Air Source Heat Pumps: Advantages and Disadvantages of Air Source Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are becoming famous around the world with every passing day. They use the simple technology that refrigerators use to perform the cooling function. Heat pumps are a very efficient and effective alternative to conventional fuel-based systems.
Heat pumps consume electricity to transfer heat from one place to another. Other fuel-based systems produce or generate electricity by consuming fuel. That is why they produce more carbon emissions as compared to heat pumps. Heat pumps are therefore considered to be more environment friendly as compared to the conventional systems.
Air Source Heat Pumps
Air source heat pump is a type of heat pump. It can perform both heating and cooling functions. It simply takes air from the outside environment, cools down or heats up the air according to the requirement and transfers it inside the home. The air source are installed outside the building in an open space with air surrounding them.
Types of Air Source Heat Pumps
Air source heat pumps are further divided into two types.
- Air to air Heat Pumps: this heat pump absorbs air from outside and transfers it inside through an indoor unit containing a fan.
- Air to water Heat Pumps: this heat pump absorbs air from outside source and transfers it inside through central heating system of your house and transfers heat to your water cylinders and radiators etc.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Air Source Heat Pumps
Air source are proving to be very beneficial with every passing day. Following is a list of advantages and disadvantages of air source. They will let you understand the concept of air source in a better way.
Advantages of Air Source Heat Pumps
- Save Money on Electricity Bills
With an air source heat pump installed at your property, you will save a lot of your hard earned money that you were previously paying for your electricity bills. Air source consume only 1KW of electricity to transfer 3KW of heat. This means that air source heat pumps are energy efficient heating and cooling solutions that will help to save you money on energy bills.
- Less Carbon Emissions
Air source do not consume fuel or coal to perform the heating or cooling function. They consume electricity for this purpose. That is why they have very less carbon emissions as compared to conventional systems. Air source are therefore considered to be very eco-friendly.
- Low Maintenance Cost
Air source are very easy and cheap to maintain. They need servicing from a professional only once a year. All the year round you can maintain your heat pump by yourself. Cleaning the filters, checking refrigerant levels, clearing dust from the pump etc, are the maintenance hacks you can perform on your own to save you the extra maintenance cost.
- Long Life Span
Air source provide you service for longer period of time. Most air source come with a warranty of 5 years. If you maintain it well, an air source heat pump can easily function properly for more than 20 years.
- Easy Installation
Installation process of an air source heat pump is very easy and it can take no more than two days. Installation involves placing of indoor and outdoor units only. It needs no excavation or digging of the ground or walls etc.
Disadvantages of Air Source Heat Pumps
- High Upfront Cost
An air source heat pump saves you money in the long run by efficiently saving your energy and cutting down on energy bills. Its upfront cost is high which is often considered to be a major drawback.
- Well Insulated Space Requirements
The place where you are going to install an air source heat pump needs to be well insulated. If it is not well insulated or the place has corners or gaps in walls, then air will escape out easily. This will not let the air source heat pump work properly and you will not get the expected heating or cooling.
- Less efficient at Lower Temperature
Air source pumps have a major drawback that they lose efficiency at temperature below 0 centigrade. An air source heat pump absorbs air from outside environment to perform its functions. When the air outside becomes extremely cold then it becomes difficult for an air pump to heat it. As a result, the efficiency of an air source heat pump affects.
- Noise
Air source are noisy. They create lot of noise while operating. They are said to be noisier as compared to traditional air conditioners. This is a major drawback as in certain regions you have to take a permit before installing any equipment that creates noise pollution.
Concluding Comments
The above article by ways101 has given a detailed comparison of advantages and disadvantages of an air source heat pump. It will help you to decide whether the advantages are enough for you to make a buying decision of an air source heat pump.
