Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1.5 Overview of available heat sources for heat pumps and their inherent
characteristics ........................................................................................................................... 6
1.5.1 Ambient air............................................................................................................. 6
1.5.2 Exhaust air.............................................................................................................. 7
1.5.3 Ground soil............................................................................................................. 8
1.5.4 Ground rock.......................................................................................................... 10
1.5.5 Ground water........................................................................................................ 12
1.5.6 Surface water........................................................................................................ 12
1.7 Existing test institutes and test standards for heat pumps ..................................... 14
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
6.1 Tools and methods available for SPF evaluation .................................................... 29
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
1 HEAT PUMP TECHNOLOGY
1.1 Introduction
Energy utilisation in the built environment is one of the most important aspects that have to be
addressed in the near future. Around 40% of the primary energy use within Europe is related
to the building sector. In order to reach the targets of the Kyoto-protocol, the energy
utilisation in the built environment has to go through a transition. Up to now most of our
space conditioning systems are major contributors to global warming. Environmentally
benign heating systems have to be introduced on a large scale in order to reduce the emissions
of green house gases. ECO-Labelling of such environmentally benign systems is one way to
encourage and guide customers in their choice of products.
Electric heat pumps are one of the most energy efficient ways to provide space heating and
preparation of sanitary hot water. Even though technical know-how on the heat pumping
technology is well proven, it has not yet reached public recognition worldwide. In Europe, a
sustainable market has only been established in small countries like Sweden, Switzerland and
parts of Austria. Due to the escalating price of oil and electricity in conjunction with the
increase on energy related taxes and growing environmental concern, the market for heat
pumps have started to grow in all of Europe.
The energy efficiency of heat pumps is reached at the price of being sensitive to temperature
levels of the systems circumscribing the heat pump, i.e. the heat source and heat distribution
system. Heat pumps are unique in the sense that one and the same appliance are able to
provide heating as well as cooling. Some systems that are designed for “free-cooling” provide
comfort cooling at almost no electric input at all. Bearing in mind that more than 15 000
people died during the heat wave 2003, space cooling is in many parts of Europe not only a
matter of comfort but a necessity for human well being.
The word heat pump is a collective term for a wide range of products utilising the same
working principle. There are however many different types of heat pumps, all of which most
suitable for different applications. Heat pumps are in general divided into different types
depending on which heat source and heat sink they are designed for. All types have their own
pros and cons as well as environmental impact. The following section will present the general
principle of heat pumps that is common for all types considered in this study. There after an
overview of available heat sources, aspects related to system design and viable efficiency will
be given.
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2. The energy extracted from the heat source is transformed to energy at a high
temperature level by the compressor. The transformation made by the compressor
requires energy in terms of electric power. The required power input to the compressor
is related to the temperature difference between the heat source and heat sink.
3. As energy cannot be destroyed the available amount of energy that may be rejected to
the heat sink is equal to the sum of the extracted energy from the heat source and the
energy input to the compressor.
4. The efficiency of the system is defined as rejected energy divided by the energy input
to the compressor. The efficiency of a heat pump is called coefficient of performance
(COP)
T1
Heat sink
Compressor
T2
Heat source
COP =
T1
COPcarnot = (1)
T1 − T2
The graphical presentation above reveals that the efficiency (COP) of a heat pump in heating
mode is always greater than 1. The COP deteriorates by a large temperature difference
between the heat sink and the heat source. This stresses the importance to look for an
adequate heat source at reasonable temperature level and reduce the temperature where heat
rejection is to take place. At present, modern heat pumps operate at a COP in the range of 4-5
at a heat source temperature of 0°C and 35°C heat sink temperature. This means that an
electric input of 1 kWhelectricity is transformed to 4-5 kWhheating. In comparison modern
condensing boilers may attain approximately 1.07 kWhheating out of 1 kWh energy content of
the fuel in use.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
Condenser
Expansion Electric
valve compressor
Evaporator
In principal all heat pumps consist of a condenser, expansion device, evaporator and a
compressor. In heating mode, the cycle starts as liquid refrigerant at high pressure exits the
condenser. The liquid refrigerant passes through an expansion device, which reduces the
pressure of the refrigerant. The refrigerant at low pressure passes through a heat exchanger
(evaporator) and absorbs heat from the low-temperature source. The refrigerant evaporates
into a gas as heat is absorbed. The gaseous refrigerant then passes through a compressor
where it is pressurized, raising its temperature. The hot gas then circulates through a
condenser where the heat is removed to the heat sink. As the refrigerant rejects heat, it
changes phase back to liquid phase and the process begins again.
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1.5 Overview of available heat sources for heat pumps and their
inherent characteristics
The most important aspects to consider during an evaluating of different heat sources are;
availability, temperature level, annual temperature fluctuations and investment cost attributed
to the choice of heat source. In reality the choice will be limited due to prevailing local
conditions. In this work we restrict the overview to heat sources commonly used for domestic
heat pumps.
1.5.1 Ambient air
Ambient air is by far the most common heat source for heat pump applications worldwide.
The reason to this is the unlimited availability that enables an uncomplicated and quick
installation. In most European climates the temperature of ambient air, changes significantly
depending on the time of year. The fact that the performance of a heat pump is reduced as the
temperature of the heat source drops, lead to unfavourable characteristics. The performance of
an ambient air heat pump will decrease as the heating demand is increasing. At a certain point
the temperature difference between the heat source and heat sink will be to great for the heat
pump to operate at all and the heat pump has to be stopped. For most ambient air heat pumps
this will occur at temperatures in the range of (–15°C)-(-20°C). In cold climates this raises the
demand for an auxiliary heating system that is designed to cover the maximum heat load of
the house. Another disadvantage related to ambient air as heat source is the fact that cold
moist air will evoke frost formation on the heat exchanger exposed to ambient air. The frost
will eventually induce such a large thermal resistance that the heat exchanger needs to be
defrosted. During defrost the heat pump will not be able to provide heat to the inside of the
house. Instead the heat exchanger exposed to the ambient air will require heat in order to melt
the ice. Defrosting may be acquired by reversing the cycle or simply by an electric cable.
Except for very dry climates defrosting is in general required at temperatures around +7°C
and below. As defrosting will affect the efficiency negatively, the control of the intervals
between each defrost period is of great importance.
kW
Auxiliary heating
Heat output
heat pump
Required electric
input
-15 °C 0 °C 10 °C
Figure 3 General characteristics of an air-source heat pump
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An air source heat pump may be designed for heat rejection directly to indoor air (air-air heat
pump), or for connection to a hydronic heat distribution system (air-water heat pump).
Furthermore the air-air heat pumps may be designed for connection to a ducted air system or
heat rejection in a single room. Ducted air systems are widespread in the USA but fairly
uncommon in Europe. A disadvantage related to air-air heat pumps are that they may not be
used for preparation of sanitary hot water. On the other hand air-air heat pumps are most often
reversible, i.e. they are able to operate in cooling mode. As a consequence of the inherent
characteristics of an air-air heat pump, these are dominating in the southern parts of Europe
where the need for cooling is more pronounced and in buildings without an existing hydronic
heat distribution system.
Air-water heat pumps are either designed as a “split-unit” (Figure 4a) or as a compact unit.
The split unit is divided in an outdoor part and an indoor part. The outdoor part contains the
evaporator and the compressor. The indoor unit contains the condenser and usually an
accumulator tank for sanitary hot water. A compact air-water heat pump may either be
installed outside, or inside the building. An installation inside the house (Figure 4b) requires
air ducts for inlet and outlet. Outside installation have benefit of reducing the space
requirements indoors and reduce noise levels.
Figure 4a air-water heat pump split version (IVT) 4b compact version (Viessmann)
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
exhaust air heat pumps are designed for dual heat sources. These hybrid systems may be
designed for connection to a shallow borehole, horizontal ground coil (Figure 5) or ambient
(outdoor) air. Some exhaust air heat pumps are designed solely for sanitary hot water heating.
Figure 5: Exhaust air heat pump with shallow ground collector (source IVT)
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
Disadvantages:
• Thermal losses are introduced, as the system requires an additional heat exchanger.
• Require a circulation pump.
Heating system
Domestic hot water
Evaporator
Condenser
Insulation
Depth
0.9-1.5m
At the beginning of the heating season the ground temperature adjacent to the coil, will be
greater than the ambient air temperature. As heat is continuously extracted from the ground
soil during the heating season, the temperature of the ground will decrease and in most cases
the soil closest to the coil will freeze. The freezing process enables extensive heat extraction,
as the soil undergo phase change. The frost formation around the coil enhances thermal
conductivity of the soil. The thermal conductivity of the ground soil has significant impact on
the design of the collector. The thermal conductivity of ground soil is mainly dependent on
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
the water content of the soil, the higher water content, the higher thermal conductivity. The
use of ground soil as heat source for heat pump applications has negligible influence on the
vegetation above. Flowering might be delayed up to two weeks due to low ground
temperatures. During summertime the temperature of the ground will be naturally recovered if
the collector is properly designed. One of the drawbacks of horizontal ground coils are that a
correct collector design in general requires a large surface area. This restricts the use in many
areas around cities where available surface area is limited. The “slinky-coil” offers an
alternative to the basic horizontal coil and reduce the required surface area to some extent.
Figure 8 Slinky-coil
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Soil layer
Bedrock
In most cases the establishment of a borehole for a heat pump application requires permission
from local authorities. General drilling restrictions might prevail in water protection areas and
in the surroundings of tunnels. The most frequently used technique for drilling in rock is
called down the hole hammer (DTH). Compressed air is fed through the drilling pipes down
to a hammer at the bottom. The hammer is driven by the compressed air. The technique is
suitable for drilling depths up to the range of 200 meters. The diameter of the borehole is
usually 115 mm or 140 mm. The drilling equipment must be designed for drilling and
mounting of lining and moreover, be able to move on different surfaces without damaging
sensitive garden areas. The main aspects that influence the required borehole depth are
thermal conductivity of the bedrock, undisturbed ground temperature, and annual heat
extraction from the ground.
In order to obtain a high level of quality and lifetime of a ground rock system, and to protect
the ground water many countries have developed standards or regulations for ground rock
systems. Normbrunn 97 is a Swedish norm that has been developed by Geological Survey of
Sweden (SGU) in collaboration with the Swedish Heat Pump Association and the two drilling
organizations, Geotec and Avanti. Normbrunn 97 consists of requirements for the borehole
itself and in addition requirements on the equipment and competence of the drillers. A
collector is lowered into the borehole when the drilling is completed. Even though many
different types of collectors exist, the single- and double U-pipes are predominant. The U-
pipes are most commonly manufactured by high density polythene, PEM, Ø 40 mm, for 6
bars, and has a welded U bottom piece
General requirements for components used in bedrock systems are that all components need
to be made of corrosion-proof material (e.g. copper-coated, synthetic material, stainless steel
materials), which resist the hydro-chemical elements (e.g. heavily mineralised water). Where
possible no joints should be used. In all cases a leak test should establish the tightness of the
collector.
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Tight lid
Layer of ground
Steal lining
soil
Welded joint
Bedrock
minimum 2 meters
lining pipe
Seal between
lining pipe
and bedrock
- The house should be near the sea or a lake, with rights to access the water.
- The place for the collector must be freed of activities, i.e. no fishing, anchoring etc.
- The water cannot be rapid flowing and must be deep enough not to freeze to the bottom.
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Heating
system
Heat pump
Sanitary
hot water
l t
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1.7 Existing test institutes and test standards for heat pumps
Sweden
SP, the Swedish National Research and Testing Institute located in Borås is host for the IEA
Heat Pump Centre (HPC). HPC is an information and coordination centre for IEA heat pump
related activities. SP is a well established research and testing centre with close collaboration
to the Swedish heat pump market actors. SP operates an accredited test laboratory for heat
pump testing according to EN-14511. In addition to performance testing, SP is marketing its
own heat pump quality label “P-label”.
Austria
arsenal research is an independent public research institute owned by majority by the Austrian
Republic. arsenal research is operating an accredited testing centre for heat pump testing. The
laboratory comprise of test facilities for all types of heat pumps including a test rig for direct
expansion systems. Arsenal plays an active role in vocational education of installers. In
addition to training courses, arsenal is the accredited certification body for certification of
heat pump installers in Austria.
The Netherlands
The TNO-MEP Centre for Development and Testing of Heat Pumps provides service to
developers, suppliers, end-users and consultants in the field of heat pumps. TNO operates an
accredited test laboratory and support actors on the heat pump market by offering help in
product development, labelling and certification of equipment and systems. TNO has a strong
position, both nationally and internationally, in the fields of refrigeration and heat pumps.
France
CETIAT (Centre Technique des Industries Aérauliques et Thermiques) is a French technical
centre for testing of boilers, ventilation, air conditioning and heat pump appliances. CETIAT
is located in Lyon and approved by EUROVENT.
Switzerland
The Swiss test institute is Buchs Heat-pump checking and testing centre The heat pump
testing centre is situated in Buchs. The testing centre offers the possibility for testing
air/water, water/water and brine/water heat pumps. This testing centre has a significant
influence on the quality of the products.
Germany
TÜV is the German accredited test laboratory.
EN-14511
Heat pump performance data should be measured and recorded according to the European test
standard EN-14511. This standard supersedes the EN 255 standard. EN-14511 include terms
and definitions, test conditions, test methods and requirements for air conditioners, liquid
chilling packages and heat pumps with electrically driven compressors for space heating and
cooling.
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2 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT RELATED TO THE USE OF HEAT PUMPS
With the exception of a few technologies, the majority of all life cycle assessments carried out
on systems for space conditioning or generation of electricity by combustion, confirm that
most of the environmental impact stems from the appliance/plant in operation (IEA 2002,
Spath, Mann 2000, Halozan et al 1999). Environmental evaluations of heat pump applications
need to take into account for indirect emissions related to the generation of electricity that is
used to operate the heat pump, as well as direct emissions of the refrigerant. A lot of research
has been made on the establishment of an integrated method to calculate the contribution of
green house gas emissions from refrigeration and heat pump applications. The most well
established method, TEWI (Total Equivalent Warming Impact), was developed at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory in the early nineties. A TEWI calculation integrates direct and indirect
green house gas emissions over the whole lifetime into a single number expressed in terms of
CO2 mass equivalents.
TEWI example:
Domestic ground source heat pump supporting a single family house with an annual heat load
of 24 000 kWhheating. Annual electric input, based on a seasonal performance factor of 3,
8 000 kWh.
