Heat Pump Mini Split System Environmentally Friendly!

Heat Pump Mini Split System. Efficiency of a Heat Pump.

To be environmentally beneficial, the whole heating system must be properly specified and the house very well insulated. You can vastly improve the efficiency of your existing property with simple energy conservation measures.

Mini Split Heat Pump Reviews. COP.

The efficiency of a heat pump is given by its coefficient of performance, or COP. A system operating at COP3 will give out 3 units of heat energy for each unit of electricity used. However, you need to bear in mind that most grid electricity is generated from fossil fuels or nuclear power, at efficiencies of only 30 to 40%, so you’ll need a very good COP to outweigh this. If a system has a poor COP you’d be better off with a gas boiler, which would give off less carbon dioxide and make a smaller contribution to climate change. Electricity generation also causes other forms of pollution: sulphur & nitrogen oxides (that cause acid rain), particulates, mining impacts, and nuclear waste.

Ductless Heat Pump Reviews Consumer Reports. ‘Green Tariff’.

An Energy Saving Trust field trial of 83 heat pumps in found a wide variance in performance - only a few reached a COP of 3 or more. The average COP for air source heat pumps was 2.1, while the average for ground source systems was 2.3. Many were early installations, and as installers gain experience, performance should improve. To avoid a low COP, ensure that a home is well-insulated, has a low-temperature heating system and good heating controls, and that the ground loop or air-source unit has been adequately sized. 

 

You can sign up for a ‘green tariff’, and have your electricity use allocated to renewable sources such as wind or hydro power. This is an excellent way to help promote the growth of the renewable  energy industry, but it’s not a green light to use loads of electricity! Doing so will increase overall electricity demand, and until more renewable energy technologies are ready, this will increase the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

Mini Split Heat Pump Installation Cost. (HFCs). 

If you have a stream that would be suitable for a micro-hydro system, then a renewably-powered heat pump could be feasible and beneficial.  A heat pump contains about 2 kilos of refrigerant, usually hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). These are potent greenhouse gases (about 1600 times more powerful than carbon dioxide) and a leak during or after the system’s life will have a damaging impact. Some suppliers use hydrocarbon refrigerants such as R290 or R600a (propane & isobutane); these will have a much lower impact if accidentally leaked.