What is the most energy efficient way to heat your home?
Coming into winter we often asked what the most energy efficient form of heating is. At Integrated Electrical & Solar, we truly believe heat pumps are the best way to heat or cool your home.
By using a relatively small amount of electricity, a heat pump can extract heat energy from one location, (typically outdoor air), and transfer it to another location to provide heating. The reverse process would provide cooling
A modern heat pump can create up to 4.5kw of heat for every 1 kW of power consumed. This will bring your heating costs down by up to 78% when compared to a standard heater.
This also means that the power savings created by using an energy efficient heat pump are not only good for your wallet but for the environment too, as an efficient heat pump that suits your home and local climate is a seriously low carbon option, due to their low energy consumption.
Whether you want to heat your whole home or specific areas, there is a heat pump option for you. For whole houses we can supply and install a ducted heat pump system through out the entire house, or alternatively high wall heat pumps in each room. Ducted systems are less intrusive with grills flush mounted in the ceiling, but will use more energy than a high wall heat pump in each room.
Here are some tips to get the most out of your heat pump and run it more efficiently:
- Use the built in timer to run the heat pump before you get home, then switch it off when it isn’t needed
- Set the temperature to 21°c instead of higher to save power when heating
- Set the unit to either “Heating” or “Cooling” rather than Auto
- During heavy usage, clean the filters every couple of weeks, this will keep the unit running efficiently
A common myth is that “it’s cheaper to leave a heat pump running all the time, rather than only switch it on when it is needed” – this is not true. The most efficient way to use a heat pump is to only turn it on when you need heating or cooling.
Good design and installation are fundamental to a heat pump system’s effectiveness and efficiency. However, regular servicing will also ensure that your heat pump is working to it’s best capacity.