Heat pump: NIBE Fighter 1230
Labelled heat output: 6 kW
Refrigerant charge: 1.8 kg R-407c
GWP R-407c: 1530 kg CO2/kg refrigerant (Appendix II, Table 2)
Equipment lifetime: 15 years
*Annual leakage rate 2%
Refrigerant losses during demolition: 15 %
Annual electric energy input 8 000 kWh
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Electricity emission factor 0.47 kg CO2/kWhelectricity
TEWI = (15 × 0.02 × 1.8 × 1530) + (15 × 8 000 × 0.47) + (0.15 × 1.8 × 1530) = 57 639 [kg CO2 ]
Comments:
Indirect emissions related to the generation of electricity (97.8%) are in this particular
example, by far the largest contributor to green house gas emissions. It is however difficult to
draw any general conclusion from this example as the emission factor related to the
generation of electricity may vary in a fairly wide range depending on the source of electricity
generation. The example was based on 1992 average emission data for EU-12 (Michorius,
1996).
*Direct emissions of refrigerants in air-conditioners and unitary heat pumps have been
estimated in a study performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA (Sand et al 1997).
These estimates were 4% annual leakage for the technology available in 1997 and
estimated to drop to 2% by 2005.
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direct emissions indirect direct emissions
Country kg CO2/kWhelec TEWI [kg CO2]
due to leakage [%] emissions [%] at demolition [%]
Norway 0,005 1 839 44,9 32,6 22,5
Sweden 0,04 6 039 13,7 79,5 6,8
Switzerland 0,08 10 839 7,6 88,6 3,8
France 0,09 12 039 6,9 89,7 3,4
Austria 0,22 27 639 3,0 95,5 1,5
Finland 0,24 30 039 2,8 95,9 1,4
Belgium 0,29 36 039 2,3 96,6 1,1
European Average 0,47 57 639 1,4 97,8 0,7
Spain 0,48 58 839 1,4 97,9 0,7
Italy 0,59 72 039 1,1 98,3 0,6
Germany 0,61 74 439 1,1 98,3 0,6
Turkey 0,62 75 639 1,1 98,4 0,5
Netherlands 0,64 78 039 1,1 98,4 0,5
Portugal 0,64 78 039 1,1 98,4 0,5
U.K. 0,64 78 039 1,1 98,4 0,5
Ireland 0,7 85 239 1,0 98,5 0,5
Denmark 0,84 102 039 0,8 98,8 0,4
Greece 0,98 118 839 0,7 99,0 0,3
Luxenbourg 1,08 130 839 0,6 99,1 0,3
Table 1 TEWI calculation example applied to national electricity emission factors
kg CO2 equivalents
140 000
120 000
European average
100 000
80 000
60 000
40 000
20 000
0
Norway
Switzerland
U.K.
Italy
Belgium
Sweden
Spain
Ireland
Denmark
Austria
Germany
Netherlands
Portugal
Greece
Finland
Turkey
Luxenbourg
European
France
Average
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The LCCP concept is an ambitious attempt to bring in higher accuracy to studies of the
environmental impact of refrigeration and heat pump applications.
2.2 Refrigerants
The working fluid in a heat pump must be chosen with consideration of a number of different
aspects. Some of the working fluids that have been used extensively in heat pumps have been
discovered to have severe impact on the environment and have therefore been subject to
international phase out schemes and strict regulation. The refrigerant must fulfil a number of
requirements, of which the most essential are reviewed below.
• Chemical stability
The refrigerant has to be completely stabile within the system and ideally
quickly decompose to harmless substances in the atmosphere.
• Environmental impact, health and safety
Environmental impact due to direct emissions (leakage) must be kept at
minimum level. The use of flammable and toxic refrigerants is limited due to
strict regulation and reluctance from the industry.
• Thermodynamic properties
Freezing temperature: well below normal operating conditions
Critical point and boiling point temperatures has to be appropriate for the
application.
Reasonable operating pressures are preferred in order keep costs at a minimum
High volumetric refrigeration capacity is beneficial
• Practical characteristics
High oil solubility is in general preferred
Compatibility with common construction material
Low cost
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In 1973, Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina presented a theory that CFCs would deplete
the ozone layer. The work of Rowland and Molina awarded them with the Nobel Prize in
1995 and led to the international agreement to phase out the use of CFCs in the Montreal
Protocol 1987 and later on in the amendments to include the reduction of HCFCs.
The use of substances that deplete the ozone layer in the EU is regulated by regulation no.
2037/2000. It differs from the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments in that it specifies: an
accelerated HCFC phase-out schedule bans on use or compulsory recovery of CFCs and
HCFCs, and leak control. By now the use of CFC in heat pumps is phased out and since 1
January 2004 the use of HCFC is prohibited in the production of all air-conditioning and heat
pump systems.
As the use of ozone depleting substances is already profoundly covered by international
regulation, focus is now set to reduce emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC). The HFCs were
introduced as a substitute of the CFCs and HCFCs. HFC is a group of substances that have no
detrimental effect on the ozone layer, but contribute to global warming. The European
commission has proposed a new directive on restrictive use of F-gases (HFCs,
perfluorocarbons or PFCs and sulphur hexafluoride or SF6).
In the current version of the proposal (latest amendments 14 October 2004) the directive has
been divided into two parts. The first part is dealing with the phase out of R-134a from
vehicle air-conditioning. The second part apply to domestic and commercial refrigeration, air-
conditioners, heat pumps, fire fighting appliances, health care, etc. The overall aim of the
second part of the new directive is to improve the control of HFCs by setting minimum
standards for inspection and recovery. Regulations regarding monitoring and reporting on
leakage are strengthened, including training and certification of personnel in charge of
inspections. Labelling of products is introduced in order to improve the information to the
consumers.
The proposal will be sent to the European Parliament for a second reading in the beginning of
2005. A final agreement is not expected before 2006. After adoption, member states will have
18 months to transpose the directive. The regulation will come into force on the twentieth day
after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
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Design aspects
• Care has to be taken in order to avoid large pressure drop. An excessive pressure drop
will require additional energy for circulation.
• Indirect systems require a buffer tank of appropriate volume to allow for density
changes, due to temperature differences of the secondary refrigerant.
• The design of the secondary loop has to enable purging of air out of the system.
Trapped air is one of the most common reasons to insufficient flow in the secondary
loop.
• Sufficient insulation is required to avoid condensation and enable required resistance
to fire in the case flammable fluids are used.
Property aspects
• High specific heat of the secondary refrigerant is favourable, since this will enable
efficient energy use, as the temperature difference and volume flow may be kept low.
• Low viscosity will reduce pumping power and enable high heat transfer coefficient.
• High heat transfer coefficient will reduce thermal losses in heat exchangers.
• Toxic secondary refrigerants may cause damage to environment and health if a
leakage occur.
• Flammable liquids require fire resistive pipe insulation.
• Some secondary refrigerants may become highly corrosive in the presence of oxygen.
Risk of corrosion is reduced by the use of corrosion inhibitors.
The most commonly used secondary refrigerants in domestic heat pump applications are
aqueous solutions of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol and ethyl alcohol. From technical and
environmental view secondary refrigerants should be used with care. In central and southern
parts of Europe systems could well be designed for temperatures above 0 °C and thus
enabling the use of water. During the last few years a new concept to avoid secondary
refrigerants has been developed in Austria. The concept is developed for vertical ground heat
exchangers and introduces a CO2-thermosyphon (Rieberer et al 2005). The thermosyphon is
operating as a refrigeration cycle on its own. The inherent CO2 evaporates during heat
extraction in the lower part of the thermosyphon and condensates as the evaporator of the heat
pump cools it. The system is self-circulating and will thus not need any circulation pump as
an ordinary indirect system. The drawback of the system is that it is not possible to use for
free-cooling.
3 COMPETENCE REQUIREMENTS
European heat pump markets are developed in very different stages. Sweden and Austria
started to develop their markets some thirty years ago and have by now established a self-
sustaining market. The markets in these countries have up to now gone through a number of
upturns and periods of decline. Even though the reasons for market decline have been
different it has sometimes been related to lack of installer know-how. The fact that a heat
pump application is more complicated than most other space conditioning systems raises the
demand for competence.
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An installer needs a mixture of skills, which are normally covered by different professions
(electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians). The overall efficiency of the system is very
much dependent on accurate design of the heat source and proper integration with the heat
distribution system and other auxiliary systems. The lack of qualified installer has been
recognised as one of the greatest barriers on some of the emerging markets in Europe. From
experience it is known that poor installation may have a dramatic negative effect on the
market as a whole. The markets in Sweden and Austria have, at times, suffered severely from
poor installations leading to bad repute for the trade. Actors on these markets have learned
from this experience and initiated different training schemes.
The need for education of installers is well recognised in all of Europe and has resulted in a
joint European project with participation from Sweden, Austria, Ireland, Slovenia, Czech
Republic, U.K., France, Italy, Switzerland and The European Heat Pump Association. The
aim of the project (European Certified Installer, 2002) is to develop and initiate training
programmes, on all emerging markets, based on experience from the most developed
countries. The project will establish European curricula for training courses and develop a
European certification scheme.
Austria
The training program for installers started in the year 2001. Since the implementation of the
training facility at Arsenal Research, more than 130 installers and electricians have attended
the course. Arsenal is the accredited certification body for certification of installers. In order to
comply with the requirements for certification, the installers must be actively working in the
field of heat pumps and regularly take part in further education in the field of heat pumps.
Furthermore they have to keep record of all written complaints and provide complete planning
documentation for one installation every three years. Up to now more than 30 installers have
complied for certification and the program is gradually gaining more interest. Feedback from
the trainees has been extremely positive.
Switzerland
The Winterthur testing and training centre provides vocational education for heat pump
designers and installers. After fulfilled training course and verification of one installation an
installer may apply for publication on a list of certified installers. In Switzerland training of
drillers has been given high priority and as a result Switzerland has implemented a certification
program for drilling companies. In order to attain certification the companies have to verify the
quality of the equipment, relevant competence of the employees and provide necessary
authorization. The certification is valid for 3 years, during which the company is obliged to
take part in further education.
Sweden
In Sweden, there are many actors offer training of installers and drillers. In addition to the
education offered by The Swedish Heat Pump Association (SVEP) in collaboration with Mid
Sweden University, the major national manufacturers, The Swedish Society of Heating and
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
Ventilation and a national vocational education centre (IUC) offer training courses for heat
pump installers. The perhaps most well-established and renowned programme is the one
offered by SVEP and Mid Sweden University.
Even though regular students at Mid Sweden University take part in the course, the main target
group for the Swedish education programme is active installers. The duration of the training
course is 5 days. There is however a distance learning option, that has become the most viable
alternative for most installers. The compulsory part of the distance learning course includes a
one-day seminar and a practical laboration. Exercises, supervision and examination are
available on the Internet. The syllabus of the course encompasses environmental topics,
building constructions and refrigeration and heat pump technologies. Much effort is put into
the general knowledge of heating and cooling load calculation, system design, control
strategies, maintenance and legislation.
France
There is no official education standard covering the whole scope of heat pumps; nevertheless,
there are education standards for cooling and/or air conditioning, mainly for tertiary sectors.
People who have attended these courses have acquired a strong basis for the fast acquisition of
complementary knowledge about heat pump systems.
Official education standard offered by French National Education Department
• A 2-year vocational education allows people to install, commission and maintain
systems for cooling and air conditioning
In addition there are short training courses (from 1 to 5 days), which are mainly provided by
manufacturers and private or semi-private organisations. Each of them provides 5 to 20 short
training units focusing on air conditioning and cooling. Among these training units, there are
only a few that focus specifically on heat pumps (< 10). Manufacturers are generally adapting
the training according individual experience e.g.
• General training for installers who have no air conditioning background (e.g.
electrician)
• Complementary training specifying in air conditioning for an electrician (especially for
split systems)
• Complementary short training of electrical part for plumber
Inofficial
Accredited Training offered
certification/licencing
certification scheme by manufacturers
courses
Austria yes no yes
Czech Repulic no no yes
France no no yes
Germany no no yes
Ireland no no yes
Slovenia no no yes
Sweden no yes yes
Switzerland no yes yes
United Kingdom no no yes
22
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
Table 3 Existing training schemes
Quality-label France
There is a label called “Promotelec” , which is managed by the private Promotelec
Association (to which EDF belongs). This label ensures that houses (individual or collective)
have a sufficient level of electrical comfort. Requirements must be met for electrical systems
and installation. For houses equipped with heat pump systems, the heat pump must have a
minimum level of performance according to the type of heat pump. If the performances are
certified by the EUROVENT Association, or are published in a testing report issued by an
independent laboratory, retained values are those given by the manufacturers; if not, there is a
degradation coefficient depending on the technology of the heat pump. An independent
company gives the label to the house after a check.
Sweden
Quality labels for the heat pump
There are two labelling systems in Sweden presently, the P-mark, which is a quality label and
the Swan which is an eco-label.
1. The P-mark
The P–mark is a quality label that has been developed by the SP Swedish National Testing
and Research Institute together with Swedish heat pump associations and manufacturers. To
receive the label the product must fulfil:
2. The Swan
The Swan is the official Nordic ecolabel, introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers.The
Swan label demonstrates that a product is a sound environmental choice. The green symbol is
23
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
available for more than 100 product groups for which it is felt that ecolabelling is needed and
will be beneficial. The Swan checks that products fulfil certain criteria using methods such as
samples from independent laboratories, certificates and control visits.
Noise
The refrigerant
The secondary refrigerant
Plastic details
Surface treatments
Packaging material
Efficiency
The information material
Requirements on efficiency
Requirements on competent retailers and installers
Germany
There are two eco labelling criteria for different types of heat pumps available under “Der
Blaue Engel”. One is for absorption and adsorption heat pump systems or combustion engine
driven compressors. The criteria applies to factory manufactured units for space heating with
a rated thermal output of up to 70 kWheating.
The criteria sets requirements for:
The GWP (global warming potential) of the refrigerant
Emissions of NO2, CO and dust
Energy efficiency
Auxiliary power demand
Test institutes
Test methods
The second criteria has been established for electrically driven heat pumps.
The criteria sets requirements for:
TEWI (Total equivalent warming impact) of the system
Calculation of seasonal performance factor
The manual and guidelines
Test methods
Test institutes
It is interesting that this criteria sets requirements for TEWI, which then takes in to account
for energy efficiency of the appliance, refrigerant leakage, environmental impact of the
refrigerant as well as the environmental impact from generation of electricity.
