Which Air Source heat pump is best for me?

Nearly every day we get enquiries asking for us to confirm(or deny) information given by other companies on which heat pump solution is the most suitable, more often than not people don’t entirely understand how heat pumps work so we’ll begin there.

How Heat Pumps Work:

The main part of an Air source heat pump is the outdoor(inverter) unit, within that unit is a refrigerant that is heated to boiling point by the temperature of the air drawn in by the inverter. The reason the air is able to “boil” the refrigerant is that it has a much lower boiling temperature than the air being drawn into the unit. For example our Panasonic Etherea range uses R-410A as a refrigerant which has a boiling point of -48.5°C.

As the refrigerant boils it turns into a gas, the inverter then compresses the gas causing it to heat up even further, that heat is transferred to be either blown into your house via a head unit on an air to air system, or passed to your heating/hot water system (air to water).

Will Heat Pumps save me money?

Yes and Maybe. Heat pumps are one of the most efficient ways to produce heat, the table below shows how much heat is produced from £1 of fuel:

Fuel	Heat Output
Gas	£0.82
Electric Bar Heater	£0.98
Wood Burner	£0.45
Heat Pump	£3 – £5

So as you can see heat pumps are 300 – 500% efficient, simply put any room you chose to heat with an Air source heat pump will consume significantly less energy. IF you use the system properly it will save you money although it is absolutely essential you properly understand how to operate the system you have installed.

Which system is best for me Air to Air or Air to Water?

It very much depends on what you are trying to achieve, generally speaking the installation costs of Air to Air are much lower than Air to Water, the following pros and cons should be considered:

Air to Water

Air to Air

Pros

From Summer 2013 the UK Government has said that they will be offering cash (paid per annum) incentives to home owners that install Air to Water systems, the exact amount is yet to be decided but many believe it will be between £1000 and £1500 per year over 8 years.
Between 400 – 500% efficient, slightly higher than most Air to Air Systems.
They can provide both heating and hot water.
When combined with under floor heating they are unrivalled in terms of value.

They can be combined with solar panels to offer larger savings.

They add value to your home

Pros

Between 300 – 500% efficient depending on the model you chose.
Can be used to Heat or Cool.
Some models actively clean the air. Our Panasonic Etherea range includes Nanoa-G which actively removes 99% of airborne bacteria, viruses and pollutants.
Reactive to activity levels in the house, our Panasonic Etherea range come with EcoNavi which monitors human activity in the room and adjusts heating or cooling accordingly.
Very quick install, even for larger systems it can only take a couple of days with very little disruption.
Convenient, most domestic installations will have anywhere up to 5 indoor units, these units can be individually controlled/scheduled to maximise savings.

They can be combined with solar panels to offer larger savings.

They add value to your home

Cons

Typically Air to Water systems are double the price to install than the equivalent Air to Air system.

Many (but not all) systems require “anti-freeze” liquid to be placed within the heating system to prevent freezing as the water circulates to the outdoor unit, this is toxic so care should be taken when bleeding radiators or working with the heating system.

Air to Water systems only heat not cool.

Some models will not always heat the water above 60°C and require additional electrical heating to bring the water up to temperature making them less efficient, household water needs to be above 60°C to avoid the risk of legionnaire’s disease. Ideally you should select a model that does not require extra energy to heat the water.

Cons

Air to Air heat pumps provide convenient heating or cooling of air but not water; therefore they will only save money on the heating aspect of your bill.
Air to Air pumps are not quite as efficient as Air to Water.

Summary
As you can see air source heat pumps offer a fantastic way for people to save money and reduce their carbon footprint, Air to water systems offer a very complete solution especially when linked to solar panels and underfloor heating. If cost is a deciding factor then Air to Air systems offer great value for money.