An air/air heat pump extracts energy from outdoor air and distributes it indoors using a fan. It's not a primary supplier of heating and cannot heat water.
An air/water heat pump utilises energy in outdoor air to provide heating indoors through water-based radiators or underfloor heating.
The average relationship between supplied and utilised energy during a period of 12 months (Compare with COP). Annual efficiency includes both heating and hot water.
Brine (collector fluid) is a mixture of water and ethanol or ethanol glycol. Ethanol/ethanol glycol constitutes one third of the total volume of the fluid and prevents the brine from freezing.
The collector loop is used to extract energy from the bedrock, ground or water surrounding a house.
A compressor is a machine used to compress air, for example. In a heat pump it is used to increase the pressure of the gaseous refrigerant, which is thereby heated.
See control equipment.
The control equipment regulates the heat pump system to ensure the best possible operating economy and an optimum indoor climate. A control system with variable condensation ensures that only enough heating is produced to maintain the required indoor temperature. Heating supplies are controlled at source instead of via the radiators (through thermostats). A system with fixed condensation means that the heat pump always maintains the maximum temperature, which means that unnecessary heat is produced.
This is a measure if the heat pump's efficiency. Indicates the relationship between the amount of energy produced and consumed.
Something extracted from the natural world must be used, re-used, recycled or scrapped in a sustainable way with minimal use of resources and minimal impact on the environment.
A metal heating element that heats the water in a hot water tank.
The state agency that promotes efficient use of energy.
The amount of kilowatt hours, kWh, required to heat a home and provide hot water for 12 months. This is excluding household electricity for light bulbs, oven, washing machine, dishwasher, computer, TV, etc.
An exhaust air heat pump recycles energy from the hot air leaving the house and returns it to the heating system. It helps you save energy, but is not a primary producer of heating.
A device in which gas or liquid that is already hot helps to heat new gas or liquid. The role of the heat exchanger is to exchange heat.
A unique, patent-pending method for producing hot water developed by Thermia. It provides higher annual efficiency combined with unbeatable hot water comfort. HGW technology was launched with Thermia Diplomat Optimum G2.
Hot water used in the shower, for example, in the home.
A liquid/water heat pump extracts energy outdoors using a collector loop containing liquid (in the bedrock, ground or lake water). It distributes heating indoors through water-based radiators or underfloor heating.
The Thermia Online accessory enables you to control and monitor a heat pump system remotely. If anything goes wrong you receive an alarm via telephone text message or email. This program also enables a technician to perform some maintenance remotely.
A way of assessing how the heat pump is performing at any moment in time where all parameters are known.
The amount of kilowatts, kW, required to heat a home (and produce its hot water) on the coldest day of the year.
Equipment that monitors and controls electric current in a house to ensure that fuses do not blow.
Heating device that gives off heat.
A substance used to transport heat from the cold side of a heat pump to the hot side. Nowadays heat pumps use refrigerants that do not break down ozone.
To ensure optimum performance a heat pump requires optimum conditions in both the heating system and the refrigerant. The temperature between the forward water and return water must be constant in the range 7-10°C. For the refrigerant the difference must be 3°C between inward and outward, otherwise efficiency and cost savings will suffer. By controlling the revolutions of the circulation pump both of these ideal levels can be maintained. The control equipment detects when the balance changes. The speed of the pump can be increased or reduced as required.
A scroll compressor replaces the valve in a conventional compressor with a spiral shaped channel between two interleaved scrolls, which act to compress the refrigerant effectively. The more effective the compression, the greater the output of the heat pump. A scroll compressor has just a few moving parts, which means benefits in terms of efficiency, sound level and durability.
Energy emitted by the sun in the form of radiation. Heat pumps and solar panels are examples of technologies that can utilise this energy.
Technology developed by Thermia to stratify hot water in a tank to ensure that heat is used optimally. Stratification means to divide into layers. Heating of the water in the tank is focused so that the hottest water is at the top. This is where the water leaves the tank. If the same amount of energy was distributed evenly across the same volume of water the temperature would be much lower.