24
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
DACH – Germany D, Austria A, Switzerland CH,
The German spoken countries, Germany, Austria and Switzerland have agreed on common
criteria for a quality label for heat pump units. The criteria which is called DACH-Gütesiegel,
covers air-water heat pumps, water-water heat pumps, brine-water heat pumps as well as
exhaust air heat pumps and direct evaporation heat pumps. The criteria sets requirements for:
Energy efficiency
Operating range
Manual
Warranty
Service capability
Availability of spare parts
The DACH-label is perhaps the most renown label for heat pumps in Europe at present.
kg CO 2 kg CO 2
Ga s boile r 70% 6000 Oil boile r 70% 8000
Ga s biole r 80% 5250 Oil boile r 80% 7000
Ga s boile r 90% 4667 Oil boile r 90% 6222 25
He a t pum p SPF 3 667 He a t pum p SPF 3 667
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY
CO 2-sa vings 85-88% AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part
CO 2-sa vings 1
89-92%
kg CO 2 kg CO 2
Ga s boile r 70% 6000 Oil boile r 70% 8000
Ga s biole r 80% 5250 Oil boile r 80% 7000
Ga s boile r 90% 4667 Oil boile r 90% 6222
He a t pum p SPF 3 3133 He a t pum p SPF 3 3133
CO 2-sa vings 32-47% CO 2-sa vings 49-60%
kg CO 2 kg CO 2
Ga s boile r 70% 6000 Oil boile r 70% 8000
Ga s biole r 80% 5250 Oil boile r 80% 7000
Ga s boile r 90% 4667 Oil boile r 90% 6222
He a t pum p SPF 3 6000 He a t pum p SPF 3 6000
CO 2-sa vings -28-0%' CO 2-sa vings 3-25%
26
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
efficiency for generation of electricity. Figure 13 is providing a comparison of PER for
different SPFs, electricity generation efficiency and common boiler efficiencies.
2,5 European
average
0.38
2
Boiler 70%
1,5
Boiler 80%
PER
0,5
0
0,3 0,4 0,5
Efficiency power generation
PER
Boile r 70% 0,7
Boile r 80% 0,8
SPF 3 1,14
SPF 4 1,52
Efficie ncy pow e r ge ne ra tion 0,38
27
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
Figure 14 Appliance efficiency 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998
29
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
that whereas such renewable energy sources as wind, solar, biomass and photo voltaic are
well known alternatives, because of effective information campaigns and authority support,
only modest emphasis has been placed on the energy saving and environmental potential of
heat pump systems.
7.1.2 High initial cost
High initial costs are in many cases a barrier, in spite of the fact that the overall lifetime cost
of the system is very satisfactory. Those promoting and marketing heat pump systems may
here be facing a pedagogical, or educational challenge. In addition to marketing arguments,
environmental and comfort benefits of heat pumps should be stressed and valued.
7.1.3 Poor perception
Poor perception has occasionally had a detrimental effect on the heat pump market. This has
mainly been the result of a fast growing market, which has tempted incompetent vendors and
installers to enter. This has, in some instances and in combination with some brands not
meeting a reasonable efficiency and quality standard, led to frustrated buyers and a setback in
sales. This situation has arisen in several European countries, often in conjunction with energy
saving initiatives and programmes.
If initiatives aimed at increasing the future use of heat pumps in Europe are to be successful,
steps must be taken to avoid that such situations are repeated. These steps include the training
and certification of installers and marketing personnel. They should also include the
establishment of a heat pump labelling programme, as a guarantee of energy efficiency
performance and environmental benefits.
It is believed that a simple method of calculating heat pump system savings in terms of energy
and cost could be a useful tool for heat pump sellers, who should be able to give a heat pump
buyer reliable and relevant information. The development of such a method should therefore
be considered.
7.1.4 Low energy prices
Low energy prices, which do not fully reflect the external cost of the different energies, are a
significant barrier in some European countries. This is often related to the fact that even if a
heat pump system is economically competitive, the energy cost difference may be too small to
decide for the heat pump system. This is in spite of other benefits that a heat pump system
offers, such as reduced CO2 emissions, more comfort etc. This barrier can only be overcome
by offering incentives, grants, renewable energy tax benefits for heat pumps, exempted or
reduced CO2 taxes etc.
30
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
The official market statistics for countries in Europe that are revealed below have been
compiled by the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) and presented in the form of
tables and diagrams. The statistics are based on an inquiry that was sent to 23 European
countries and refers to the situation 2003. As the quality of the statistical data provided differ
considerably, the EHPA has decided to only publish the statistics from 8 countries that are
considered to be reliable. Unfortunately the survey lacks information from Southern Europe.
General remarks
Results
• Total sales of space heating heat pumps: Minimum185.000 pieces (including exhaust air
and reversible air-air heat pumps)
• Sweden clearly dominating market: 68.100 pieces, 60% of them heating only heat pumps
(without heat recovery heat pumps)
• Reversible heat pumps are dominating systems in Norway (94%) and Finland (59%);
mostly air-to air heat pumps primarily used for heating purposes
Austria 3 6 0 0 18 0
Heating only HPs (w ithout heat recovery)
15
Bulgaria
510
Heat recovery HPs
Estonia 25
1 300
France 9 000 4 70 0
Netherlands 1 557
684
2 440 51 9 57
Norw ay
Sw eden 39 600 12 0 0 0 16 50 0
8 695 37
Sw itzerland
31
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
EHPA Heat Pump Statistics 2003: Sales Figures Heating Only
(without heat recovery heat pumps)
420
2 555
Austria
525
11
Bulgaria
Air/water
Estonia 360 Water/water
Brine/water
2 230
Finland Dir. expan./water or dir. cond.
5 400
Total Bulgaria / NL
France 3 600
1 152
1 557
Netherlands
Norway 2 440
500
3 100 36 000
Sweden
277
5 129 3 234
Switzerland
EHPA Heat Pump Statistics 2003: Stock of installed systems for space heating
Austria 33 227
Netherlands 3 858
10 204
Norway 92 919
10 087
0 50 000 100 000 150 000 200 000 250 000 300 000 350 000 400 000
32
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
Abbreviations
CFC chlorofluorocarbon
COP coefficient of performance
DTH down the hole hammer
EDF Electricité de France
EHPA European Heat Pump Association
GHG green house gas emission
GWP global warming potential
HCFC hydroclorofluorocarbon
HFC hydrofluorocarbon
HPC Heat Pump Centre
HVAC heating ventilation and air conditioning
IEA International Energy Agency
IUC Installatörernas Utbildningscentrum
JAZ jahres arbeits zahl=SPF
LCCP life cycle climate performance
PER primary energy ratio
SPF seasonal performance factor
TEWI total equivalent warming impact
VDI Vereinung Deutsche Ingenerung
References
Forsén, M., Lundqvist, P., ”A novel design tool for heat pump systems” 8th International
Energy Agency, Heat Pump Conference 2005, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 30 May- 2 June.
Halozan, et al (1999). ”Environmental benefits of heat pumping technologies”, Analysis
Report HPC – AR6.
IEA (2002), The International Energy Agency - Implementing Agreement for Hydropower
Technologies and Programmes “Environmental and Health Impacts of Electricity
Generation”, June 2002.
McLinden, M. O., Didion, D. A. “Quest for alternatives – A molecular approach demonstrates
tradeoffs and limitations are inevitable in seeking refrigerants” ASHRAE Journal December
1987.
Michorius, J., Ducth Electricity Generation Board, 1996.
Rieberer, R., Mittermayr, C., Halozan, H.,“CO2-thermosyphons as heat source systems for
heat pumps – 4 year of market experience” ” 8th International Energy Agency, Heat Pump
Conference 2005, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 30 May- 2 June.
33
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
Spath, P., Mann, M., (2000). „Life Cycle Assessment of a Natural Gas Combined-Cycle
Power Generation System”. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 1617 Cole Boulevard,
Golden Colorado 80401-3393.
Sand et al (1997). “Energy and Global Warming Impacts of HFC Refrigerants and Emerging
Technologies”, Oak Ridge National Laboratory 1997.
34
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
Appendix I
Direct Global Warming Potentials (GWPs) relative to carbon dioxide (for gases for which
the lifetimes have been adequately characterised). GWPs are an index for estimating relative
global warming contribution due to atmospheric emission of a kg of a particular greenhouse
gas compared to emission of a kg of carbon dioxide. GWPs calculated for different time
horizons show the effects of atmospheric lifetimes of the different gases.
Gas Lifetime Global Warming Potential
(years) (Time Horizon in years)
35
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 1
PART 2
Part 2 constitutes of national heat pump market analysis for 9 European countries. Members
of the EHPA and participants in the European project European Certified Heat Pump Installer
have provided the reports that serve as a ground for this section. The national reports describe
the overall heat market as well as major stakeholders, drivers and barriers to overcome.
Inquiries on national market statistics have been sent to competent associations and
organisations.
1
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Austria ................................................................................................................................ 5
1.1 Heating systems.......................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Energy prices.............................................................................................................. 5
1.3 Development of the market ........................................................................................ 6
1.4 Building standards...................................................................................................... 8
1.5 Why the time was ripe for the heat pump technology................................................ 9
1.6 What were the main barriers to overcome ................................................................. 9
1.7 Way to success ......................................................................................................... 10
1.8 Strategies by the Government .................................................................................. 11
1.9 Strategies of utilities................................................................................................. 11
1.10 Strategies of the Manufacturers................................................................................ 12
1.11 Current situation....................................................................................................... 14
1.11.1 Heat pump market ............................................................................................ 14
1.11.2 Quality assurance: ............................................................................................ 15
1.11.3 Certified installers ............................................................................................ 16
1.11.4 Monitoring........................................................................................................ 16
1.12 Electrical power generation...................................................................................... 16
1.13 Subsidies for heat pumps.......................................................................................... 17
1.14 Investment costs – running costs.............................................................................. 18
1.15 Perspectives.............................................................................................................. 18
2 Germany ........................................................................................................................... 20
2.1 Heating systems........................................................................................................ 20
2.2 Energy prices............................................................................................................ 20
2.3 Development of the Market...................................................................................... 21
2.4 Building standards.................................................................................................... 24
2.5 Why the time was ripe for the heat pump technology.............................................. 25
2.6 Strength of the current heat pump market................................................................ 25
2.7 What were the main barriers to overcome?.............................................................. 25
2.8 Main barriers of the current market.......................................................................... 26
2.9 Way to success ......................................................................................................... 26
2.10 Strategy..................................................................................................................... 28
2.10.1 Info-systems ..................................................................................................... 28
2.10.2 Public relation .................................................................................................. 28
2.10.3 Congresses, special conferences and action weeks.......................................... 28
2.10.4 Limits ............................................................................................................... 29
2.11 Current market situation........................................................................................... 29
2.12 DACH quality label.................................................................................................. 31
2.13 Electrical power generation...................................................................................... 31
2.14 Comparison of heating costs .................................................................................... 32
2.15 Perspectives.............................................................................................................. 32
3 Switzerland....................................................................................................................... 33
3.1 Heating systems........................................................................................................ 33
3.2 Energy prices............................................................................................................ 33
3.3 Development of the market ...................................................................................... 33
3.4 Building standards.................................................................................................... 34
3.5 Why had the heat pump technology prospects in the eighties ................................. 35
2
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
3.6 What were the main barriers to overcome ............................................................... 35
3.7 Way to success ......................................................................................................... 36
3.7.1 Foundation era (1992 – 1994) .......................................................................... 37
3.7.2 Consolidation phase (1995 – 1997).................................................................. 37
3.7.3 Professionalism (1998 – 2000)......................................................................... 37
3.7.4 Heat pumps for replacement market (since 2001) ........................................... 37
3.7.5 Utilities ............................................................................................................. 38
3.8 Current situation....................................................................................................... 39
3.8.2 Heat pump associations.................................................................................... 40
3.8.3 AWP Swiss Heat Pump Association................................................................ 40
3.8.4 Swiss Geothermal Association......................................................................... 40
3.8.5 Quality assurance ............................................................................................. 40
3.9 Electrical power generation...................................................................................... 41
3.10 Subsidies for heat pumps.......................................................................................... 41
3.11 Perspectives.............................................................................................................. 42
4 The Czech republic........................................................................................................... 43
4.1 Current Market Situation.......................................................................................... 43
4.2 Heat Pump Market Development in the Czech Republic ........................................ 44
4.3 Current Situation ...................................................................................................... 44
4.4 Technical Description of the Most Frequent Technologies ..................................... 46
4.5 Usual distribution channels ...................................................................................... 46
4.6 Education.................................................................................................................. 46
4.7 Vocational Education ............................................................................................... 46
5 France ............................................................................................................................... 47
5.1 Current Market Situation.......................................................................................... 47
5.1.1 Development of the market .............................................................................. 47
5.2 Current situation....................................................................................................... 48
5.3 Application of heat pumps ....................................................................................... 50
5.4 Common distribution channels................................................................................. 50
5.4.1 For domestic applications................................................................................. 50
5.4.2 Commercial applications.................................................................................. 51
5.5 Vocational Education ............................................................................................... 51
5.6 Qualification Certificate for persons ........................................................................ 51
5.6.1 Description of the current situation.................................................................. 51
5.7 Quality label for heat pumps .................................................................................... 52
5.7.1 Description of the current situation.................................................................. 52
5.8 Literature .................................................................................................................. 53
6 Ireland............................................................................................................................... 54
6.1 Current Market Situation.......................................................................................... 54
6.1.1 Development of the market .............................................................................. 54
6.2 Current situation....................................................................................................... 55
6.3 Common distribution channels................................................................................. 57
6.3.1 For domestic applications................................................................................. 57
6.4 Vocational Education ............................................................................................... 57
6.5 For people installing a heat pump ............................................................................ 57
7 Slovenia............................................................................................................................ 59
7.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 59
7.2 Current Market Situation.......................................................................................... 60
7.2.1 Development of the market .............................................................................. 60
7.3 Current situation....................................................................................................... 61
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
7.3.1 Weather conditions........................................................................................... 61
7.3.2 Energy situation................................................................................................ 62
7.3.3 Heat distribution systems ................................................................................. 63
7.3.4 Use of ground water ......................................................................................... 63
7.3.5 Refrigerants ...................................................................................................... 63
7.3.6 Market actors.................................................................................................... 64
7.3.7 Governmental support ...................................................................................... 64
7.4 Common distribution channels................................................................................. 64
7.4.1 For domestic applications................................................................................. 64
7.5 Vocational Education for installers .......................................................................... 65
7.6 Existing specialised heat pump training................................................................... 65
8 United Kingdom............................................................................................................... 66
8.1 Current Market Situation.......................................................................................... 66
8.1.1 Development of the market .............................................................................. 66
8.2 Current situation....................................................................................................... 66
8.3 Technical description of the most common technologies ........................................ 68
8.3.1 Water/Water ..................................................................................................... 68
8.3.2 Brine/Water ...................................................................................................... 68
8.3.3 Exhaust air........................................................................................................ 68
8.3.4 Air/Air .............................................................................................................. 68
8.3.5 In-building heat pumps..................................................................................... 68
8.4 Common distribution channels................................................................................. 69
8.5 Vocational Education ............................................................................................... 69
9 Sweden ............................................................................................................................. 70
9.1 Heating Systems....................................................................................................... 70
9.2 Energy prices............................................................................................................ 70
9.3 Heat pump market development .............................................................................. 71
9.4 Building standards.................................................................................................... 73
9.5 Why the time was ripe for the heat pump technology.............................................. 73
9.6 What were the main barriers to overcome ............................................................... 73
9.7 Way to success ......................................................................................................... 74
9.8 Current situation market situation ............................................................................ 76
9.9 Electrical power generation...................................................................................... 78
9.10 Future perspectives................................................................................................... 78
4
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
1 AUSTRIA
Figure 1 Development of the energy prices for mineral oil products in Austria 1970-2002 (EVA, 2003)
Figure 2 Development of the energy prices for pipe bounded energy transfer mediums and solid fuels
in Austria 1970-2002 (EVA, 2003)
5
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
Figure 3 Development of the energy prices for electrical power, heating oil, mineral coal, gas,
firewood, district heating in the time from January 2000 to July 2003 in Austria (EVA, 2003)
The figures above show the development of the prices for electricity and heating oil in
Austria. Attention should be paid to the strong price fluctuation for heating oil. Generally
there was a sharp increase in oil prices since the seventies. Figure 1 is dominated by the first
and the second oil price shock. 1973 was the first occurrence of a significant price rise, but it
was only the precursor for the second oil price shock in 1978. At this time there were the best
conditions for the development of a heat pump market in Austria, and as the market statistics
show these conditions resulted in a significant rise in the heat pump sales figures in Austria.
