VERSOPUMP Heat pumps represent systems that ‘pump’ or move heat from one place to another by using a compressor and a circulating structure of liquid or gas refrigerant, through which heat is extracted from outside sources and pumped indoors.

Pumping the heat uses less electricity as compared to when electricity is solely used as a means to convert it. During the summers, the cycle can be reversed and the unit acts like an air conditioner.

Heat pumps represent the most efficient alternative to fuel, oil and electric systems in regards to both heating and cooling. Gas furnaces do a relative good job, rated close to 98 per cent efficient, however they do not represent a long term solution from a carbon footprint aspect. Heat pumps supply more heating and cooling capacity than the amount of electricity used to run them. Properly designed and installed heat pumps regularly attain more than 300 per cent efficiency.

Are you interested in getting quotes for heat pumps? Let us know about your needs and preferences and we will get back to you as soon as possible though qualified suppliers. Contact us.

No alt text provided for this image
No alt text provided for this image

How Much Would a Heat Pump Cost?

Heat pumps prices are usually high, taking into account the installation of the entire system, however the costs will vary for different heat pumps. The typical price range for a complete installation is between £6,000and £16,000, to which the running costs have to be considered. Air to water heat pump costs usually start from £7,000 and goes up to £14,000, while water source heat pump costs can reach up to £12,000. The running costs of heat pumps depend on your household, its insulation properties and size.

These running costs are prone to be lower than the ones of the previous systems, the more difference being what system we are switching from. For instance, if you switch from gas, this will give you the lowest saving figures, while a typical home shifting from electricity could annually save more than £500.

The most important aspect when installing a heat pump system is that is done flawlessly. With definite differences in terms of the produced heat level, and the specific running time of the heat pump, the installer person in charge will have to explain the ideal settings.

Heat Pumps Advantages

Prior to your purchasing decision of a heat pump system, it is important to inform yourself about heat pumps upsides and downsides. There are a multitude of heat pump advantages, which make them a great investment for homeowner, and simultaneously, concerns that have to be regarded.

Advantages

1. Lower Running Costs

Heat pumps are cheaper to run than systems based on combustion. The more energy efficient the systems are, the greater long term savings on energy. Despite the fact that the prices of ground source heat pumps can go up to even £20,000, this friendly environmentally investment can help you save up to £1,400 per year.

2. Less Maintenance

Heat pumps require less maintenance than the combustion heating systems. Regularly, once a year, some certain details of the system have to be checked, which could be easily accomplished by yourself. A professional installer, on the other hand, has to check every three or five years.

3. Safety

Heat pumps are safer than combustion-based heating systems.

4. Carbon Emissions

Heat pump system reduces your carbon emissions and it has an efficient conversion rate of energy to heat. For example, water source heat pumps reach reasonably high efficiencies, close to 600 per cent.

5. Provide Cooling

During the warm periods, heat pumps are able to reverse the process, and thus act like an ac unit. Air to air heat pumps can conveniently be switched to cooling mode during the summers.

6. Long Life-Span

The life-span of heat pumps is relatively long, up to 50 years, however the average life-span is somewhere between 14 to 15 years. Despite these numbers, they are exceptionally reliable and steady source of heat.

7. RHI Scheme

The government provides two different types of programs to assist the installation of renewable heat systems. You may be eligible for payment under Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme, which addresses to homeowners, social and private landlords, and also to self-builders. On the other side, the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive is open to public sector such as businesses, organisations and industries.

Heat Pumps Disadvantages

1. High Upfront Cost

Heat pumps have a large upfront cost, but on the other hand, their operating costs translate to long-term savings on energy bills and lead to a path of reduced carbon emissions.

2. Difficult to Install

Heat pumps are fairly difficult to install considering that research must be made in order to understand the movement of heat, local geology, specifically for ground source heat pumps and the heating and cooling requirements for your household.

