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While it’s widely accepted heat pumps can keep homes warm in regions that don’t experience extreme cold, their performance in chilly parts of the world is frequently debated. A new paper out of Oxford University has put much of that skepticism to rest.
Heat pumps work by absorbing heat from the air outside — the colder it gets, the harder the units have to work to keep spaces warm. That’s where the doubt comes in: if heat pumps have to work overtime to produce energy, are they really better than other heating sources?
Published Monday in the scientific journal Joule, the research found heat pumps are two to three times more efficient — or, use two to three times less energy — than their oil and gas counterparts, specifically in temperatures ranging from 10 C to -20 C.
The research debunks misinformation often spread about heat pumps, says Duncan Gibb, senior adviser with the Regulatory Assistance Project, an international NGO focusing on energy, which published the peer-reviewed paper with Oxford.
While a heat pump will have to work harder during sub-zero temperatures, it will still be more efficient than other sources of heat, explained Gibb.
www.nationalobserver.com
Heat pumps work by absorbing heat from the air outside — the colder it gets, the harder the units have to work to keep spaces warm. That’s where the doubt comes in: if heat pumps have to work overtime to produce energy, are they really better than other heating sources?
Published Monday in the scientific journal Joule, the research found heat pumps are two to three times more efficient — or, use two to three times less energy — than their oil and gas counterparts, specifically in temperatures ranging from 10 C to -20 C.
The research debunks misinformation often spread about heat pumps, says Duncan Gibb, senior adviser with the Regulatory Assistance Project, an international NGO focusing on energy, which published the peer-reviewed paper with Oxford.
While a heat pump will have to work harder during sub-zero temperatures, it will still be more efficient than other sources of heat, explained Gibb.
Oxford study proves heat pumps triumph over fossil fuels in the cold
Published Monday in the scientific journal Joule, the research found that heat pumps are two to three times more efficient than their oil and gas counterparts, specifically in temperatures ranging from 10 C to -20 C.
www.nationalobserver.com
