Heat Pumps for the Home

by John Cantor, Gavin D J Harper

Overview

In recent years, heat pumps have emerged as a promising new form of technology with a relatively low environmental impact. Moreover, they have presented householders with an opportunity to reduce their heating bills. Heat pumps can heat a building by 'pumping' heat from either the ground or the air outside: an intriguing process which utilizes principles that are somewhat analogous to those employed in the domestic refrigerator. Armed with the practical information contained in these pages, homeowners will have the necessary knowledge to take advantage of this potentially low-carbon technology to heat their properties. Now in an updated new edition, Heat Pumps for the Home describes what a heat pump is, how it works, the different methods of pumping heat and the importance of an appropriate and well-planned installation. It also provides you with the information that you need in order to make up your own mind about whether a heat pump might be appropriate to your own circumstances, and also demonstrates what you need to do to in order to make the system work efficiently.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785007798
Publisher:	Crowood Press, The
Publication date:	11/17/2020
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.61(w) x 9.07(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

John Cantor studied mechanical engineering and gained much of his early experience working in research and development. He became interested in Alternative Technology in the late 1970s, joining the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth. He found himself to be the only one in that field with an in-depth understanding of heat pumps, so his niche was found, and he manufactured his own systems in the early days. He has a wide and varied portfolio of experience, and is conversant with the technical quirks of most heat pump models. He was a heat pump installation inspector for the first UK heat pump grant scheme under BRE, and now mostly operating as an advisor and consultant.|Gavin D. J. Harper is the author-co-author of a number of books including Domestic Solar Energy (Crowood, 2009) and Small-Scale Wind Power Generation (Crowood, 2010). He writes extensively on sustainability issues and is currently researching the subject of green business models for sustainability for a PhD at Cardiff University Business School. Gavin is a member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, and holds two honours degrees from the Open University and three masters degrees.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Chapter 1 Heat Pumps in Context 6

Chapter 2 Understanding Heat 10

Chapter 3 The Principle of How a Heat Pump Works 14

Chapter 4 Methods of Pumping Heat 22

Chapter 5 Extracting Heat - The Source 26

Chapter 6 Utilizing the Heat 48

Chapter 7 Heating Houses 86

Chapter 8 Energy Efficiency of Heat-Pump Systems 94

Chapter 9 The Control System 102

Chapter 10 Environmental Issues 113

Chapter 11 Economics and Getting a System Installed 122

Chapter 12 Typical Installations - Case Studies 127

Chapter 13 Common Myths and Misconceptions 137

Appendix I COPs of Ground Source 140

Appendix II COPs of Air Source 142

Appendix III Real-Test Data of Air Source 143

Appendix IV What Goes on Inside a Heat Pump 144

Useful Information 154

Glossary 155

Abbreviations and Useful Websites 158

Index 159