Heating
Heat pumps: the complete guide
In short: a heat pump extracts heat from the air, water or ground and releases it inside your home. With a COP of 3, it produces 3 kWh of heat for 1 kWh of electricity.
How it works
A heat pump consists of a closed, sealed circuit in which a refrigerant circulates, changing from a gas to a liquid and back again. The system extracts thermal energy from the ground, the ambient air or water, then amplifies it and transfers it inside the home. Efficiency increases when the temperature difference between the heat source and the heating circuit remains small.
Older refrigerants such as R22 damaged the ozone layer and are being phased out, replaced by HFCs (R407C, R410A, R417A) that have no impact on the ozone layer but are still powerful greenhouse gases: regular leak checks are recommended.
The six stages of the cycle
- The evaporator transfers outdoor heat to the refrigerant, which vaporizes
- The electric compressor draws in the vaporized refrigerant
- Compression raises the refrigerant's temperature
- The heat is transferred to the water in the heating circuit or to the indoor air
- The refrigerant condenses and turns back into a liquid
- The expansion valve lowers the pressure, starting a new vaporization
The coefficient of performance (COP)
The COP expresses the efficiency of a heat pump relative to its electricity consumption. Most heat pumps convert 1 kWh of electricity into 2 to 5 kWh of heat. A unit that consumes 1 kWh to deliver 3 kWh has a COP of 3. We recommend choosing a system with a COP above 3.
Types of heat pumps
- Air-to-air
- Exhaust air-to-air (heat recovery ventilation)
- Air-to-water
- Water-to-water
- Geothermal
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