Between 1978 and 1984 the oil price was still rising but the sales figures of the heat pumps
were decreasing. The reasons for this opposite development were the poor quality and
efficiency of the heat pump systems at this time (see next point).
Figure 3 shows that we are not immune to a further oil price shock. There was a jump in oil
prices in September 2000 and March 2003. Due to these fluctuations it is especially difficult
to assess the future development of the prices for mineral oil products.
In contrast to the oil price there was a steady rise in demand for electricity until 1986,
afterwards there was only a small rise. Since 1986 the price has been more or less stable. This
benefited the development of the heat pump market, because the price for electricity is
deemed to be relatively stable.
The Austrian heat pump market started after the second oil price shock. After reaching a peak
in installations in 1981, the market collapsed and the sales figures stabilized at a lower level
and dropped again at the end of the eighties. In the early nineties the heat pump market was
recovering and since then has grown steadily. Figure 4 shows the development of the Austrian
heat pump market.
Figure 4. Development of the heat pump market in Austria; annual installed systems (FANINGER,
2001)
7
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
integration of heat pumps was carried out in much the same way as the integration of oil
boilers.
After an initial peak at the beginning of the eighties the market stabilised. The remaining
companies – many of the companies of the first phase disappeared from the market - had
learned valuable lessons. The most successful region was the supply region of OKA, a utility
which has studied heat pump systems and which has supported customers, not financially, but
in the case of failing systems. This region, a relatively small part of Austria, still accounts for
about 50 % of the total heat pump installations.
In 1985 two things happened: the oil price dropped and government subsidies were cancelled.
Due to the high investment costs and the falling prices of fossil oil, bivalent systems, which
had held the main market shares, were no longer cost effective, and manufacturers and
installers had to concentrate on monovalent systems for new buildings. In addition to the use
of ground water systems, ground was introduced as a heat source and with secondary loop
systems, direct expansion systems started dominating the market because of their higher
efficiency.
Since the early nineties the heat pump market has had a slow, but steadily rising development.
The ground became the main heat source, and due to a better framework (i.e. better insulated
houses, improved compressors and heat exchangers) Seasonal Performance Factors in the
range of 4 plus had been achieved relatively quickly, especially with direct expansion
systems.
Tab. 1: Building standards now and in the past (ARSENAL RESEARCH, 2002)
The chart above shows that in Austria there has been an essential increase in building quality
from 1970 to the present. The heat demand of the buildings decreased at 40% of the heat
demand during the seventies. Reasons for this development were the first and the second oil
price shock, the increasing building regulations in cooperation with subsidies for the
compliance with these regulations, the improved technologies in the field of building
8
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
engineering and the rising awareness of alternative and energy efficient technologies. Due to
these changes the conditions for using heat pumps are now much better than in the past.
Stand: 9/2003 B K N O S St T V W
Effective from ‘02 ‘97 ‘96 ‘99 ‘02 ‘97 ‘98 ‘96 ‘01
External wall 0,38 0,40 0,40 0,50 0,35 MFH: 0,50 0,35 0,35 0,50
EFH/ZFH:
0,40
Wall to unheated parts of the 0,50 0,70 0,70 0,70 0,50 0,70 0,50 0,50 0,50
building
Wall to separate flats 0,90 1,60 1,60 1,60 0,90 1,60 0,90 1,60 0,90
Ceiling to outside air 0,20 0,25 0,22 0,25 0,20 0,20 0,20 0,25 0,25
Ceiling to unheated parts of 0,35 0,40 0,40 0,45 0,40 0,40 0,40 0,40 0,45
the building
Ceilings to separate flats 0,70 0,90 0,90 0,90 0,90 0,90 0,70 0,90 0,90
Windows 1,70 1,80 1,80 1,90 1,70 1.90 1,70 1,80 1,90
Outer door 1,70 1,80 1,80 1,90 1,70 1,70 / 1,90 1,70 1,90 1,90
(GT)
Walls to earth 0,35 0,50 0,50 0,50 0,40 0,50 0,40 0,50 0,50
Flours to earth 0,35 0,50 0,50 0,50 0,285 0,50 0,40 0,50 0,45
Tab. 2: building regulations for the c-value in the different departments of Austria (EVA, 2003)
1.5 Why the time was ripe for the heat pump technology
As previously mentioned, in Austria, most of the heating systems were fired with fossil fuel
boilers. During the second oil price shock prices for fossil fuel increased fourfold within one
year. People were looking for means to reduce their heating costs. Therefore, bivalent
air/water heat pumps were a good option. In addition to the existing oil boiler, an air/water
heat pump was installed. These heat pumps are easy to install (no building activities for
theheat sources necessary) and they satisfy most of the heat load during the year. Only during
afew very cold days the oil boiler was needed. Also the government recognised the
requirement for a change in the energy policy in terms ofthe import dependency of Austria.
So subsidies based on a tax deduction model wereimplemented for all renewable energy
technologies and also for heat pumps.
Due to price ratio of electricity/oil and the subsidies given from the government, heat pumps
were a very attractive alternative to oil boilers. OKA, the electric utility of Upper Austria, has
recognised the potential of heat pumptechnology and started to actively support this
technology.
As a result of environmental requirements and in particular the reduction of CO2 released into
the atmosphere, the development of the heat pump market has been given aboost since the
beginning of the 1990’s.
9
HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
same time due to the high oil prices people were looking for alternative systems with lower
running costs than conventional oil boilers. Therefore a heat pump was a good option and a
few people overcame their reservations and tried the new technology. Consequently, the first
promotion work was done by word of mouth, the rest was done by the activities of the utilities
and by the governmental grants for renewable systems.
So the market demand for heat pumps was rising fast, but companies had very little
experience with this technology and there were few products on the market. This situation
created the following developments:
- A few serious companies started production of heat pumps and they also started
internal training programs for the installers with whom they were in partnership.
- Installers knew how conventional hydronic heating system work, but knew little
about the characteristics of heat pumps and how to size and integrate a heat pump into such a
system.
Too many failures occurred during the start-up period of the market by all parties involved
and so the reputation of heat pump systems was destroyed. The market reacted very quickly,
and the serious companies with reliable products and trained installers survived this market
break down.
At this initial phase electric utilities were split up into two groups:
The larger group saw in the heat pump a competitor for direct electric heating with the
disadvantage of less electricity consumption; they fought against this technology.
The smaller, farsighted group saw in the heat pump a new interesting potential market, the
market of fossil fuel fired hydronic systems, and they started to support heat pumps.
The rapid drop in oil prices in 1985 combined with the ending of the tax reduction subsidies
in Austria reduced sales figures significantly (especially of bivalent outside air heat pump
systems integrated into high-temperature hydronic heat distribution systems). Due to their low
Seasonal Performance Factors the operation of the oil-fired system alone became cheaper than
the operation of the bivalent outside air system.
After the oil price shocks, when the price for fossil fuel was moderate the higher investment
costs for heat pumps became one of the most serious barriers to the heat pump technology.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
installers. The best precondition for the market introduction is, of course, if all these bodies
and organisations work together; however, most commonly this goal cannot be achieved.
However, the development in the past shows, that market strategies have to be carried out
very carefully, and it is not always money, which makes a strategy successful.
What strategies for the market development have been used, and what strategies have been
successful?
As the sales figures show this programme was a success, at least in the first two years. But
what happened in these two years? Encouraged by the generous subsidies many people
wanted a heat pump, but not all of the companies which offered heat pumps were serious.
They installed systems without any knowledge of system layout and they promised their
costumers energy savings and energy cost savings far removed from reality.
The market reacted very fast, the sales figures decreased quickly to a very low level and only
the serious companies with reliable products and trained installers survived this market break
down.
This experience shows that the subsidy itself helps to increase sales. The investment cost
becomes lower and the profitability gets higher, which brings greater business opportunities.
The subsidies also work in an “irrational manner”, the customer/investor buys the product
because he feels that he can not "afford" to miss out on a governmental subsidy.
The support of a technology only with subsidies is not target oriented because it could result
in an undesired effect. Therefore it is important to couple the subsidies on the observation of
quality standards.
But there have been a few utilities, who realized, that heat pumps are not a competitor for
direct electric heating systems, but heat pumps offer a new market, the market of hydronic
heat distribution systems. In this market segment heat pumps are a competitor to oil-fired and
gas-fired boilers, electricity is competing with oil and gas.
OKA, the electric utility of Upper Austria, has been involved – after the first oil price shock -
in a governmental programme for reducing the energy consumption of school buildings, by
improving the thermal insulation of the building envelope and by means of improved heating
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
systems. Some of the school buildings have been equipped with heat pumps, and OKA used
these heat pumps as an internal training programme for the staff. Measurements were carried
out, and the behaviour of such a unit in a hydronic system has been studied. When customers
started to install heat pumps, OKA was prepared. They informed their customers about
reliable installers and heat pumps. When a failure occurred they supported their customer
against the installer and/or the heat pump manufacturer. If they did not carry out the repair
work necessary to get a functioning system, they were eliminated from the promotional list of
OKA. So OKA saw the lack and the importance of quality management for the whole heat
pump system and took the first step in the right direction.
Salzburg Kärnten
Steiermark
5% 8%
8%
Oberösterreich
Tirol
35%
16%
Vorarlberg
2%
Burgenland Niederösterreich
2% Wien
21% 3%
This policy was so successful, that even today 35% of the heat pump sales in Austria take
place in this region (Oberösterreich), and almost every second new single family house is
equipped with a heat pump there.
In comparison to upper Austria (share of population: 17,1%) in Styria - Steiermark (share of
population: 14,7%) only 8,4% of all heat pumps in Austria were sold. Reason for this
situation is that in Styria there was no driving force for this technology; neither the utilities
nor the local government or installers and manufacturers.
The first option has been carried out by several manufacturers. Milestones are the
development of the direct evaporation systems (which are more efficient and cost effective
than secondary loop systems), flat plate heat exchangers, advanced cycle control strategies,
improved compressors, refrigerants like propane and R-410A, and heat-pipe with CO2 as heat
carrier. Heat pump manufacturers have also demonstrated, that with floor heating systems,
sometimes combined with wall heating systems, maximum supply temperatures can be
reduced down to 35°C and less. This was the way to achieve Seasonal performance factors of
4.5 and higher.
The second option was carried out by the manufacturers in cooperation with a few reliable,
dedicated and well educated installers. This installers have given expert advice, a skilful
system layout and they have installed high quality products in a proper and respectable way.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
Such systems have achieved high efficiency and quality requirements. The consumers were
satisfied with their system and they communicated this satisfaction to their circle of friends.
Additionally a few systems were documented and measured and this data serves as a good
reputation for this technology. This was one of the most successful measures to promote the
heat pump technology in the local area.
But different Installers and different manufacturers are competing on the market, and very
often this competition was between one heat pump and another, and the winner was often a
boiler. To overcome this problem the LGW, “Leistungsgemeinschaft Wärmepumpe”, an
association of the majority of the heat pump manufacturers and distributors was founded in
1990. The aim of this association is still to promote the heat pump technology, to solve legal
aspects, to influence regulations and to present the importance of the heat pump for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions as part of the total energy system.
Another success of the association was to form together with Germany and Switzerland the
D-A-CH (D = Germany, A = Austria, and CH = Switzerland), an international cooperation
and association, and this association developed the rules for the D-A-CH quality label for heat
pump units, first for air/water heat pumps, water/water heat pumps and brine/water heat
pumps. In the meantime direct evaporation heat pumps and exhaust air heat pumps are also
included. The D-A-CH quality label includes tests for minimum COP requirements as well as
the possible operating range of the heat pump units, but also three years guarantee, spare parts
for 10 years and servicing capabilities within 24 hours of the companies which joined this
agreement and use the quality label.
The problems of heat pump units seem to be solved, however the more serious problem
remains of the system remains, i.e. the interaction of heat source, heat pump unit, heat sink,
control, and the building itself. To overcome this problem the Austrian heat pump association
in cooperation with arsenal research has started a certification programme for heat pump
installers in the year 2001. They have to attend a theoretical and a practical course on heat
pump systems, the course lasts 72 hours, and they have to pass a theoretical and practical
examination.
The course covers environmental issues, building physics, heat pump technologies, basics of
refrigeration, components of heat pumps, heat sources and design criteria of heat source
systems, heat distribution systems, heat pump heating systems, basics in electrical
engineering, measurement techniques, fault diagnostic in heat pump systems, initial operating
of heat pumps, installation and operation of heat pump heating systems as well as subsidies
and marketing.
Additionally they have to provide the complete planning documentation of a heat pump
system every three years. They have to be a fully qualified installer or electrician or attended a
respective college and they have to keep a complaints book. If all requirements are fulfilled
they get the title of a certified heat pump installer.
LGW is confident that the D-A-CH quality label for heat pumps and the certification of
installers will succeed in a market development without failing systems and therefore with
customers satisfied with their heat pump heating systems.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
To document the successful combination of certified installers and the D-A-CH quality label
arsenal research has implemented an automated monitoring systems for heat pump
installations. With the outcome of this independent investigation, heat pump installers,
manufacturers and users have the possibility to prove the efficiency and the ecological
benefits of heat pumps to decision makers, politicians, etc.
Air/Water Water/Water
5% 15%
Direct
expansion
Brine/Water
44%
36%
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
Fig. 7 Heat Pump Market in Austria 1975 - 2001 (FANINGER, 2001)
In the year 1990 the Austrian heat pump association LGW was founded. The driving force for
setting up such an association was the manufacturers. Within a short time also installers and
utilities were included. Over the years the utilities became an important promoter of the
organization. At the beginning the main topic of the LGW was stimulation of the market and
creation of awareness for the new technology, because at this stage only a few people knew
about the existence, the function and the application area of heat pumps. The target groups for
the campaign were, beside end users, politicians and building developers. Now the Austrian
heat pump association has more than 25 members, consisting of manufactures, installers,
utilities and other promotional members. The main tasks of the heat pump association are
quality management, marketing and public relations, education and training, research and
development standardization and dissipation of legal constraints.
