Energy efficiency and efficient use of energy is currently on the agenda for many individuals, companies, researchers and official bodies. Wether the reason being cost saving, environmental concerns, a general interest for applying technology or just a general awareness not to spend more than what really is necessary, we, at energyfaculty believe that it is a good practice to take into use available technologies to enable more efficient energy expenditure.

Heat pump technology

One applicable technology that may contribute to increased energy efficiency is heat pump technology, used for space heating. Heat pumps have for a long time been used for cooling, in devices like; refrigerators, freezers and air-conditioners. Over the last couple of decades the heat pump technology has been further developed and we now can see that heat pumps are more often used for heating purposes.

High cost but good investment
Even if aquiring a heat pump means a substantial investment compared to traditional electrical heaters or furnaces, it will in most cases, due to it’s favourable power utilisation and energy efficiency be a beneficial investment over time.

Energy efficiency
A heat pump used for heating is rather unique in that it delivers more thermal power than the electrical power consumed. Up to 4 to 5 times the power consumed, under good conditions.

Limitations
The heat pump, as most technical devices has it’s limitations, one of them being that when the heat pump is used for heating, the efficiency of the heat pump will be significantly reduced at low temperatures. How much and at what temperatures is depending on the design and the energy efficiency profile for the heat pump. This being a serious concern for many potential heat pump users, since it is when it is cold outside we need heating the most.

Even if there is a rapid growth in the use of heat pumps, this limitation in combination with the acquisition cost is probably the main reason that heat pumps are not yet used more than they already are.

Learn more
To learn more about various types of heat pumps, how they work and their efficiency have a look at this: “Heat pump types, function and data”