3. Questionable Sustainability

Some of the used fluids for heat transfer are of questionable sustainability and thus raise environmental concerns, therefore it is recommended to use biodegradable fluids.

4. Significant Work

The installation process requires significant work and disruption to your house and garden. A pertinent example would be that penetrations have to be made through the building cladding.

5. Cold Weather

Few heat pumps experience issues in cold areas, which can ultimately damage the system, thus full heat pumps efficiency in the cold weather cannot be reached. Although, there are possibilities of an upgraded heat pump system that surmounts this problem.

6. Carbon Neutral

Heat pumps heavily rely on electricity to operate, implying that they will never be entirely carbon neutral. However, since heat pumps are electric, they represent a perfect fit for solar applications. This is an effective carbon free model. Coupled together with solar panelsheat pumps could lead to a zero net energy.

VERSOL FOR CENTRAL HEATING BY SOLAR, BOILER

Heating, process and system of raising the temperature of an enclosed space for the primary purpose of ensuring the comfort of the occupants. By regulating the ambient temperature, heating also serves to maintain a building’s structural, mechanical, and electrical systems.

CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM

Historical Development

The earliest method of providing interior heating was an open fire. Such a source, along with related methods such as fireplaces, cast-iron stoves, and modern space heaters fueled by gas or electricity, is known as direct heating because the conversion of energy into heat takes place at the site to be heated. A more common form of heating in modern times is known as central, or indirect, heating. It consists of the conversion of energy to heat at a source outside of, apart from, or located within the site or sites to be heated; the resulting heat is conveyed to the site through a fluid medium such as air, water, or steam.

Except for the ancient Greeks and Romans, most cultures relied upon direct-heating methods. Wood was the earliest fuel used, though in places where only moderate warmth was needed, such as China, India, Japan, and the Mediterranean, charcoal (made from wood) was used because it produced much less smoke. The flue, or chimney, which was first a simple aperture in the centre of the roof and later rose directly from the fireplace, had appeared in Europe by the 13th century and effectively eliminated the fire’s smoke and fumes from the living space. Enclosed stoves appear to have been used first by the Chinese about 600 BC and eventually spread through Russia into northern Europe and from there to the Americas,

Central-Heating Systems And Fuels

The essential components of a central-heating system are

1.  an appliance in which fuel may be burned to generate heat;

2.  a medium conveyed in pipes or ducts for transferring the heat to the spaces to be heated

3.  an emitting apparatus in those spaces for releasing the heat either by convection or radiation or both.

Forced-air distribution moves heated air into the space by a system of ducts and fans that produce pressure differentials. Radiant heating, by contrast, involves the direct transmission of heat from an emitter to the walls, ceiling, or floor of an enclosed space independent of the air temperature between them; the emitted heat sets up a convection cycle throughout the space, producing a uniformly warmed temperature within it.

Air temperature and the effects of solar radiation, relative humidity, and convection all influence the design of a heating system. An equally important consideration is the amount of physical activity that is anticipated in a particular setting. In a work atmosphere in which strenuous activity is the norm, the human body gives off more heat. In compensation, the air temperature is kept lower in order to allow the extra body heat to dissipate. An upper temperature limit of 24° C (75° F) is appropriate for sedentary workers and domestic living rooms, while a lower temperature limit of 13° C (55° F) is appropriate for persons doing heavy manual work.

In the combustion of fuel, carbon and hydrogen react with atmospheric oxygen to produce heat, which is transferred from the combustion chamber to a medium consisting of either air or water. The equipment is so arranged that the heated medium is constantly removed and replaced by a cooler supply—i.e., by circulation.

If air is the medium, the equipment is called a furnace, and if water is the medium, a boiler or water heater. The term “boiler” more correctly refers to a vessel in which steam is produced, and “water heater” to one in which water is heated and circulated below its boiling point.