The DACH quality label looks for the quality of the heat pump unit and guarantees that the
customer receives a reliable product. Spare parts, maintenance and servicing are guaranteed
for at least 10 years.
In Austria arsenal research runs a test rig for water/water, brine/water and direct evaporation
heat humps. This testing facility plays an important role in the field of increasing the quality
of the heat pump technology. Beside standard tests and tests for the DACH quality label
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
arsenal research provides manufactures the opportunity to use the test rig for development
projects.
1.11.3 Certified installers
The training program for installers started in the year 2001. Since the implementation of this
training facility, seven courses took place and more then 130 installers and electricians were
educated. The certified installers must be actively working in the field of heat pumps and take
part regularly in further education in the field of heat pumps. Furthermore they have to keep a
complaints book and have to provide the complete planning documentation of a heat pump
system every three years to the certification authority. Until now more than 30 installers have
agreed with these strict regulations and so they are entitled to keep the mark “certified heat
pump installer”.
1.11.4 Monitoring
The third part of the Austrian quality management is to control efficiency and quality of heat
pump systems in real conditions. The aim of the monitoring system is to measure a heat pump
system during a whole year. The analysis of the measurements can be used to convince
decision-makers and government. The measured data verifies the efficiency and the
functionality of the system. Before the monitoring system can be installed, plumbers have to
announce the basic conditions of the system. Therefore they have to fill in a questionnaire and
prepare the hydraulic plan of the heat pump system. The monitoring system obtains a high
level of automation. Therefore the monitoring system is based on data loggers. These data
loggers transfer the measurements via Internet to the measuring computer where they get
analysed automatically by a database.
More than 93% of the renewable power generation is provided by hydro power generation,
solid biomass covers 6.1%, and the remaining 0.7% of the renewable power generation is
provided by photovoltaic, wind and solid waste.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
Hydro 93,12%
PV 0,06%
Wind 0,56%
Solid Waste 0,10%
Biomass 6,18%
Additional to the subsidies mentioned in Tab. 3, most of the utilities have also special prices
for electricity. The information mentioned above is from the Austrian heat pump association.
subsidies depends on the heat source: -air: 700 € -water and earth
with horizontal collectors: 1200€ -earth with vertical collectors: 1600
€
Niederösterreich
heat pump for hot water supply: 1100€ heating heat pump: 2200 €
Burgenland
heat pump for hot water supply: 750€ heating heat pump: 1800 €
Steiermark cheap credits for heat pumps
Salzburg: 174 € per kW electrical power
maximal 3270 €; if the heat pump has no DACH quality label, or the
Tirol: installer have no certification the subsidy will be reduced
Kärnten: cheap credits for heat pumps
Oberösterreich heat pump for hot water supply: 370 € heating heat pump (air as
heat source): 1500 € heating heat pump (water or earth as heat
source): 2200 €
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
1.14 Investment costs – running costs
1.15 Perspectives
Presently in Austria (and also in the rest of Europe) there are two main problems to solve.
One is the reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions with respect to the anticipated or current
climate change and the second is to decrease the import dependency on fossil fuels. This
means that a significant reduction of using fossil fuels will be necessary, and this can happen
in the transformation sector and in the end-use energy sector. Looking at the end-use energy
sector, it is mainly the building sector, which can contribute significantly in a short time
frame. And the Kyoto Protocol requests a short term frame; reduction rates have to be
achieved by 2010. In the case of Austria it means a reduction by 13 % based on the emissions
of 1990. Due to the development of the CO2 emissions during the last decade, we have to
reduce our greenhouse gas emission by about 17 to 18 % in reality. To solve these problems
the heat pump technology will play a key role.
The heat pump market in Austria (and also in other European countries) is presently
concentrated on new buildings. Because these buildings offer ideal conditions for using heat
pumps. Due to the high building standards and the installation of low-temperature heat
distribution systems ground-coupled heat pump systems achieve SPFs in the range of 3.8 to
4.5.
But the market of new building covers only about 1 % of the existing building stock; the large
market potential available in the retrofitting sector is presently not used for the heat pump.
Reasons are the existing high-temperature hydronic systems, which require bivalent systems
and a sophisticated control, the lower seasonal performance factor due to the higher heat
pump outlet temperatures, and bad experiences in the eighties.
The electricity market is now deregulated, which means, that utilities can become much more
flexible, they can play an active role in developing an electricity market which covers energy
efficiency with environmental advantages; heat pumps may be one tool in this direction.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
Beside ambient heat, the heat pump offers the option of utilising waste heat, and this means
the recycling of thermal energy. Both ambient heat and waste heat are CO2-free and could
contribute to the reduction of global warming. Most of the heat pumps in Austria are heating
only heat pumps, but in time heating and cooling heat pumps will become more and more
attractive both for large scaled buildings and for single family houses. Lack of uniformity in
equipment design and safety standards among countries with relatively small market volumes
(for example, European countries) results in higher production costs for manufacturers.
Governments should adopt uniform design, safety, rating and labelling standards as quickly as
possible.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
2 GERMANY
Since the early 90’s there was a clear structural change indicated by:
price for electricity 17 ct/kWh, Production, main, etc. VAT eco tax concession renewable
energy and CHP charges
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
price for natural gas 4,44 ct/kWh, Production, import, distribution, etc. VAT gas tax
concession charges for conveyance
Looking at the development of the oil price in Germany we can recognize a similar
development as in Austria. Maximum prices were attained also in the years 1984 and 2000.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
single and multi family houses climbed up to more than 12000systems in the years 1980/81, a
number that has never been reached again till today.
With the following fall of the oil price and because of many bad experiences caused by poorly
installed systems the heat pump fell into disrepute and the market collapsed again at the end
of the 80’s. It stagnated for several years at just 500 sold systems a year.
At the beginning of the 90’s the thermodynamic heating with heat pumps as a contribution to
environmental protection became more important caused by the realization that the CO2
emissions influence the greenhouse effect and the resulting change of the climate.
Supportive measures of the Federal Government, its counties and many utilities, the slowly
climbing oil prices and the foundation of the German heat pump association led to a revival of
the heat pump market. Sales figures recovered slowly and achieved good rates of increase.
At first glance the result of 2002 does not seem to be particularly impressive, but taking into
account the poor economical situation in Germany at the time, places it in a better light.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
With regard to the used heat sources there was also a clear change. Until the middle of the
80’s ground coupled, air and water heat pumps where approximately equal, but later the
ground coupled heat pumps became more and more important. The reason for this was that
the utilities forced up the development of ground coupled systems because of their better
seasonal performance factors. Now about 65% of the heating heat pumps use ground, 15%
use air and 20% use water as heat source.
Fig. 16. Sales figures of the different heat sources 1996-2002 (BWP, 2002)
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
2.4 Building standards
The graph below shows that a clear improvement in building standards took place between
the 80’s and the 90’s. The building-guideline of 1995 asked for clearly higher standards on
the insulation of buildings and on the quality of windows.
Because of those strict conditions it was possible to decrease the average heat demand from
250 kWh/m²a down to less than 110 kWh/m²a. This means that the half of the earlier required
heat demand is now enough for heating a building. This again means that it was suddenly
possible to reduce the supply temperature of heating systems and to facilitate the heat transfer
via floor heating with surface temperatures fewer than 28°C.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
In the year 2002 a new energy-saving law came into force. It was directed at the saving of
primary energy. This means that in comparison with buildings which are heated with fossil
energies higher heat losses are tolerated for buildings which are equipped with high-efficient
heating systems or heated with regenerative energies (heat pump, solar technology, biomass).
This law creates new advantages for the heat pump because environmental heat is accepted as
a form of renewable energies.
2.5 Why the time was ripe for the heat pump technology
As in Austria, Germany also suffered the oil price shocks in the 70’s, which generated the
first boom for heat pumps. The high prices for fossil energies and the simple possibility of
combining the existing oil boiler with an air/water heat pump to decrease heating costs where
the main reasons. As previously mentioned, the technology in Germany was unsuccessful
mainly due to quality-problems and installation mistakes. After the fall of oil prices, the
market collapsed. The heat pump market did not recover until the beginning of the 90’s, but
since then it has achieved positive sales figures.
What was the reason why the heat pump became interesting at this time? First of all the basic
conditions for using heat pumps in view of building standards had been clearly improved;
secondly the acceptance and the interest in ecological, energy efficient technologies were
much higher than in the 70’s. But also the problem with the greenhouse effect and the
associated necessity to save CO2 emissions were already a topic. The energy utilities
recognized this potential and saw a possibility to come into the heat market with the help of
the heat pump. The utilities had been supported by the heat pump producers, which continued
to exist throughout the bad years by supplying, in particular, the Austrian and Swiss heat
pump market.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
7.325 operators of heat pumps were contacted. The main question was, if they would be in
favour of installing a heat pump again and 68% answered with “yes”. This result did not
persuade but it was the incentive to form a heat pump initiative and it led to the foundation of
the German heat pump association called „Initiativkreis Wärmepumpe“ (IWP) in the year
1993.
The first step of this association was to recruit the installing crafts. This was done through
intensive support and advertising activities. It was demonstrated that the heat pump was an
independent and fully developed heating system. Very quickly those first marketing measures
attracted members to the IWP. On the 1st of January 2001 the „Initiativkreis“ changed to
„Bundesverband WärmePumpe“ (BWP).
Cooperation between the trades
To guarantee objectivity and credibility, the structure of the „Bundesverband“ from the
beginning contained a varied combination of members such as
heat pump producers
sanitary engineers, heating engineers, electricians, refrigerants
utilities
The experiences of all these disciplines were pooled for the benefit of the end user’s
information, and were unbiased toward any particular manufacturer. On the basis of the
knowledge and the experiences of those different lobbies, the first manual for heat pump
technology was drafted in 1994 which is available now for workman, architects and planners.
Above all the heat pump logo turned out to be a strong sympathetic figure. Meanwhile it is
used internationally as the DACH-quality label.
Figure 19 DACH-label
Just a good product is selling well
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
If the industry did not strongly believe in the future of the heat pump all marketing and
advertising campaigns would have been doomed to fail, and further technical development
may have stalled. The positive image, which the heat pump has today, is based principally on
the high quality of the product.
2.10 Strategy
It was quickly recognized that it was necessary but not enough just to persuade the trade of
the advantages of a heat pump. The “pressure” had to come from the builder-owner. He has to
be the one that goes to the specialists and has to make it clear that he absolutely wants a heat
pump; no oil, no gas but environmental heat should supply his house with warmth.
2.10.1 Info-systems
Neutral information- and advisory-material as well as technical descriptions with planning
guidelines have been compiled. The information campaign for builder-owners started with a
comprehensible brochure for end users. Since then this brochure has been passed on more
than 500.000 times. Advertisements in the magazines of big building societies were also
successful in promoting the heat pump. Also the opportunities provided by the Internet were
used quite early and the advantages of heat pump technology have been put into the World
Wide Web. More than 80.000 interested people looked at the BWP-homepage just in 2002, all
in all there were more than 300.000 people that visited the average 7 pages. Here important
information about the technology as well as examples for system costs is presented. Another
service of this homepage is the data-base of workman. Building owners can get the addresses
of the relevant companies or planners in their area just after the input of the postcode.
To effectively draw attention to a new or an old product you need the right platform. Since
1995 the congress “SOLARTEC – heat from the sun and from the environment” has been
successfully conducted three times in the “German patent office” and in the “congress centre
Würzburg” together with the solar industrial sector.
The special conference of electrical heat pumps has been conducted three times. In the year
2001 also the „heat-pump-Expo“ was brought to Germany and integrated into the
„SolarEnergy“ in Berlin.
The heat pump weeks are also one of the most successful regional activities. They took place
four times in Bavaria. On offer have been events about the heat pump, lectures, open door
days and visits to craft companies. Advertisements on the radio drew the attention to the heat
pump for weeks.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
Nordrhein-Westfalen (another German province) has also picked up the successful Bavarian
concept and organized its first heat-pump-week in January 2002. Because of its popularity
the event took place for the third time in 2002.
2.10.4 Limits
Although the growth rates have been favourable in the last number of years, it must not be
forgotten, that until now just 15% of all builder-owners have been reached. These are people
who really advocate heat pump technology (5%) and such people that are open-minded to
every new technology and have good prior knowledge.
“But to open up the big potential of those builder-owners, for whom it doesn’t matter what
type of heating they install (85%), you have to think in totally different and above all
considerably bigger dimensions in view of advertising media and budget; because the heat
market is not waiting to be conquered by the heat pump. The conventional heating
technologies are still dominating and this will not be change so readily. With the same
financial means as before, a good and effective public relations campaign can also be
conducted in future. If the heat market is to be conquered and the heat pump should become
more or less the third power in this energy-segment then publicity campaigns are unavoidable
“ (SCHÖLER, 2002).
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
The slow increase of heating heat pumps sold in the year 2002 seems to be surprising on first
look, but if the bad economical situation and the extreme reluctance to buy are taken into
consideration, the plus of 1,35% in the area of heating heat pumps assumes more importance.
On top of this is the fact that housing projects in 2002 decreased by around 8% in Germany.
In the area of small houses (1-2 flats), which is at the moment the most relevant sector for the
heat pump, the decrease in West Germany was 5,1% and in the new provinces (former
Eastern Germany) as much as 13,3%.
Also the sales figures of the second quarter of 2003 can be seen as satisfactory. All in all the
heating heat pumps can boast an increase of +7,96% in comparison with the same quarter of
2002. The graph below shows the increases of the different technologies.
Noticeable is the significant increase of air/water heat pumps (+30,68%). The reason for this
is first of all increasing numbers of low energy – and passive houses in which air/water heat
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
pumps are used for heat recovery in combination with controlled living room ventilation.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
Subsidies for heat pumps:
Like in Austria supportive measures for heat pumps are different from province to province.
In Bavaria for example the following subsidies for heat pump systems were available in the
year 2003.
€ 150 for every installed kilowatt of heat capacity in existing
buildings, if the heat-distribution system is adapted at the same
time
€ 100 for every installed kilowatt of heat capacity in every other
case.
The maximum support is 25% of the concerned investment costs but maximum € 12.500 per
heat pump system.
In Brandenburg the use of heat pump systems for hot water preparation or/and for heating is
supported. The level of supportive measures goes up to 30% of the investment costs, but it is
limited to 613,55 Euro/kW proven heat demand. The maximum amount per system is
102.258,35 Euro. The seasonal performance factor of the system has to be at least 3,8. This
has to be proven for every concerned project. The heat distribution in buildings is not
supported.
