There are a few things to be aware of when considering efficiency. In particular, heat pump efficiency depends on how hard each heat pump has to work to maintain a comfortable room temperature – the lower the ‘flow temperature’ (the temperature the water flows through your radiators), the greater the efficiency.
In a nutshell, however - heat pumps are a hugely energy efficient method for heating. Air source heat pumps are often more efficient than other heating systems and – designed and installed correctly - will produce around three times more energy than they take in: 300% efficient in fact! Why? Because they transfer heat rather than generate it.
It’s also useful to understand how heat pump efficiency is measured.
Heat pump efficiency is measured by its Coefficient of Performance (CoP). This shows how efficiently it can heat your home under the best possible conditions. A CoP of 3, for example, means that for every unit of electricity used by the heat pump, 3 units of heat are generated for use within your home.
Let’s put this into perspective: direct electric heaters operate at 100% efficiency (1 unit of electricity produces 1 unit of heat), and brand-new A-rated gas boilers function at an efficiency of around 90%. For air source heat pumps, using the example above, the efficiency would be 300%.
It’s worth remembering that different seasons experience different temperatures, meaning the heat pump will work harder (and therefore be less efficient) at certain times of the year. When you read the manufacturers’ information on how efficient their heat pump is, look for the SCoP, or seasonal co-efficient of performance, which takes this into account and will be typically lower than the CoP.
Just to complicate matters, you may also see different SCoPs for different flow temperatures. The lower the flow temperature, the higher the SCoP. Better insulated homes can have lower flow temperatures as they experience lower heat loss. The heat pump doesn’t need to work so hard, so it’s more efficient.
Hopefully this has helped provide some information to better understand the way heat pump efficiency is measured, and what it means - heat pumps are significantly more efficient than a traditional gas boiler heating system
To find out more about how Thermly can help you become heat pump ready, head to: https://thermly.co.uk/heat-pumps
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Our short Heat Pump Readiness Assessment is free, and only takes a few minutes. Sometime a bit longer with a cup of tea.
