Role of Heat Pumps for a Sustainable Future

The Important Role of Heat Pumps in a Sustainable Future

Today many ways of heating buildings and swimming pools around the world still rely on fossil fuels, especially natural gas. It has long been clear that this leads to vast amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, and the current global energy crisis is an urgent reminder of the need to switch to more affordable, reliable, and cleaner forms of heating. Heat pumps that can efficiently provide heating are a key technology in making heating safer and more sustainable. They are rapidly becoming more cost competitive, attracting the interest of a growing number of governments, businesses, and consumers around the world. However, until now, there has been no comprehensive global study of the state of heat pumps and their future role in our energy systems.

Heat pumps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.

Accelerated deployment of heat pumps in line with national climate targets could already reduce global CO2 emissions by half a gigaton by 2030. However, unexpected leaks of refrigerants (powerful greenhouse gases) can reduce their impact. However, With today's refrigerants, heat pumps still reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% compared to a gas boiler, even when powered by highly emitting electricity. The reduction can reach 80% in countries with clean electricity. global emissions of air pollutants from fuel-fired heating in buildings are also reduced, and other hazards associated with fuel-fired heating are reduced.

The centre for sustainable energy focuses on air-source heat pump

Air source heat pumps are a type of renewable energy technology that takes heat from the outside air (even when it's freezing) and uses it to heat homes and pools. You can get other heat pumps that do the same thing using ground and water heat, but air-source heat pumps are ideal for a wider range of properties. Because the sun heats the air, the energy produced by heat pumps is still renewable, even if the pump itself is not powered by renewable sources.

There are two types of air-source heat pumps. Air-to-water systems are more common and heat the water that circulates through the house through radiators or an underfloor heating system. They can also be used to heat water in a storage tank in the bathroom or kitchen. Air-to-air systems typically use fans to circulate warm air around the house and cannot be used to heat water.

Providing sustainable solutions to meet the demands of society

To meet the demand for more sustainable space and water heating, heat pumps are rapidly available solutions to help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Heat pumps are more efficient than electric resistance heating, switching from fossil fuel heat-generating units such as furnaces and boilers to an efficient electric heat pump can be a step towards a carbon-free system. The most effective measure is for countries to build 100% renewable electricity generation networks to power heat pumps and other residential electrical equipment. Switching from fossil heat to electric heat pumps reduces indirect carbon dioxide emissions if the electricity generated comes from a clean source, such as wind, solar, hydropower, or nuclear power.

Iot in Heat pumps for sustainability

Looking ahead in the next few years, energy efficiency will become a more and more integrated function. As a future development, heat pumps will be used as an active part of a "demand/response" scenario based on daily or hourly variations in electricity availability and price. This situation related to smart grids is a direct consequence of the increased use of renewable energy sources such as solar cells or wind power, which will take advantage of the upcoming connectivity of electrical devices. The way these functions are developed must overcome the limitations of existing control technology or in other words the concept of a stand-alone HVAC unit by introducing the well-known concept of IoT.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the interconnection of "connected devices such as electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and other network-embedded objects, physical devices, and vehicles. These items' connectivity enables data collection and exchange. When referring to data in heat pumps, typical values collected by monitoring systems are thermodynamic variables such as water inlet/outlet temperature, fans/pump speed, compressor status/capacity, expansion valve position, outdoor temperature, suction/outlet superheat, and subcooling. It is easy to understand that such complex information needs to be correlated before it can be added value to utilize the collected information.

 With increasing digitization in the coming years, heat pumps will also be designed for intelligent demand control. As a result, they offer real-time energy efficiency, flexible use of electricity, an optimized load profile, and an optimized compromise between comfort and operating costs. Heat pumps are networked devices that participate in the Internet of Things (IoT). The advantage of IoT-enabled heat pumps is that the collected data can be analyzed and put to good use. Heat pumps with IoT technology further decarbonize the heat supply as they offer the best way to convert sensibly available (renewable) energy into domestic comfort and industrial services.