In Nordrein-Westfalen there was a promotion for heat pumps within the REN-programme
(Rationelle Energieverwendung und Nutzung unerschöpflicher Energiequellen – rational use
of energy and use of inexhaustible energy sources) until the 30.9.2003. At the moment there
are no incentive measures for heat pump systems, but a resumption of the REN-program is
planned for 2004, but today the conditions that are tied up in a support measure are not
known.
2.15 Perspectives
The heating of buildings is one of the biggest energy consumers in the economical energy
balance. One third of the total energy consumption is used for heating. Therefore the heating
heat pump is a very interesting possibility. Especially in the field of retrofitting the heat pump
could open a new market potential as a part of controlled ventilation systems with heat
recovery for reduction of ventilation losses.
In times of steadily climbing comfort requirements the heat pump can become more important
especially with the possibility of direct or indirect cooling. At the moment the heat pump has
hardly any chances in the field of modernisation. With new innovative solutions in the area of
„high temperature heat pumps“ this very promising market could be opened up.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
3 SWITZERLAND
8000
7000
6000
5000
Units
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Year
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
250
206
200 181
156
kWh/m²a
150 128
100 89
100 71
44
50 31
ue
n
n
n
ue
io
t io
io
80
90
00
P
al
al
ct
at
gy
va
19
19
20
tV
lV
ru
ov
er
no
st
ge
a
en
in
on
Re
ic
M
R
rit
Ta
C
e
C
01
gi
w
01
01
20
Ne
er
20
20
in
A
e
M
SI
gi
A
SI
SI
er
in
M
Figure 26 Building standards in Switzerland (FWS, 2003)
New houses built up to the Minergie standard have a yearly heat demand of 44 kWh/m²a,
which is approximately half of the heat demand of conventional new buildings. In
Switzerland there is also a building standard for renovated houses. A house which is
renovated according to the conventional building standards has a yearly heat demand of 128
kWh/m²a. If the building is renovated according to the Minergie Standard the house would
have a demand of 89 kWh/m²a, which is about 70% of the conventional heat demand. In
average new minergie buildings have higher investment costs of only 6.3%. Because of the
ecological and economical facts and professional promotion the Minergie standard became
more and more important during the last few years.
3.5 Why had the heat pump technology prospects in the eighties
In the eighties during the oil price shocks Swiss people were also looking at alternatives to
reduce their heating costs. Heat pumps were easy to install because they need no special
storeroom and they are an automated heating system. At the beginning of the nineties the heat
pump technology attracted political interest. The heat pump was viewed as one possibility to
reduce the Swiss energy dependency and the CO2 emissions. So the Federal Energy Office
has accepted the heat pump as a renewable energy technology and therefore the heat pump is
included in the national energy programme “Energie 2000” with the target of 100 000 heat
pumps in the year 2010. Additional the local energy utilities recognised in the heat pump an
opportunity to supply the heating market as well as the electricity market. Furthermore the
building standards were significantly increased in the time from 1970 till 1990 and so the
framework conditions were also suitable for using heat pumps. The public awareness for
alternative and sustainable heating systems was significantly higher than in the early eighties.
It should also be noted that in a number of districts, a regional program has completed the
federal program. And finally, at the end of 1999 the Federal Office Of Energy launched a
project for the development of heat pumps in existing homes. The "Energy 2000" program
now has a successor called "Energie Suisse". Its ambition is to have at least 100 000 heating
heat pumps in operation by 2010 which would mean that heat pumps represent 50% of the
market in new homes and 10% of the replacement of fuel boilers market.
• The Swiss association for promotion of heat pumps - FWS
This association includes members belonging to various categories: installers, designers, and
manufacturers of heat pumps, electricity companies, federal and local public authorities. The
association receives 50% financial assistance by the federal government.
The most important objectives of this association were:
-the deployment of information and marketing activities,
- the setting up and the promotion of a quality label,
- the coordination of training activities.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
The marketing activities of FWS were structured in four strategic steps:
3.7.1 Foundation era (1992 – 1994)
1992 a marketing and communication concept was developed for the promotion of heat
pumps in Switzerland. The main goal at this time was to inform the customer about the heat
pump technology and make the heat pump technology popular and strength the confidence of
the consumers in this technology. Furthermore the market has been stimulated by direct
financial subsidies.
In the year 1993 the foundation of FWS and therewith the Swiss Government promotes
application of heat pumps.
3.7.2 Consolidation phase (1995 – 1997)
In this phase the consolidation of the market was done. Also the confidence of craftsmen inthe
heat pump technology was stabilized. The slogan for this time was: Build up and extend! In
the year 1996 the first National Heat Pump Expo took place. With this exhibition the
harmonisation of all involved parties was consolidated. This was the time when the heat
pumps became visible in the market of heating equipment and the involved parties were
accepted as serious players.
3.7.3 Professionalism (1998 – 2000)
At this stage heat pumps are established for new constructions, they have more than 30%
market share of the new building market. The heat pump was therefore a very serious
competitor to oil boilers but for replacements the heat pump was still far away from success.
The network of FWS was accepted as an effective tool. At the next Heat Pump Expo the
feeling of being in a challenging sector was reinforced.
3.7.4 Heat pumps for replacement market (since 2001)
During this phase the Swiss Government did not promote directly, but gave money to the
regional governments. The Heat Pump Expo was extended to a new national Expo together
with all renewable energies (Heat Pumps, Solar and Wood). With the financing of the
regional governments the regional marketing realises with the regional actors towards the
local customers became important. Target market for the promotion campaigns became more
and more the replacement market.
Among the very large number of information and marketing activities jointly set up by the
federal government and the FWS, there are listed below those which have proved to be the
most relevant:
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
- Regularly heat pump news as a special supplement in selected trade journals
- Broad effecting FWS – Advertisements in media, newspaper and journals
- Open-days for end users: cheap to organise and highly productive! For such an
open door day manufacturers, utilities and local government work closely
together. Nowadays more and more of them are organised in renovated
buildings.
Beside the research and development which was done by the manufacturers there was also a
national program for R&D. Within this program research projects were supported (e.g. the
development of advanced control systems), furthermore competitions were organised (e. g:
Swiss Retrofit Heat Pump for higher supply temperatures in the retrofitting market) and
additional demonstration projects were financed (e. g. combination of heat pumps and solar
panels). The Winterthur testing and training centre began its heat pump testing activities in
1993. The technical tests carried out mainly focus on thermal and acoustic performance
measurements of products. Performances of heat pumps were published in a bulletin and were
also accessible on an Internet Web site. The centre also provides training for heat pump
designers and installers. And finally the Swiss Association for Promotion of Heat Pumps has
set up an after-sales service ("heat pump doctor") to deal with bad references. In the quality
field, Switzerland was involved in setting up the DACH label together with Germany and
Austria. The DACH label is added by a set of recommendations concerning the sizing of the
installation, control and balancing of hydraulic distribution.
3.7.5 Utilities
In Switzerland there are a lot of regional utilities on the market. The policy in case of heat
pumps is therefore varying from district to district. Overall the utilities in the regions (where
the heat pump technology is really successful) have supported the federal program. In general,
utilities have set up a strategy based on four main aspects:
- information of partners and the public,
- providing a set of services supporting heat pumps sold,
- assistance in buying,
- decrease in operating costs by the setting up of special electricity prices for the
use of heat pumps.
This strategy has, of course been implemented in close cooperation with the other partners in
the market: heat pump manufacturers, architects, constructors, design offices, installers, etc.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
3.8 Current situation
The total number of heat pumps in Switzerland is estimated to be about 67,000 units. Heat
pumps are used both for heating and production of domestic hot water or for production of
domestic hot water only. In the year 2002 there were 7,554 heating heat pumps installed. In
figure 27 the development of the heat pump sales figures in connection with the new building
market is illustrated. In the year 2002 the heat pump technology covers about 45,6% of the
new building market.
Figure 27 Heat pumps <20 kW installed in new buildings (Source: FWS 2003)
But not only the new building market registered good results, the retrofitting market also
become more and more important. In figure 28 the increase of the sales figures in the field of
renovated buildings is shown.
600 452
400 295
200
0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Figure 28 Sales of heat pumps <20 kW for renovated buildings (Source: FWS, 2003)
In Switzerland the outside air/water heat pump is the most common type with (52%), in
second place is the ground coupled heat pump with 43% and the water/water heat pump
covers 5% of the market shares. In figure 29 the partition of the different technologies is
pictured.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
Water/Water
5%
Air/Water Ground/Water
52% 43%
-Heat-pump checking and testing centre: The heat pump testing centre is now situated in
Buchs. The testing centre offers the possibility for testing air/water, water/water and
brine/water heat pumps. This testing centre has a significant influence on the quality of the
products.
-education program: In Switzerland there are a few possibilities for further education in the
field of heat pump technology. One is the course „environmental energy“ which is part of the
penta-program. This program focuses on renewable energy technologies and marketing
aspects and is developed especially of specialists in the field of HVAC (heating, ventilation,
air conditioning and cooling). The university of applied sciences in Basel offers the course
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
“the heat pump in the Minergie house” and furthermore there is a course “marketing and
coaching for installers and utilities” available.
-certified drilling companies: The quality of a vertical heat exchanger is relevant to the
efficiency of the whole system. Furthermore it is very difficult to correct mistakes at the
vertical heat exchanger and mostly it is not possible. Therefore Switzerland has implemented
a certification program for drilling companies. To get the certification the companies have to
document the quality of the equipment, the qualification of the personal and the necessary
approvals. The certification is issued for 3 years, during these three years the company is
obligated to regular further education. After the three years the documentation and
certification must be repeated.
-heat pump doctor: The heat pump doctor is a contact point for heat pump users with
problems. The doctor helps in case of conflict situations between the installer and the
consumer. The number of reported problems is decreasing steadily during the last years,
which is an indicator of increasing system quality. However the institution will be also needed
in the future, because it is an important control mechanism for the quality assurance of the
heat pump systems on the market. Due to the consumer assistance it is possible to get
feedback from the customers about the most common problems.
Thermal + other
4%
Nuclear
40%
Hydro power
56%
3.11 Perspectives
The development of the first future perspectives has started a few years ago. This perspective
is the change from the new building market to the retrofitting market. The promotion
campaigns of FWS and the development of the “Swiss retrofitting heat hump” (a heat pump
for supply temperatures of 65°C) is one step in this direction. But further development in the
direction of better coefficients of performance at such high temperatures and higher possible
supply temperatures could be an exercise for the future. The second perspective is to extend
the Minergy standard on the building sector. With a growing percentage of such buildings, the
CO2 emissions could be reduced. Furthermore such low energy buildings are the perfect field
of application for air/water and exhausted air heat pumps.
• At the moment most of the heat pumps in Switzerland are just used for heating and hot
water generation applications, but in future reversible heat pumps with cooling
possibility could get more and more attractive.
• Another future perspective could be the recharge of the heat source with solar energy.
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4 THE CZECH REPUBLIC
The common heating and distribution system is natural gas boiler and classical radiators both
in new buildings and also in the existing building stock (single family houses) and centralised
systems for both heating and water heating in the living sites (blocks of flats). Direct
accumulation and mixed electric heating is installed in ~ 300,000 households (~ 8% of total).
Heat pump technology is relatively well known in regard to public awareness. Taking into
account the investment costs and possible subsidies from various sources (up to one third of
the purchase price), the heat pump is perceived as a progressive but expensive solution.
There is the Czech Heat Pump Association, which was founded to disseminate information
and promote education concerning heat pumps to various target groups (architects,
construction engineers, designers, installation companies, authorities, potential investors). The
Association is a member of the European Heat Pump Association. Their objective is also to
increase the technical level of member companies to avoid or minimise faulty heat pump
installations.
There are dozens (!) of companies manufacturing, delivering, installing and/or maintaining
the heating systems with heat pumps. About half of them are members of the Czech Heat
Pump Association. Consequently, there exists some intercommunication in regard to statistics,
types, quality, etc. The other companies, however, are outside the scope of the Association,
and data acquiring is therefore more difficult.
There is a special electricity rate for households (or companies) having heat pump
installations, which makes it possible to use a low tariff for 22 hours per day. There is also the
possibility to obtain support for the installation from a government programme (State
Environmental Fund, up to 1/3 of the investment costs; 100,000 CZK = €312 maximum), or
from the local utility (~ 20,000 CZK = €625; differs at each utility).
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
4.2 Heat Pump Market Development in the Czech Republic
There was practically no HP market in the Czech Republic before the year 2000; rather, there
were some dozens of single installations a year.
From the year 2001, apparent annual growth can be observed due to rising energy prices,
namely natural gas, of which a considerable amount is used for the heating in domestic
houses. At the same time, the development indicates a positive influence of state subsidies on
HP installations in family houses or subsidies and low interest rates for credits for HP
installations in commercial and industrial buildings. This trend of annual growth, amounting
to approx. 80%, dropped in 2003 and 2004. The main causes are the new rules for subsidy
assignment that are highly restrictive and in practice impossible to meet. Taking into
consideration both high HP investment costs and the purchase power in the Czech Republic,
acquiring the subsidy amounting to approx. 30% of the total investment and installation costs
is relatively important.
Using the actual price level of fuels for a calculation, the simple payback period of HP
installations without any subsidy is far more than 10 years. This is the main reason why those
interested in HP systems hesitate and wait for a reduction in HP prices. Such a situation helps
those companies that offer cheap systems which are often of poor operating quality, damaging
thus the reputation of the heat pump industry in general.
Currently, about 5,000 HP systems of all sorts and principles are installed in the Czech
Republic; this number is an expert‘s estimate, since there are no precise numbers at our
disposal so far. We estimate last year’s amount of installations to be 1,200; this year’s number
is expected to be double. 80% of all installations are in new buildings.
There is a special electricity rate for households (or companies) having heat pump
installations, which makes it possible to use a low tariff for 22 hours per day. There is also the
possibility to obtain support for installation from a government programme (State
Environmental Fund, up to 1/3 of the investment costs; 100,000 CZK maximum), or from the
local electricity distribution company (~ 20,000 CZK, different for each distributor).
During the last decade, low temperature systems are being – very slowly –installed; their
majority is in floor heating systems, more rarely in wall systems.
Common heating and distribution systems are natural gas boiler and classical radiators located
in separate rooms both in new buildings and also in the existing building stock (single family
houses), and centralised systems for both heating and water heating in apartment blocks.
Direct, accumulation, and mixed electric heating is installed in ~ 300,000 households (~ 8%
of total).
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
New residential buildings, however, are often being equipped either completely with floor
systems or in combination with radiators.
The heat pump technology is relatively well known to the public. The information on this
technology spreads rapidly. Taking into consideration the investment costs and possible
subsidy from various sources (up to one third of the purchase price), the heat pump is
perceived as a progressive but expensive solution.
