Heat Pumps

Property developer Steenoven and an undisclosed construction contractor have started drilling a borehole for a new thermal energy storage system in the historic city of Bruges, Belgium.

While it initially had a chilling effect on the Polish residential solar market, the transition from net metering to net billing has also resulted in positive changes, such as better sizing of rooftop PV systems and a higher rate of self-consumption, says Instytut Energetyki Odnawialnej (IEO), a Polish research body.

iDM has developed a modular air-source heat pump that uses propane (R290) as the refrigerant. It can produce between 2 kW and 24 kW of heat and domestic hot water up to a temperature of 70 C. A larger version can produce between 10 kW and 50 kW of heat.

Germany’s Vaillant has developed an air-source heat pump that uses propane (R290) as the refrigerant. It can produce between 3.5 kW and 12 kW of heat, and domestic hot water to a temperature of up to 75 C. It says the heat pump maximizes savings when paired with rooftop solar.

Swedish manufacturer Qvantum has developed a 6 kW heat pump for apartments connected to district heating systems. It uses propane (R290) as the refrigerant.

Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a free, web-based application that calculates the savings and energy efficiency of residential ground-source heat pumps compared to gas heating.

The European Heat Pump Association has compiled an up-to-date overview of subsidies for residential heat pumps in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland.

Samsung and the city of Oxford in the UK have announced the trial of a neighborhood heat pump scheme in Rose Hill, Oxford. The project aims to connect communities to local installers, helping to remove key barriers to heat pump uptake, including cost. Up to 150 Samsung air-source heat pumps will be installed at a reduced price of GBP 2,600 ($3,185) each.

Germany’s Bosch has developed an air-source heat pump that uses propane (R290) as the refrigerant. It can produce between 3.9 kW and 6.7 kW of heat, and domestic hot water to a temperature of up to 75 C. It says the heat pump can be paired with rooftop solar to maximize self-consumption.

Energy Systems Catapult has released interim data from air-source heat pump field monitoring in the United Kingdom between November 2020 and August 2022. Figures show that heat pumps are three times more efficient than gas boilers and that their median coefficient of performance (COP) on cold days is 2.44, compared to 2.80 year round.