Air Source Heat Pump Installations – The Govt announcement regarding low carbon heating grants of up to £5000 has prompted more questions than answers from consumers. One of the low carbon technologies that seems to be at the forefront of conversations is the installation of Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP), that generate heat from the air outside.
Air Source Heat Pumps Installations - what is an ASHP?
Air source heat pumps have a refrigerant vapour compression cycle and run at low temperatures to optimise efficiency. There are a number of contributing factors that can influence the efficiency and ASHPs are not devices that simply turn on and off like traditional boilers.
The air source heat pump will be able to supply space heating and domestic hot water to the home. The domestic hot water is stored in a specific heat pump cylinder, which is similar to a standard hot water cylinder but has a bigger heat exchange coil. The cylinder capacity is also usually larger than for a boiler because the stored water temperature is a bit lower to optimise the efficiency of the heat pump.
Below is a link to a recent interview with BBC West Midlands featuring our Director Andrew Percival who explains how an Air Source Heat Pumps work and some of the benefits and drawbacks of installing a new system.
Interview with BBC WM - Renuvo Low Carbon Heating
Is An Air Source Heat Pumps Installation Right For Me?
As discussed in the audio interview above, that are a number of factors you need to consider when embarking on installing a Heat Pump.
Two key factors are vital to ensuring they work effectively. Firstly, homeowners need to maximise the amount of insulation in their lofts and cavity walls before investing in heat pump technology. An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a good way of prioritising your investments to optimise your home’s energy efficiency and there are grants available that can support householders and business. You can search for your properties EPC here.
For more information about Air Source Heat Pumps or to try out our reality check form, please click on the links.
UK Government Net Zero Strategy
With this latest pledge to reach net zero, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “The path of Britain to ending our contribution to climate change will be laid with well-paid jobs and billions of investment in thriving green industries which will drive the green industrial revolution in Britain. In this way, the UK will play a key role on the international stage in pursuing a net zero policy by designing key sectors, ensuring robust carbon accounting, developing carbon markets and emission trading based on a macroeconomic policy framework for net zero emissions. Important infrastructure decisions will be crucial across government and at all levels of government within the UK Government.
As part of its commitment to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050, the UK Government launched its landmark Net Zero Strategy, laying out measures to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and move towards a green and sustainable future. The strategy comes as Britain prepares for next week’s UN climate summit, COP26, where the Prime Minister is urging other world economies to draw up their own national plans to cut emissions. In June 2019, the government declared that it would be the first major economy in the world to adopt a law to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and said that it would build a net zero strategy in the months leading up to COP26 in November 2021
