Renewable Heat: Air Source Heat Pumps And Solar Energy

By Author: unknownmem
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Air source heat pumps are one of the many renewable heat sources available today. In June this year the UK government will be launching its Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which aims to promote the use of renewable energy technologies with financial rewards. The scheme will work by estimating how much your renewable system will produce and then paying you an amount per kWhr for the hot water and heat you generate and use yourself.

So how does an air source heat pump work? Well they are very similar to how refrigerators work except rather than cooling they give warmth. A heat pump has four main components. These are an evaporator, compressor, condenser and expansion valve. Air is taken from outside and drawn over the evaporator. Then the refrigerant soaks up heat from the air and converts it to a vapour. The refrigerant is sent through a compressor, which pressurises and as a result pushes up the temperature of the vapour. This is what can now be used to heat your home or office. The higher temperature refrigerant then goes to the condenser heat exchanger, moving heat to the heating system. The refrigerant returns ...
... to liquid now that the heat is removed and the liquid refrigerant then returns to its original state as it passes through the expansion valve.

Another renewable heat system which is more known in the public domain is solar power, using the power of our sun to heat our water and homes. Some say it is free energy and the power of the future. Solar energy is a proven solution but it is not free as the outlay is quite high but coming down all the time. Once you have solar panels installed though you will reduce your gas bills by up to 70% and also add value to your property.

Some of the myths around solar energy are not true. Many people believe that because the climate in the UK is not the warmest with many cloudy days, solar panels are not effective. Nothing could be further from the truth as they work just as well on cloudy days as well as sunnier ones. Solar Panels convert daylight to heat, and can be used for hot water and central heating and can be easily adopted into any new or existing property and heating systems.
Northern Gas Heating - the UK's local supplier of new Condensing boilers and Air Source Heat Pumps.