Heat Pumps – National Heat Source Ltd – Boiler Engineers Covering the whole of UK.

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HEAT PUMPS

Heat pumps: how they work, costs and savings

Yes A heat pump is essentially an outside boiler. It captures heat from outside and moves it into your home, using electricity to do so. Read more about how an air source heat pump works in our guide.

There are many benefits to heating your home with an air source heat pump, such as:

High efficiency – an air source heat pump can be over 300% more efficient than a standard gas boiler, potentially saving you money on your heating bills
Lower your carbon footprint by around 13% a year, that’s roughly a return flight from London to Perth
Produce heat even when it’s -25°C!
Low maintenance with a long service life – (15+ years)
Government funding – you’re likely to be eligible for a £7,500 grant from the government. We can help you with this please ask us.

How do heat pumps work?

Although there are a few different kinds of heat pumps, they generally work in the same way.

It all starts with thermal energy (heat) that’s naturally in the air and ground. Even when it feels cold, there’s still plenty of heat there that can be used.

Heat pumps take this heat and raise its temperature before transferring the heat to your central heating system. This is a four-step process:

A liquid chemical (similar to what your fridge uses) takes heat from the air or ground.
The liquid turns into a hot gas through compression.
The hot gas releases its heat to your central heating, warming your home.
The gas cools down, turning it back into a liquid, ready to start all over again.

This is known as a refrigeration cycle. In fact, you may hear that a heat pump works just like a refrigerator in reverse. That’s because it uses the same cycle but in the opposite direction. This heat pump diagram illustrates the process:

Do I need planning permission to install a heat pump?

In general, no – you shouldn’t need planning permission to install a heat pump. This is because most heat pump installations are a ‘permitted development’.

But there are exceptions. For example, if you live in a listed building or a conservation area. It’s best to check with your local planning department before committing to installing a heat pump.

Find out more about planning permission to install low carbon technologies.

Your installer should also help with informing your local district network operator (DNO) that you’re planning to install a heat pump. The DNO is the company responsible for bringing electricity from the network to your home.

Your heat pump installer will have all the information you need to complete the relevant forms and will often do this for you.

To find out more about registering a heat pump in England, Scotland and Wales, visit the UK Government website.

SOLAR SYSTEMS

Solar panels, or photovoltaics (PV), capture the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity to use in your home.

Installing solar panels lets you use free, renewable, clean electricity to power your appliances. You can sell extra electricity to the grid or store it for later use.

There are over 1.3 million installations on homes across the UK – see where the UK solar panel hotspots are.

Let’s look at how they work and whether they’re suitable for your home.

How do solar panels work?

When the sun shines on a solar panel, solar energy is absorbed by individual PV cells. These cells are made from layers of semi-conducting material, most commonly silicon.
The PV cells produce an electrical charge as they become energised by the sunlight. The stronger the sunshine, the more electricity generated. But cells don’t need direct sunlight to work and can even work on cloudy days.
This electrical charge creates a direct current (DC) of electricity.
The direct current passes through a solar inverter to turn it into alternating current (AC) electricity. You need AC electricity to run your household appliances.