Central heating pumps are a vital part of your home’s central heating system, and its purpose is to pump hot water around your home efficiently. If this pump breaks down, then there will be hot water circulation in your home, radiators won’t work, nor will your taps dispense hot water.
If you’re replacing a boiler pump for the first time, or this is the first time you have heard of a central heating pump, at Copper we are here to help. As with any appliance or component, there are a vast variety of central heating pumps available on the market, each with a variety of functions, suiting a variety of different needs.
Air source heat pumps absorb heat from the outside air, to heat your home and hot water; and by using smart technology, they can still extract heat when outside air temperatures are even as low as -15°C. Air source heat pumps work similar to a refrigerator, in that they absorb heat and transfer it to another medium. The pump is placed outside the home, and needs electricity to run, however, because they are extracting renewable heat from the environment, the heat output is much greater than the electricity input.
Air-to-air heat pumps: These pumps absorb heat from the outside air, and then transfer it via a circulatory fan system, around the inside of your home. (Not eligible through the Government RHI scheme).
Air-to-water hear pumps: These pumps absorb heat from the outside air, utilise this energy to heat a water supply, and then circulate hot water via your central heating system to heat radiators, water heating, or underfloor heating systems. (Eligible through the Government RHI scheme).
Air source heat pumps are hugely versatile and affordable, and can work for either cooling or heating purposes for both air and water. Your fuel bills are likely to be drastically reduced, especially if you are replacing conventional gas or electric heating and you may even qualify for a government grant through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme, making your energy costs even cheaper.
An important factor to consider is that air source heat pumps have a lower heat supply than other heating alternatives; this means to get the most out of your ASHP you would need to have a well insulated home, and perhaps underfloor heating too, to minimise draughts or heat-loss.