Heat pumps are the most effective way for air conditioning of residential, public and production buildings. That explains the huge interest and its fast entering in the modern man life.
With 1kWh used up electric energy they produce 4 kWh heat.
Heating by heat pumps appears around twice lower consumption than the natural gas and around four times lower than every other heating electrical device.
With heat pump you can heating, cooling and also produce the needed hot water for your home by using the lowest expenses. In the condition of continuous economic crisis and growing prices of the energy sources, heat pumps are probably the most safety investments.
As an energy source, heat pumps use the environment – air, water and earth. Heat pumps using air as an energy source are with the lowest initially consumption but its effectiveness with small exception is limited to -15 ̊C. With heat exchanger placed in trenches and drilling well could be also produced thermal energy – heat pumps from geothermal type. Heat pumps using the heat of the water from drilling wells and other water sources are the best possibility. Its work and effectiveness practically do not depend from the environment temperature. It should be borne in mind that at every 10 m depth the temperature of the water increase at an average of 1 ̊С and the temperature is important for the energy effectiveness of the system. It shouldn’t be ignored also the possibility of already used water being used again for domestic and technological needs. That brings additional effectiveness and independence.
There are several ways for transferring the heating energy in the buildings:
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Heat exchangers with forced air circulation. Mounted on the wall or are build in ceiling.
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Radiant, with serpentine build in the floor.
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In old buildings, with central heating or other source installations, could be used already existing radiators by increasing the heating area.
Radiant heating, with build in serpentines in the floor, designed and constructed correct is saving additionally around 10%. For domestic buildings with standard height of the rooms you can tentatively determine the needed power as follows:
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For new well insulated building are needed 50 W for m2
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For old non well insulated building will be needed 100 W for m2
Thus approximately could be determine what power you will need, as it should to add also the power for heating the domestic hot water- if necessary. The ratio of input electric power to output(produced) heat power is coefficient of energy efficiency of the heat pump. It moves from 3.6to 4.5. Exceptions are specialized heat pumps for heating swimming pools,where this ratio reaches more than 7times.
Figure 1: Example for components of a Typical Ground-Source Heat Pump.