Warm-Air Heating

Because of its low density, air carries less heat for shorter distances than do hot water or steam. The use of air as the primary heat conveyor is nevertheless the rule in American homes and offices, though there has been a growing preference for hot-water systems, which have been used in European countries for some time. The heat of the furnace is transferred to the air in ducts, which rise to rooms above where the hot air is emitted through registers. The warm air from a furnace, being lighter than the cooler air around it, can be carried by gravity in ducts to the rooms, and until about 1930 this was the usual method employed. But a gravity system requires ducts of rather large diameter (20–36 cm [8–14 inches]) in order to reduce air friction, and this resulted in the basement’s being filled with ductwork. Moreover, rooms distant from the furnace tended to be under heated, owing to the small pressure difference between the heated supply air and cooler air returning to the furnace. These difficulties were solved by the use of motor-driven fans, which can force the heated air through small, compact, rectangular ducts to the most distant rooms in a building. The heated air is introduced into individual rooms through registers, grilles, or diffusers of various types, including arrangements resembling baseboards along walls.

Hot-Water Heating

Water is especially favored for central-heating systems because its high density allows it to hold more heat and because its temperature can be regulated more easily. A hot-water heating system consists of the boiler and a system of pipes connected to radiators, piping, or other heat emitters located in rooms to be heated. The pipes, usually of steel or copper, feed hot water to radiators or convectors, which give up their heat to the room. The water, now cooled, is then returned to the boiler for reheating. Two important requirements of a hot-water system are

1.  Provision to allow for the expansion of the water in the system, which fills the boiler, heat emitters, and piping

2.  Means for allowing air to escape by a manually or automatically operated valve.

Steam Heating

Steam systems are those in which steam is generated, usually at less than 35 kilopascals (5 pounds per square inch) in the boiler, and the steam is led to the radiators through steel or copper pipes. The steam gives up its heat to the radiator and the radiator to the room, and the cooling of the steam condenses it to water.

The condensate is returned to the boiler either by gravity or by a pump. The air valve on each radiator is necessary to allow air to escape; otherwise it would prevent steam from entering the radiator. The high temperature (about 102° C [215° F]) of the steam inside the system makes it hard to control and requires frequent adjustments in its rate of input to the rooms. To perform most efficiently, steam systems require more apparatus than do hot-water or warm-air systems, and the radiators used are bulky and unattractive. As a result, warm air and hot water have generally replaced steam in the heating of homes built from the 1930s and ’40s.

Electric Heat

Electricity can also be used in central heating. Though generally more expensive than fossil fuels, its relatively high cost can be offset by the use of electric current when normal demand decreases, either at night or in the wintertime—i.e., when lighting, power, and air-conditioning demands are low and there is excess power capacity in regional or local electrical grids. The most common method of converting electricity to heat is by resistors, which become hot when an electric current is sent through them and meets resistance. The current is automatically activated by thermostats in the rooms to be heated. Resistors can be used to heat circulating air or water, or, in the form of baseboard convectors, they can directly heat the air along the walls of an individual room, establishing convective currents.

Heat Pump

Another method for heating with electricity involves the use of the heat pump. Every refrigeration machine is technically a heat pump, pumping heat from an area of lower temperature (normally the space to be cooled or refrigerated) to an area of higher temperature (normally, the outdoors). The refrigeration machine may be used to pump heat, in winter, from the outdoor air, or groundwater, or any other source of low-temperature heat, and deliver this heat at higher temperature to a space to be heated. Usually, the heat pump is designed to function as an air conditioner in summer, then to reverse and serve as a heat pump in winter.

