ECOmanual

Eco manualChanging the heating system in the house is a big step which demands investments. There are many different possibilities and technical solu-tions. It takes a knowledge to make a right choice for the right system according to your needs.

What are your demands for heating?We made this Eco manual to help you to find a right answer to this question...

1 - collector

2 - heat pump

3 - radiator

4 - water tap

heat pumps

Part 1

For about 30 years, Swedish people started to talk about heat pumps as an alternative ecological heating system. Today, heat pump technology is an established economical, environment-friendly and safe heating method which fits to all kinds of energy needs from small houses to the commercial buildings.

A heat pump is a machine which uses that so called “free heat” that exists in the air, ground, bedrock and water. In principle, heat pump technology is used in all refrigerators and freezing cameras – in this matter, to cool down instead of to heat.

Heat pump equipment consists of four main components: steamer, condenser, compressor and a strangle valve. Besides that, control and steering components completes the construction.

collector

condenser

steamer

compressorstrangle valve

system in the house

bedrock, ground, water, air

Heat pump working principle1. A biodegradable antifreeze liquid circulates in a collector circuit that absorbs heat from the surroundings.

2. When the liquid arrives back at the heat pump it is at a temperature of around 40°F. Heat from the liquid is transferred to a refrigerant circulating in a closed system. The refrigerant, which has a low boiling point, is vaporized by the heat from the collector circuit. It then passes through a compressor, which pressurizes it, raising the temperature to a useful level of around 120°F.

3. This heat is then transferred to the heating system in your home by another heat exchanger.

Air heatingAn air heat pump does not need any collector circuit. Energy can be taken directly from the surrounding air with the help of an air module. It takes place outside the house and works together with an electrical module in the house. Heat is transferred by direct vaporization when air passes through a heat exchanger. Air heat pump gives less energy saving than a bedrock one but has some other benefits. For instance, when drilling is impossible or not permitted, use of an air heat pump can become a great alternative and give up to 60% of energy savings. Cheap installation gives these heat pumps an advantage over other types that can be installed in small houses.There are three different types of air heat pumps: Exhaust air heat pump, Air-water heat pump, Air-to-air heat pump.

Water heatingA lake heat pump effectively works in the same way as a ground heat pump, by using heat stored in the lake water and lake bed. The collector circuit is laid on the bottom of the waterway and carries heat to a waterside home.

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Bedrock heatingA bedrock heat pump uses that solar energy which is saved in the rocky ground and can later be used for heating the house and hot water. To get the energy from the rock is the most typical solution. A pipe sinks down to the deep borehole (260-650 feet depending on geological and climate conditions). The collector hose is fed into the borehole, which is filled with water. A bedrock heat pump reduces energy consumption by 60–70 %.

Ground heatingA ground heat pump takes solar energy via a circuit collector, which is dug down 3 feet in the ground and organized in loops. If bedrock lies too deep or drilling is not permitted, then you can choose a ground heat solution. The collector circuit absorbs heat from the ground and uses it to vaporize the refrigerant in the heat pump. Using heat from the soil reduces energy consumption by 60–70 %.

Designing processOur specialists make an assessment of energy requirement depending on the house’s age, construction, isolation and requests of the home owners. After that, an appropriate type and size of heat pump can be chosen on the basis of recommended energy coverage, the costs of the equipment and other preferences. The size of the heat pump is a very important part. The ground rules say that a heat pump with the dimensions for 50% of necessary effect, so it can cover 80% of energy needs.

Energy saving and economical profitabilityWhen using a heat pump one can get up to 70% of free energy from the nature. 30% is an electrical drive energy that is required to start the compressor. Thanks to that, a heat pump can be a very affordable machine for heat supply. The received free energy can compensate the difference between primary investment and future cost of using the new equipment. Traditional heating with gas/oil Heating with a heat pumpYou buy each year 30 000 kWh* 10 000 kWhYou save each year 0 kWh 20 000 kWhYour profit after 20 years 0 € 38 100 €

*The calculation is based on the data that 1m² consumes about 150 kWh/year in a typical well insulated house of 200 m² active heating area and a sealing elevation up to 2,50 m. Warm water production is included and takes 30% of the energy needs.

Heating dictionaryHouse energy consumptionA house can be heated using electricity, oil or wood, for example. The energy consumption of your home is how much energy your home uses in an average year to maintain a normal room temperature.

CollectorThe collector is the hose that is buried in the ground or inserted in a borehole. Its job is to collect heat from the ground or bedrock.

CondenserA condenser is a heat exchanger in which a refrigerant condenses, in other words it changes from a gas to a liquid. During this process heat is transferred from the refrigerant to the radiator water.

RefrigerantThe refrigerant circulates in the heat pump circuit and carries heat from the heat source to the water that circulates through the radiators.

Scroll compressorA scroll compressor has few moving parts and therefore has low noise and vibration levels.

Thermal contributionThe thermal contribution is the percentage of the maximum energy consumption of a home that a heat pump is able to supply. A heat pump with a thermal contribution of 92 % supplies 92 % of all the heat a house requires for heating and hot water. The remaining eight per cent of the heat required must be supplied from another source, such as an immersion heater.

Coefficient of performance (COP)The coefficient of performance is the efficiency of a heat pump, in other words a measure of how much energy the pump delivers in relation to the electrical energy it uses during operation.

Annual mean temperatureThe temperature in a location averaged over every day of the year.

Part 2

1 - solar panel

2 - accumulator tank

3 - radiator

4 - hot water tap

solar heat

An hour of insulation against the earth’s surface corresponds to the energy the human race consumes during one year! A normal house roof receives approximately 6 times the energy that the house itself consumes. In order to be able to make use of this, we use solar panels.A solar panel receives solar energy and converts it into heat which is transferred either directly or via a heat exchanger to a heating system. Solar heat is normally used to produce hot water and heating and is dimensioned to cover half the hot-water requirement and around a third of the heating requirement. The major advantages of solar energy are almost no operating costs or environmental impact due to heating, as well as hot water during the warm months. The disadvantage is that it yields poorer heat or no heat at all, during the winter months when the need for energy is greatest. This can be solved by storing the hot water in well-insulated tanks. Flat plate solar panels, vacuum solar panels, and concentrating solar panels are the different types available. Flat plate panels are the most common. There are also solar panels for pools as well as heliostat installations for producing electricity (thermal solar power stations). Solar power reduces electric heating consumption by approximately 10-20%.

Profitability of solar heatThere is a non-recurring installation cost. The solar heat itself is free. This makes solar heat more and more profitable and saves you more money as the price of energy increases. Another aspect is the low maintenance cost of solar installations; among other things due to there being no moving parts such as compressors, besides the circulation pump which normally lasts for a long time and is relatively cheap to replace. Naturally, solar heat is to be seen, like heat pumps, as a long-term investment as these do not pay for themselves in the short-term.

EnvironmentSolar energy is not just free, it is also silent, renewable, and clean and can be used without causing harmful emissions or polluting the environment. Technological development is rapid. The cost of solar heat will fall, making it more competitive in comparison with other forms of energy. We at ECOENERGI recommend solar panels in combination with heat pumps for bedrock heating.

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