity of photo voltaic assisted warmth pumps relies on plenty of components. If there may be direct daylight on the panels, the ambient temperature is fairly excessive, and the water temperature you are attempting to supply can be not too sizzling, then the effectivity will likely be good.
If any of those components change then the effectivity will drop and the flexibility to supply warmth will likely be diminished. It’s affordable to imagine that at evening and in winter the sunshine will likely be much less and the ambient temperatures a lot decrease.
If there may be more likely to be snow deciding on the panels, then additionally it is vitally necessary to ask for the empirical knowledge from the producers so as to have the ability to specify the know-how to satisfy your necessities, and your expectations.
If the empirical knowledge just isn’t accessible or appears to have been primarily based on the climate situations and power calls for in different international locations, then it’s best to keep away from that individual product and discover one with UK reference.
Is my residence appropriate for a photo voltaic assisted warmth pump?
The set up of a photo voltaic assisted warmth pump might be extra sophisticated than putting in an air supply warmth pump. Each want a sizzling water cylinder, however the photo voltaic assisted warmth pump may also want sufficient house inside the house for the precise unit which is across the dimension of a washer.
Quite a lot of metallic panels (often round 1 to three) are put in on a south going through roof or vertical wall and are linked again to the photo voltaic assisted warmth pump unit inside the house by way of two refrigerant pipes which can be round 28mm in diameter, together with insulation.
In the identical means as you want to examine your roof suitability for photo voltaic panels, you may must examine in case your roof is appropriate for the panels used with a photo voltaic assisted warmth pump.
How a lot will a photo voltaic assisted warmth pump price?
A photo voltaic assisted warmth pump will price anyplace from round £500 to £2000 for the supplies. Set up price may be between £2000 and £4000, relying on whether or not you want to embody scaffolding prices, and the way a lot plumbing work and disruption must happen within the residence.
Closing verdict
My closing ideas? Photo voltaic assisted warmth pumps are primarily designed to supply sizzling water to be used within the residence for showers and washing. Many of the methods usually are not highly effective sufficient to warmth the central heating methods of most UK properties.
The perfect state of affairs for a photo voltaic assisted warmth pump unit is for it to have direct daylight on the panels. Though many producers and installers state that they’ll work in shade and darkness, these applied sciences have been developed in hotter climates and the very fact stays that if there isn’t any incident daylight, and decrease ambient temperature across the panel, then the power useful resource is decrease and the warmth output is much less.
Though the know-how and physics of the system are completely sound, fairly often the methods can wrestle in chilly climate and don’t meet the expectations of the house owner.
Want your air supply warmth pump to offer extra than simply sizzling water however eager to combine some further renewable know-how into your house heating plans? Observe our information to utilizing photo voltaic panels and warmth pumps collectively and take a look at the total vary of off-grid heating choices which can be accessible to you.