Renewable energy is becoming popular in the industry by the day. And there is a lot of talk about heat pumps in the market these days. When it comes to heat pumps, there are a lot of options available in the market. It seems as though everyone these days is incorporating heat pumps in their houses.
A lot of European countries have them fitted in their buildings, but now heat pumps are gaining recognition all over the world. Sooner or later, everyone will switch to heat pumps as the source of warming their own house because they are cost-efficient and easy-to-implement. To understand how heat pumps save money, let us first explore what they are and their functionality.
Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are electrical components that collect heat from one place and deliver it to another. Through a cycle of condensation and evaporation of a refrigerant, heat pumps distribute heat throughout the electrical device.
The concept of heat pumps has existed for a long time. Refrigerators and air conditions are some of the examples which use heat pumps in their devices.
Also Read: How Does A Water Source Heat Pump Work
Benefits of Heat Pumps
There is more than one benefit involved when utilizing heat pumps in different electrical devices. Some of them are as follows:
Reduced Carbon Emissions:
The footprint of carbon emission is drastically reduced when heat pumps are utilized. This is because some countries still utilize the burning of fossil fuels such as coal to create heat or warmth in their homes. Similarly, methane is used to produce heat. These kinds of resources release dangerous toxins and chemicals into the air contaminating the environment for future generations.
Utilizing heat pumps for heating or cooling a house is a viable solution. Through the consumption of minimal electricity, electricity is easily converted into heat or cool energy and distributed throughout the system. Energy efficiency increases by up to 600% when heat pumps are incorporated into the solution. A great impact is created on the overall efficiency of the system.
Safe Heating / Cooling:
When it comes to other methods of heating or cooling, the whole process involves the burning of certain products. They are dangerous and can cause serious harm to individuals. For example, when burning wood or coal, there is a chance that a little negligence can burn the whole place down. Similarly, when methane gas is utilized for heating or cooking purposes, there is a chance that due to lack of its smell, it spreads in an area and as soon as it is lighted, the whole place catches on fire.
On the other hand, when it comes to using heat pumps, no such risks are present. The process is simple, and mostly machine based which makes its handling simpler.
Low Maintenance:
Heat combustion devices cost a lot to maintain. Repeated maintenance is performed. Regular replacement of fossil fuel is required. When it comes to deploying heat pumps in the electrical device, minimum to low maintenance is performed.
On an annual basis, the pipes are rechecked and other components of the electrical devices are examined to ensure everything is up to mark. This costs next to nothing. More often than not, there is no need for an expert to analyze the condition of the device.
Sure, if there is a need and the device presents an anomaly, an expert should examine but routine annual checkups are easy to do.
Money-Saving:
They are a one-time installation device. When heat pumps are fixed inside the house of an individual, chances are there will be no need to change or upgrade the whole process for several years.
Furthermore, they utilize minimum to low electricity to convert into heat, thus reducing the overall electric bill within no time. The basic idea of using heat pumps for energy-saving purposes is to get maximum heat with little to no electricity consumption.
Read More: Cost Avoidance vs Cost Savings: What makes them Different
Long-term Solution:
These heat pumps are a long term solution to heating problems. It is estimated that a properly implemented system of heat pumps can last around 50 years. This is the best-case scenario. More commonly used heat pumps have a life-span of 15 to 20 years and require a replacement after it.
As a comparison to other heat-combustion devices, they have triple the amount of lifespan which makes it more efficient to use.
Disadvantages of Heat Pumps
Many disadvantages are also associated with heat pumps. Thy is quickly discussed below:
Installation Difficulties:
One of the most difficult tasks of heat pumps is to get them installed. A house that requires heat pump installations, needs to be studied thoroughly. A feasibility analysis is performed to understand the heating and cooling process of the whole house. Temperatures are assessed and heating and cooling systems through the heat pumps are devised for each specific house or location.
Planning permissions are required for heat pumps to be implemented in the homes. According to the size of your house and its location, you may or may not be granted permission to incorporate a heat pump system into your home. This can turn into quite a bit of hassle most of the time.
The installation process in itself takes around a day or two but the overall procedure of feasibility analysis, specific heat pump studies, and installation takes several days. Since there is a lot of pipework involved, a lot of wear and tear is bound to happen inside the house creating inconvenience for the people living there.
Unsustainable Solution:
Biodegradable fluids are recommended for the implementation of heat pumps. More often than not, fluids used in the heat pumps to deliver heat from one place to another are unsustainable. They are of a type that causes a lot of carbon emissions and overall pollution in the environment.
Initial High-Cost:
No matter the quality of a heat pump, it has a high cost when it is installed. There is a lot of work involved i.e. implementing pipes inside the building and other similar processes.
Final Words
The benefits of a heat pump greatly outweigh the disadvantages. There is no doubt that the initial installation cost is of a large amount but at the same time, it saves huge amounts of the cost when it comes to electrical billing. Through their efficient energy system of moving heat produced by electricity from one place to another, the carbon emissions are reduced. They are definitely worth their initial cost because of the numerous benefits that are attached to them.
Heat pumps are getting better by the day at energy harvesting. They are becoming more and more efficient. Unlike boiler and furnaces, there are little to no harmful by-products involved, making the environment safer in the longer run. This is by far the most important benefit that needs to be kept in mind when switching over to heat pumps from traditional heating sources.
When it comes to heat pumps, there are hundreds of different options available in the market as there are multiple types of heat pumps. Each heat pump offers multiple features. It is wise to research each one thoroughly before going out and buying one. Their ultimate aim is to facilitate you in your daily life. Get started immediately as hundreds of quotes are available.