The majority of heat pumps in operation in the Czech Republic are imported from the
countries where they are a common part of the household equipment. In addition to the
importers, there are several Czech producers who deliver their systems to the installation
companies.
The Czech Heat Pump Association was founded in 2001. The member companies are
producers and importers of heat pumps, installers, schools and sympathising companies,
consultancies, etc. The Czech Heat Pump Association is contributing to the acceptance of HPs
by participating in exhibitions, presentations, media, reports, and educative workshops for
various target groups – designers, architects, state and urban authorities, etc. The Association
is a member of the European Heat Pump Association. Their objective is also to increase the
technical standard of member companies to avoid or minimise faulty heat pump installations.
The majority of installed heat pump systems are brine/water. A change can be observed in the
last years, where demand and offers of other heat pump systems, namely air/water, and the
number of installations of such systems began to increase.
Air/air systems are not so frequent since warm air heating is not very often installed in the
Czech Republic. Water/water systems are relatively rare as the geological situation in our
country is not favourable. Direct evaporation systems are implemented in a few installations
only.
Brine/water 45%
Air/water 40%
Air/air 8%
Water/water 5%
Other 2%
The majority of heat pump systems are installed in family houses and are about 90% of the
market. The rest are commercial, industrial, sport and other buildings. If water heating is
integrated in the system, it is usually integrated in the same unit. Waste heat utilisation is not
very frequent; only a few installations are known of.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
Ground water utilisation is permitted if the legislation requirements on the protection of
ground water are met.
Brine/water systems are usually connected with deep beoreholes. If there are horizontal
collectors, they are laid in the depth of 120 – 130 cm.
The companies installing heating systems usually carry out the installation of heat pump
systems. The skilled technical personnel of the installation company conduct the overall
design of the heat pump system. The company installing the heat pump system is also
responsible for its proper operation. Hydraulic connection, electrical and (occasionally)
ventilation distribution paths are also in their field of responsibility and are either done either
by their own staff or by contractors of other companies. Cooling circuits are in majority
installed by specialists.
4.6 Education
The Czech Heat Pump Association is preparing an initial training course on heat pump
function, maintenance and repair on the basis of material from arsenal research. The material
will be translated and slightly modified for our needs, and the first course will be held in the
first half of 2005.
From time to time, there is a training course held by some company (e.g. Stiebel Eltron,
IVT,DIMPLEX, etc.), which includes heat pumps in their training programme.
Courses and training programmes are only organised by producers or importers to educate co-
operating companies (or gain new ones) in the installation of their systems.
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5 FRANCE
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Figure 31 Development of the French heat pump market [1], [2], and [3
ÎPlease note that figure 10 is related only to heat pump systems that are mainly used for
heating purposes.
There is a dramatic increase in sales of small heat pumps for air conditioning purposes; 75%
of them are reversible. Among these 75 %, which of course are mainly bought for building
cooling during summer, it is difficult to evaluate how many of them are used by customers for
heating during late autumn, winter, or early spring. However, it is estimated that this number
is growing. The 2 major reasons for this are:
Technology development has extended operating temperature range. Low limit temperature of
split systems are now reaching –15°C, which is sufficient for most parts of France
Split systems are most often capacity controlled, which allows the system to reach better
average efficiency and to avoid the decrease of too much thermal power at a low temperature.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
Individual air conditioning market in France
250000
200000
50000
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Presently, for dwelling houses, energy consumption for heating is 317 TWh in 2002. The
hydronic system is mainly used (88%) for radiators (most cases) and floor heating. Oil and
gas heating systems represent 60% of the heating energy and are distributed in most case by
hydronics systems. Electricity represents 28% of heating energy and is distributed mainly by
radiators (convectors first, and then radiant). In new buildings, which are heated with
electricity, the ratio tendency is 33% for convectors, 27% for radiant and 24% for heating
floor (almost nil for heating ceilings). Only a few percent (5% in 2000, [1]) of electrical
systems in new houses were HP systems.
For tertiary sectors, the total energy consumption of 2000 was 209 TWh, with 112 TWh for
oil and gas and 82 kWh for electricity (with 44 kWh for specific electricity use, i.e. no
thermal use as heating, cooking, hot water). Thermal using was 132 TWh (113 TWh for
heating, and other for cooking and hot water). From what precedes, we can deduce that of 132
TWh for thermal use, electricity represents 29%, and oil and gas represents between 60% and
71%. Exact distributions of oil, gas and electricity for heating only in tertiary sectors are not
published (it exists only in confidential or private documents). Nevertheless, we can add that
oil and gas heating are distributed in most case by hydronics systems. Electricity is distributed
mainly by radiators (mainly convectors), and in a few cases ceiling or floor electric heating, or
reversible heat pumps.
Only a few people are aware of heat pump systems for house heating. In most cases, these are
people with a “green” mind, who are aware of the greenhouse effect. Furthermore, people
who are aware of heat pumps for heating think that the heat pump investment is high and do
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
not consider the increased energy savings with the help of a heat pump. On the other hand,
most people are aware of air conditioning systems, but without knowing well what that
includes.
Agents:
In the heat pump technology for house heating (out of split systems), ~85% are French
national manufacturers, ~5% French brands with imports, and ~10% foreign brands.
Heat pump systems will soon permit people to claim back part of their income tax.
ANAH (National Agency for Existing Building [8]) has a grant for heat pupm systems
up to 900€ (for air/water system) and 1800€ (for ground/water); for the latter, ADEME
(Agency of Environment and Demand Side Management [9]) can add subsidies in
some cases (for demonstration for tertiary and collective dwelling building). EDF,
which is in France at the moment about the only electricity supplier, can grant a loan
with a low rate ([10]) for high quality (label) electrical systems, including heat pumps.
EDF is also active in heat pump activities: tests of innovative systems or new
refrigerants, free advice to customers who want to install a heat pump, significant
involvement in AFPAC, (French Heat Pump Association). AFPAC ([1]) includes
manufacturers, installers unions, utilities, technical centres, ADEME, design offices.
AFPAC is a member of EHPA. For heat pump systems taking heat from aquifer,
Aquapac ([11]) proposes an insurance policy that guarantees against the lack of
resources for 10 years.
12000
10000
8000 air/water
6000 ground systems
4000 air/air (duct system)
2000
0
2001 2002 2003
Note: ground systems include: brine water/water, direct evaporation/water; direct evaporation/direct
condensing. Figures related to Air/air (duct) systems must be read carefully (data not very reliable
because difficult to collect).
The number of ground/systems taking heat from aquifer is very low and mainly present for
tertiary sectors and collective buildings.
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5.3 Application of heat pumps
Individual house heating with heat pump:
The distribution of the various systems is quite similar to figure 12.
• Air/air systems (duct system) are used about equally in new and existing houses
• Air/water systems are used in new houses mainly for floor heating, and in a few cases
by fan-coil, or mixed (floor + fan coil)
• Ground systems are used mainly for floor heating (new houses), and in a few cases by
fan-coil, or mixed (floor + fan coil). In 2003, around 60% were brine water/water and
40% direct evaporation/water or direct condensing (the last system is authorised only
for horizontal collectors in France).
• Split and multisplit systems, only for reversible systems, supply the terminal unit
(often high wall or floor mounted)
Tertiary building and collective dwelling building heating
• Air/air systems (often roof–top) are mainly reversible. They are used for supermarkets
or warehouses (2500 sold in 2003 [4]).
• Air/water systems are mainly reversible. They are often used for building offices,
mainly by air handling units or fan-coil.
• Ground/water systems are mainly reversible systems. Heat is taken from the ground by
vertical brine water collectors (for a small number of flats) or from aquifer water by
way of a heat water to water exchanger (for a larger number of flats and therefore
larger power). Heating water is distributed through air handling units, or fan-coil, or
floor heating.
• Multisplit systems and VRV (variable refrigerant volume) are mainly reversible, and
used mainly in tertiary sectors. Terminal units are often high wall or floor mounted. In
2003, 3100 multisplits and 5000 VRV were sold in France ([4])
==> Note that heat pump systems for domestic hot water are not used a lot in France (less than 100
installations up to now).
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
In the case of existing houses, if a person wants to install a heat pump system, s/he has to
organise it directly with companies that design and/or install heat pump systems. This means
that in general the private person contacts the local small-scale company or craftsman who is
specialised in heating installation, plumbing or electricity.
Many options are possible, but in each case, the customer holds the installer responsible:
• The installer can sub-delegate the total design, with details of each component
including the proposal of the brand and the exact reference of the most important
components.
• Installers belonging to a manufacturer’s network will contact their manufacturer, who
will do the design.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
authorities). There are many levels (> 400), including all types of work that exist in building
(cement, roof, are several levels depending on the type of work, in which one can find 3 levels
related to heating and air conditioning (depending on the size of installations). To obtain a
qualification, a company must provide several documents: administrative documents,
description of its means (tools, technical profile of employees, etc.), and description of 6
existing technical installations. In some cases, the qualification board can ask an audit and/or
a technical control for verification.
.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
5.8 Literature
[1] www.afpac.org/
[2] AFPAC: minutes of general meeting, March 204
[3] BATIM: market of HP based on “new housing observatory”, 2003
[4] CLIM’INFO, March 2004
[5] www.industrie.gouv.fr/energie
[6] BATIM : étude 2002
[7] CEREN données 2002
[8] www.anah.fr
[9] revue « Chaud, Froid, Plomberie », n° 659 july 2003
[10] revue « Chaud, Froid, Plomberie », n° 661, october 2003
[11] Aquapac : plaquette available near SAF Environnement
[12] Systèmes thermodynamiques : eau glycolée/eau sur plancher chauffant rafraîchissant,
guide AFF/Costic/EDF, 1998
[13] Systèmes thermodynamiques : air/eau sur plancher chauffant rafraîchissant, guide
AFF/Costic/EDF, 1998
[14] Systèmes thermodynamiques : air/eau sur unités terminales, guide Costic/EDF, 1999
[15] Générateurs réversibles air/air : guide Costic/EDF, 1999
[16] Systèmes thermodynamiques : sol/sol sur plancher chauffant, guide AFF/Costic/EDF,
1998
[17] Systèmes thermodynamiques : sol/eau sur plancher chauffant, guide AFF/Costic/EDF,
1998
[18] mémo interne EDF, 2002
[19] www.cndp.fr
[20] www.qualiclimafroid.com
[21] www.qualibat.com
[22] www.qualifelec.com
[23] AFPAC : Charte qualité installateurs PAC (projet)
[24] www.promotelec.com
[25] CSTB, fascicule n° 3164, October 1999
[26] Les forages pour pompes à chaleur, note EDF/DER/HE-11/99/021
[27] Qualitat, n° 61, 2000
[28] www.ademe.fr
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6 IRELAND
Assuming linear growth in the market as a conservative estimate, it would be expected that at
least a further 300 installations were completed during 2003. Discussions with heat pump
suppliers, installers and importers suggest a doubling of sales in Ireland year on year. In
reality, the growth of the market in Ireland is exponential.
Heat pump markets in Ireland are in their infancy but show great potential for more rapid
market development in the short to medium terms. A recent report [2] identified and detailed
the barriers to the heat pump market in Ireland. The main barriers resulting in the slow market
development of heat pump technologies identified in this report include:
One of the major barriers to market take-off in Ireland is the high capital cost of heat pump
installations. However, life-cycle analysis reveals that heat pumps are marginally viable with
economic paybacks compared to conventional fossil fuel systems being in the region of 7
years. The other major barrier, lack of qualified installers and system designers, results in
potential end-users losing confidence in the technology. As the heat pump market expands in
Ireland, it is important to ensure that qualified and experienced installers and designers are
available to end-users. Previous experience in other European countries suggests a collapse in
end-user confidence could easily occur where unqualified installation companies appear in the
market place in response to increasing market demand. The EU-CERT.HP project aims to
provide a framework and structure for placing qualified and certified installers and system
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
designers in the field and would represent the overcoming of a major barrier in developing the
heat pump markets in Ireland.
Although less common, a significant number of electric storage heating systems are installed
in the domestic and commercial sector in Ireland. In the domestic sector, space heating is
often supplemented by coal-/wood-/peat-burning open fires/stoves. In larger commercial
buildings, centralised air systems are common as a distribution system. Air conditioning
(cooling) is less common in Ireland due to prevailing climatic conditions, although
installations in larger commercial buildings are becoming more prevalent. The market shares
of renewable technologies such as heat pumps, biomass and solar are small.
With respect to heat emitters, radiators are generally wall mounted and placed under
windows. Flow and return temperatures are in the region of 80° and 70°C respectively.
Embedded wall and floor heating systems are not common in Ireland, although floor heating
is becoming more popular.
Dissemination and awareness events take place throughout the year. Events include the
Energy Show, Home & Gardens Show, and Self-Built Exhibitions for example.
Manufacturers, installers and importers of heat pump technologies are represented at these
events. Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) and more particularly the Renewable Energy
Information Office (REIO) provide information on renewable energies including heat pumps
to the general public as a free service. SEI are responsible for administering national funds,
e.g. grants, for accelerating market take-up of renewable technologies. REIO exhibit at
national events, organise workshops and implement road-shows aimed at promoting
renewable technologies.
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
• End-users – those open to idea of new products/convinced of economic and
environmental merits of heat pump systems
• Promoters – national bodies such as SEI, REIO and Energy Agencies charged or with
an interest in promoting renewable technologies (see previous paragraph regarding
national support mechanisms)
The Renewable Energy Information Office (REIO) currently list 14 suppliers/installers of heat
pumps. Only a small number of experienced, capable, and knowledgeable installers, importers
and manufacturers are available in Ireland, who take responsibility for installed systems.
These pro-active entities have no means of differentiating themselves from others with little
experience and no sense of commitment to the end-user installations. Currently, there is no
national heat pump association. A “Geothermal Association of Ireland” exists, which
incorporates some promotion of heat pumps. Visibility is low and Ireland needs to develop a
high profile, well-structured and organised heat pump association.
Involvement of the electricity utilities in Ireland is limited (options for selecting a preferred
utility company are limited with ESB supplying the vast majority of end-users). Currently, the
electricity market is not fully de-regulated with end-users of 1GWh+ only having an option to
freely select their supplier. Hence, domestic customers have no choice in selecting a supplier.
The market is scheduled to be fully de-regulated in 2005 and may promote further
competition in offering favourable heat pump tariffs to end-users. No special heat pump
tariffs or promotional offers are currently in place.
System design is carried out by the installers, manufacturers, and importers who are often
represented by one company offering a turn-key solution.
Typically, heat pumps are combined with under floor heating systems and occasionally with
radiator systems. A typical supply/return temperature combination for under floor heating
systems is 45°/35°C. Heat pumps are currently not generally applied to domestic hot water
heating applications. In commercial buildings, heat pumps are applied to heat recovery
applications and air conditioning occasionally. No comprehensive statistics are available
nationally to provide a breakdown on the types of heat pump systems installed. Subjective
estimations provided are based on the author’s knowledge and knowledge obtained through
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questionnaires, personal interviews, and workshops in the recent “Campaign for Take Off”
report.