A heat pump’s operations can be explained using the following example. The typical window-mounted air-conditioning unit has a heat-rejection unit (condenser) mounted outside. This unit discharges the heat removed by the indoor coil (evaporator) to the outside air. Therefore the evaporator subtracts heat from the residence and transfers it to the refrigerant gas, which is pumped to the outside condenser, where by means of a fan the heat is dissipated in the air outside. This cycle can be inverted: heat is subtracted from the outside air and is transferred via the refrigerant gas to the indoor coil (evaporator) and discharged into a residence’s ductwork by means of the evaporator fan. This is a basic heat-pump system. Where winter climates reach freezing temperatures, however, the system is limited by the freezing of the condenser (outdoor coil);. thus, heat pumps work best in mild climates with fairly warm winter temperatures. The complexity of their machinery also makes them uneconomical in many contexts.

Solar Energy

Solar energy frequently works on a storage basis, in which water coils placed beneath heat-absorbing panels collect the radiant heat of the sun. This water may then be stored in a tank for use in heating lines or to provide hot water for washing and bathing. Solar Heated Water is storage in Storage Tanks / Storage Calorifiers, then pumped to heat reject radiators for room heating. In other way, the heated water can be directly passed through heat exchangers to ensure constant heat out at the rooms.

Renewable energy Solutions for Water Heating
27 Mar 2018

There are a number of ways you can generate your own energy at home from low or zero carbon ‘micro generation’ technology. Making your own energy, instead of using mains gas and electricity, will reduce your carbon footprint.

Solar panels

Solar panels harness the power of sunlight to heat your home and hot water. An in-house display will allow you to see when energy is being generated, enabling you to make the most of the free power – for example, by running your washing machine at these times. Any extra energy you generate but don’t use will be sent to the National Grid, which you’ll get paid for. But there are a lot of factors to consider, such as the cost of the installation, and whether your home is in the best position to harness the power of sunlight. Solar thermal panels generate heat. Solar photovoltaics (PV) generate electricity.

Wood-burning stoves

Wood-burning stoves aren’t cheap to install, but the heat a stove generates can mean you don’t have to turn on your central heating. You can use a stove to heat just one room, such as the room you use most. Alternatively, you can get one installed with a ‘back boiler’, which means the heat it creates will heat your whole home.

Heat pumps

Unlike other heating systems that burn fuel to create heat, air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps use naturally occurring warm air or heat in the ground to create power and heat your home. They will need an electricity source to work, but are said to cost less to run than a traditional heating system.

For any assistance you can contcat usthrou website- www.versolgroup.com or email- mail@versol.pl

ARE YOU MAINTAINING YOUR BOILER WELL, IS IT WORTH SPENDING?
27 Mar 2018

The boiler is one of the most intensively used household / industrial appliances, but unless the heating suddenly stops working or your water won’t warm up, faults can go unnoticed. A boiler breakdown can be frustrating and costly, especially if you’re in the middle of winter. But certain failures can also be a danger to you if not spotted in time. Regular maintenance should help keep your boiler running smoothly. But, like most machines, unexpected issues can always crop up. When they do, unless you’re a gas engineer, it’s not always easy to know when to take action.

1)   RADIATORS TAKE LONGER TO HEAT UP

Do your radiators stay tepid or take hours to get hot? This could mean that your boiler is on its way out. Most modern boilers can reach their maximum temperature quickly and produce heat almost instantly. But it could also mean your heating system is filled with sludge – this causes blockages and cold spots on your radiators. Dirty water circulating in the system could result in long-term problems with your boiler.

2)   THE BOILER IS GIVING OFF A BAD SMELL

A healthy boiler will never emit any odour. If it does, it needs to be investigated by a professional right away. Any faint smells could indicate a carbon monoxide leak. Although carbon monoxide itself is odourless, a smell could be created because the leak is causing the boiler to not burn properly.

·        Other carbon monoxide warning signs that shouldn’t be ignored include:

·        The boiler is burning a yellow flame instead of a crisp blue flame

·        Dark soot staining on and around the appliance

·        Pilot light that frequently blows out

·        Increased condensation inside windows.

