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Heat Pumps offer maximum Energy Efficiency
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EECA has identified Heat Pumps as one of the most energy efficient forms of heating available in
New Zealand. Heat Pumps do not create heat; they simply move available heat from one place to
another. The little electrical energy that is needed is predominantly used to run the compressor.
Typically, only 1kW of electrical energy is required to “pump” up to 4kW of available heat energy from the
outdoor environment to a specific area inside the home. In other words, the Heat Pump transfers a lot more
available energy than it actually consumes. With energy efficiencies of up to 400%, this is why Heat Pumps
are promoted by EECA as one of the most energy efficient forms of heating available to New Zealanders.
This is often represented as a COP or a Coefficient Of Performance. The ratio of kW input to kW output.
In the example above the COP would be 4. |
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How do Heat Pumps stack up to other forms of heating?
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Electric bar heater COP of 1
For every 1kW of electricity that an electrical bar heater needs to heat its electrical
elements, it can only radiate a maximum of 1kW of heat energy.
This means, to get the same 4kW output that a Heat Pump could achieve with only 1kW of input, an
electric bar heater would need to be 4 times as big to provide the same amount of heat. |
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Gas heating typical COP of 0.85
For every 1kW of gas that is combusted in a gas heating system on average only 0.85kW of
heat energy is actually produced. Gas heating systems are not 100% efficient, and typically
only 85% of the energy that is combusted is left as heat energy.
In other words, you have to burn 4.7kW of gas to achieve the same heat energy
(4kW in this case) that a 1kW Heat Pump is capable of typically producing. |
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Wood fire typical COP of 0.45
A traditional fireplace is even more inefficient. If 1kW of energy is needed to burn a block of
wood inside an open fireplace, you will typically only be able to create up to 45% of actual
heat energy.
That means, you need to burn 8.8kW of wood energy to produce the 4kW of heat
energy that a 1kW Heat Pump typically produces. |
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So why are Heat Pumps better then any other forms of heating?
Simply put, the more energy efficient a heating system is, the cheaper it is to run. And, the more energy
efficient a heating system is, the smaller its carbon footprint will be.
Higher Energy Efficiency = Lower Running costs
Higher Energy Efficiency = Smaller carbon footprint
Next to all common forms of heating, a Heat Pump is the most energy efficient and
cheapest heating system to run with the smallest of carbon footprints.
It just makes sense!
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