3)   YOUR ENERGY BILLS ARE INCREASING

If your bills are increasing faster than normal, it could be down to an inefficient boiler. As a heating system gets older, it can lose its efficiency and start to cost more to run. An easy way to check your boiler’s efficiency is to look at the rating on its ErP energy label. An  A-rated boiler is the most efficient, at 90%, while a G rating represents less than 70% efficiency. If you replace an old G-rated boiler with a modern A-rated boiler that has a full set of heating controls, the Energy Saving Trust estimates you’ll save around £320 a year on your gas bill.

It’s the most efficient type of boiler on the market – find out more in our guide to switch to condensing boilers and Heat Pumps.

4)   YOUR BOILER IS LEAKING

When unexpected puddles appear around your boiler, you should take action. Internal parts may be faulty or your boiler could actually be starting to fall apart. leak can lead to further problems, such as rust and corrosion, as well as structural damage to your home. It will also mean that your heating will be inefficient. Think of the wasted water, too.

5)   YOUR BOILER IS MAKING FUNNY NOISES

Your boiler will make a noise when firing up, but this should be no more than a low and constant hum that most of us won’t even notice. But banging, clunking and whirring are the sounds you don’t want to be hearing. These could indicate a number of issues, from a broken valve to heat pump problems. Or, it could just be down to general wear and tear.

CENTRALIZED WATER HEATING SYSTEMS- 01. SOLAR ENERGY
27 Mar 2018

Solar energy is one of the widely used renewable energy that can be harnessed either by directly deriving energy from sunlight or indirectly. Solar water heating system, on the other hand, is one of the applications of solar energy that has drawn great attention among researchers in this field.

Solar collectors, storage tanks and heat transfer fluids are the three core components in solar water heater applications. The latest developments and advancement of a solar water heater based on the three basic components that may affect the thermal performance of the system. VERSOL reviews the development of various types of solar collectors in solar water heater, including both the non-concentrating collectors (flat plate collector, evacuated tube collector) and the concentrating collectors (parabolic dish reflector, parabolic trough collector). All these are studied in terms of optical optimization, heat loss reduction, heat recuperation enhancement and different sun tracking mechanisms. Among the non-concentrating and concentrating collectors, theparabolic dish reflector collectors show the best overall performance. The use of nanofluids as a heat transfer fluid was also discovered as part of continuous develpoment of VERSOL products. Youcan visit our website for more details.

Centralized Hot Water System using Boilers, Solar and Heat Pump
22 Mar 2018

In the right location, a centralized hot water system using boilers, solar or a heat pump can offer both improved efficiency and increased energy savings when compared to the standard tank-style water heaters. How do these systems work and are the right for your home? Let’s take a closer look.

Boilers and Solar Heating Systems

A boiler system is self-explanatory as a heat source is used to increase the temperature of the water, keeping it at a pre-determined setting. A solar system acts much in the same way only the sun is the heat source and it may take much longer for the water to reach the desired temperature as compared to a boiler.

 

How a Heat Pump Works

A heat pump is more complicated as it has three basic components: an evaporator, a compressor, and a condenser. The way these components work together is that liquid refrigerant is exposed to room-temperature air in the heat pump’s evaporator coil. The refrigerant then picks up energy from the room air, and becomes a gas within the evaporator coil. The refrigerant enters the compressor pump, which compresses the gas and increases its temperature. The heated refrigerant then runs through a condenser and gives up its heat to the colder water bringing it up to the predetermined temperature. Although that sounds like a complicated system, it is very efficient and requires very little maintenance.

 

Heat Loss

There is some heat loss with any hot water system and, while some systems are more effective at retaining heat than others, this is an expected occurrence. Some factors which account for heat loss include the walls of the storage tank and how well they are insulated, the temperature of the room in which the centralized hot water system is housed and hot water usage frequency. Whichever heat source you use, be it solar, heat pump or boiler, it is important that the heat storage tank be well-insulated to minimize any heat loss and increase the efficiency and cost savings of the unit itself.