Permissible Refrigerants
Ireland abides to regulations that are generally governed by the European guidelines with
respect to the use of refrigerants. Traditional CFC refrigerants are prohibited in new
equipment. HCFC refrigerants are permissible but are being phased out in line with European
guidelines and directives. HFC refrigerants are being used and will continue to be used in the
future. Refrigerants should not be released into the atmosphere and should be reclaimed
where servicing requires, or at the end of a heat pump’s operating life. In general, Ireland is in
same situation as in the other EU-15 countries.
Heat pump companies normally carry out all aspects of the design, supply, and installation but
may employ sub-contractors to carry out aspects of the installation work, e.g. electrical
installation, ground collector installation. Where sub-contractors are used, the heat pump
company will normally provide supervision on a number of installations until they are content
that the sub-contractors can act relatively unsupervised. Commissioning of the system is
normally carried out by the heat pump company. The heat pump company normally takes
responsibility for the installation in terms of problems and guarantees.
Vocational training courses in the plumbing, electrical and refrigeration trades can be
undertaken full time or part time through, for example, FAS and Institutes of Technology.
Training is both practical and theoretical. Apprenticeships are served with an experienced
personnel in an established company or business.
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7 SLOVENIA
7.1 Introduction
Slovenia is a rather small country, which, just like larger countries, had to cover all areas of
activity in the past. This is why companies (or individuals) chose a general-purpose
development rather than specialisation. This is strongly supported by Slovenia’s geographic
variety, and previously bad transport connections, which have improved significantly in the
last years. Improved transport connections and admittance of Slovenia to the EU make
specialisation possible or even necessary.
The use of heat pumps in Slovenia is due to its geographical variety and different restrictions
very diversified. Up to now, heat pumps have been present in all regions in Slovenia and, in
the past (15+ years ago), were installed by individuals (technical enthusiasts) who used them
primarily for their own purpose and satisfaction. Development of heat pumps did start
relatively early, with solid industrial back up (Gorenje), but there were no real economical
interests and possibilities for their broad realisation.
Gradually, the situation improved, and today there are some manufacturers specialised in heat
pumps, with appropriate equipment, trained specialists, and sufficient knowledge. However,
specialized providers are more expensive. An uneducated end-user is mainly influenced by
the price of the product, and thus may choose a provider who is not qualified, performs his or
her job poorly, and is without supervision and support of the manufacturer (of the heat pump).
In recent years, the government (MOPE) intervened in the heat pump market with its
specialised agency (AURE). They prepared calls for applications of subsidies to individuals
(domestic applicants) to install a heat pump in their house. Subsidies for domestic applicants
were according to usage divided into:
• Heat pumps for preparation of hot sanitary water and
• Heat pumps for heating of buildings (mostly single houses)
Subsidies were also issued and assigned for installation of industrial heat pumps. With this
intervention, the government has strongly increased the interest in the use of heat pumps.
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Unfortunately, it is estimated that the market has developed sufficiently, and thus future
subsidies are not regarded as necessary any more.
The purpose of education and certification of heat pumps is to stop or at least reduce
unprofessional installations of heat pumps, and thus protect the end-user. At the same time,
higher quality will improve the general opinion of suitability (economical) and reliability of
heat pumps.
In the last ten years there was a significant increase in the installation of heat pumps. The
estimated number of heat pumps for preparation of sanitary water is shown in figure 34. The
average heating power of those heat pumps is between 2 and 3 kW. The number of heat
pumps for building heating is much lower. The average heating power of those heat pumps is
about 7 kW. The reason for this are the construction costs since heat pumps need a sufficient
heat source, which usually involves a lot of surface diggings.
Between five and ten industrial heat pumps were installed in the last ten years. Most of them
were designed to use the waste heat from industrial plants or public swimming pools and
baths.
1600
1400
1200
number of HP for sanitar water
1000
800
600
400
200
0
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
year
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35
30
25
15
10
0
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
year
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HEAT PUMPS – TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT July 2005: Part 2
30.0
20.0
0.0
-10.0
-20.0
day
Hydroelectric
power plants
Nuclear power 24,3%
plant
38,5%
Conventional
thermal plants
37,1%
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5000
4000
Households heat supply [TJ]
3000
2000
1000
0
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Year
In the existing building stock, radiator systems are the most common heating systems. The
supply temperatures depend on the building quality and on the radiators; common supply
temperatures are in the range of 70° – 55°C.
In the past, air heating systems combined with air conditioning were only common in large
commercial buildings. Nowadays, beside these applications, there are some air heating
systems combined with heat recovery from the exhausted air.
7.3.5 Refrigerants
Since the 1st of January 2002, the use of chlorinated hydrocarbons in new systems is
prohibited in Slovenia. The alternative solution to chlorinated hydrocarbons is the use of
halogenated hydrocarbons.
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In some industrial heat pumps, ammonia is used as a refrigerant too.
As part of this, the IV. SDHK Conference (1998) was organised, where 58 participants
became acquainted with innovations of heat pumps and received the Proceeding of the
Conference with 24 scientific and technical papers.
Heat pump providers do have contacts with AURE, but they do not have a joint strategy.
The call for applications for the year 2004, which was intended for domestic applicants, has
anticipated non-returnable funds:
• for the preparation of sanitary water in the amount of 45,000 SIT (~€190) or up to
40%
• for the heating of buildings in the amount of 500,000 SIT (~€2,100) or up to 40%.
Previous calls for applications anticipated higher non-returnable funds for preparation of
sanitary water (90,000 SIT ~ €380).
In the year 2003, 396 heat pumps for preparation of sanitary water for households were
subsidised and 12 heat pumps for the heating of buildings. The total amount of subsidies for
households was 40,000,000 SIT (~€170.000). As to the industry in the year 2003, 10 heat
pumps were installed with the help of subsidies in the total amount of 26,000,000 SIT
(~€110.000), which on average represented 27% of the total investment.
The education for installers of heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and cooling devices takes
three years. During this time, there are three blocks of theoretical education. During the rest of
the time, the practical training is done by the company. In the end of these three years, the
trainees have to pass a theoretical and practical examination. After passing this examination,
they are allowed to work as installers.
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8 UNITED KINGDOM
Oil, LPG and electric heating are niche markets. Oil and LPG are mainly used in rural areas or
remote sites where natural gas is unavailable. Electric heating is used in specific applications
such as small apartments that are not connected to a central boiler system and some family
houses that were typically built before 1970. Apartments and houses with electric heating
utilise storage radiators to benefit from off-peak tariffs.
Although heat pumps have been available in the UK for a long time, very few have so far
been installed specifically for space heating in residential and commercial buildings, and the
market penetration lags far behind most other countries in Europe. The UK Government does
however recognise the benefits of reduced carbon emissions from heat pumps and financial
incentives are now available under several programmes. These incentives, coupled with
increasing awareness of the benefits amongst potential installers and increasing choice of
systems, have boosted the market for heat pumps, but it is still tiny compared to conventional
gas boilers.
Most houses and purpose built apartments have an individual heating boiler. Changes to
minimum energy efficiency requirements in the Building Regulations mean that almost all gas
and oil fired boiler systems will in the future be fitted with condensing boilers. District and
communal heating schemes are relatively uncommon except in special situations, e.g. tower
blocks and sheltered (old persons) accommodation.
Small commercial buildings without air conditioning use radiator systems similar to houses.
There are a wide variety of possible systems for air conditioned buildings but the most
popular is based on ceiling mounted four pipe fan coils for heating and cooling.
Since heat pumps are relatively uncommon, it is likely that the average householder would be
unaware of this option when choosing a heating system. Domestic heating engineers,
plumbers, and building professionals are generally aware of what heat pumps can do but are
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unlikely to have personal experience. When considering boiler replacement options (usually
when the existing boiler has failed and cannot be repaired), a householder will tend to seek
advice from the local heating engineer or plumber. This will tend to result in a like-for-like
replacement with the specific choice of boiler based on financial criteria.
Some householders will undertake an Internet search of suppliers for the best prices and
possibly look at the SEDBUK database of boiler efficiencies. There is little chance they will
encounter details of heat pumps unless they are specifically looking for them.
There are a number of UK companies building heat pump systems for heating, but most of the
key components, such as compressors and heat exchangers, are imported. Most of the
common Japanese and European brands are also represented in the market place. Eleven
manufacturers of heat pumps are represented by the UK Heat Pump Association (HPA) (a
member of EHPA). These are:
Heat pumps are promoted by the Government through various bodies including:
- Clearskies Programme (support for demonstration projects)
- Energy Saving Trust/Energy Efficiency Best Practice in Housing (financial support
and advice to householders)
- Action Energy (advice for businesses)
-
- The most common form of heat pump in the UK is the reversible air to air split
unit, but in reality the heating function is rarely used. “Real” heating systems
include:
- water to water (in-building heating/cooling redistribution)
- air to air (condensing exhaust heat recovery)
- air to water (condensing exhaust heat recovery)
- open loop ground source
- closed loop ground source
The condensing exhaust heat recover systems are mainly used for swimming pool and leisure
centres, for space and/or pool water heating. A small number of open loop systems for
medium/large building heating and cooling applications have been demonstrated based on
bore holes and ground water extraction. The predominant system for housing applications
(although still small in numbers) would be the closed loop ground source system for heating
and domestic hot water.
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The use of ground water generally requires approval by the Environment Agency and
stringent conditions may be applied to protect the aquifer and discharge sink.
Closed loop systems do not generally require regulatory approval, but consideration must be
given to minimising the risk of ground contamination during installation and in the event of
leakage from the ground loop. The working fluid in the ground loop is usually water.
The UK complies with the Montreal protocol in the use of refrigerants, and there are
significant penalties for the deliberate release of refrigerants that could harm the ozone layer.
In the future, it is likely that only approved persons will be allowed to handle some
refrigerants. There are no restrictions on the use of hydrocarbon based refrigerants in heat
pump systems.
8.3.2 Brine/Water
The most common form of system for domestic applications (now and probably in the future)
is the closed loop ground source system. Both shallow buried coils and boreholes are used
depending on local ground conditions. Heat is pumped to underfloor heating (mainly new
houses) or radiators (mainly retrofit systems).
Ground source heat pumps with DX coils are not generally used.
8.3.4 Air/Air
This is numerically the most common type of heat pump, in the form of packaged through the
wall/window units. They are mainly installed in commercial buildings as reversible air
conditioning units but rarely used for heating.
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8.4 Common distribution channels
At the present state of the market, most of the domestic sales are going to consumers that have
some awareness of the technology, i.e. they may be people who are aware of the
environmental benefits of heat pumps and actively seek out the suppliers. Architects also play
a significant role as intermediary. There is little if any direct marketing effort from suppliers
or installers to end-users.
Simple systems may be installed by heating and plumbing or air conditioning engineers, but
more complex systems are installed directly by manufacturers/distributors or sub-contracted
installers.
The installation of ground loops is generally considered a specialist task and may be
undertaken by a different contractor from the internal parts of the heating system.
College courses are part of the system of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ). Air
conditioning courses may be split into several modules of one to three days duration covering
different issues, e.g. refrigerant handling. Achievement of the qualification is dependent on
assessment and examination. Admission to advanced NVQ courses may require entry
qualifications.
Manufacturers’ courses are orientated towards the practical installation of specific products,
although the general theory and operating principles are usually covered. A certificate of
attendance will normally be issued. Manufacturers’ courses do not generally require entry
qualifications but may suggest that relevant experience would be helpful.
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9 SWEDEN
10
2
*75% boiler efficiency
0
1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002
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9.3 Heat pump market development
The market for domestic heat pumps in Sweden has during the last decade gone through an
enormous development (see figure 41). The total sales of domestic heat pumps reached over
66 thousand units 2004 (Swedish Heat Pump Association 2005). On top of that somewhere in
between 40 000-50 000 reversible air/air heat pumps, (of which only a minor part is included
in the statistics compiled by the Swedish Heat Pump Association) were sold 2004. All
together more than 100 thousand heat pumps were thus sold in Sweden 2004, a country
consisting of approximately 1.6 million single-family houses. Due to escalating price of oil
and electricity in conjunction with the increase on energy related taxes the market for heat
pumps continuous to grow at a high pace.
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
86
88
90
92
94
96
98
00
02
04
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
Figure 41 Heat pump market development in Sweden 1994-2004 (Swedish Heat Pump Association
2005)
At the beginning of the eighties generous subsidies and a lot of talk about energy crises made
it easy to market heat pumps. Subsidies were given in the form of interest free state loans.
This was a time when the market was invaded by a large number of fortune seekers, offering
products often of poor quality and promises of enormous savings, which the installations
never could achieve. All this led to a large number of failed installations and the market lost
almost all credibility.
1984 the market reached a peak, but then because of poor reputation the market was stricken
at the same time as the subsidies were withdrawn and the market dropped. The fact that oil
prices at this time were decreasing contributed to the market decline. Only a very small
number of manufacturers survived this period. It wasn’t until the end of the eighties when
Sweden was reaching the top of the economic boom that the market recovered. This was
helped by increasing oil prices and the fact there were a large number of houses being built.
Then a recession hit Sweden in the beginning of the nineties, people had little hope for the
future and even less interest for heat pumps. There were hardly any houses built and the
market dropped once again. The change in sales trend is a result of the ending recession and a
successful heat pump competition that received a lot of good publicity. An interesting
observation from the statistics shows that the types of systems have changed a lot during the
last two decades. If we look at figure 26, representing the situation 1984, we find that
air/water systems were dominating and that air/air units were as little as 2%. At this time there
were as many as 9% of open liquid loop/water systems. This type since then has nearly
disappeared.
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9%
21% 38%
Air/Water 38%
30% 2% Air/Air 2%
Exhaust Air 30%
Closed Liquid Loop/Water 21%
Open Liquid Loop/Water 9%
2% Air/Water 2%
9%
9%
9%
Air/Water
Air/Air
Exhaust air
59% 23%
Closed liquid loop/Water
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9.4 Building standards
There are altogether 1 775 000 single family houses in Sweden. The building stock is fairly
old, 43% of the dwellings were built before 1961. New construction has been extremely low
ever since the last recession in the beginning of the nineties. The total number of new
constructed single-family houses 2002 was 7227. In comparison, the total number of new
single-family houses in 1975 was 47 057. Strict building regulations combined with a high
degree of energy awareness have led to the fact that those new constructed buildings are well
insulated, thus leading to low heating demand. The tight envelope of the new buildings raises
the demand for controlled ventilation. As a result exhaust air heat pumps are prevalent in new
dwellings. The majority of the building stock though, still relies on natural ventilation. Except
for the buildings heated by direct electricity, hydronic radiators are still the dominating form
of heat distribution within the building. Air distribution systems in dwellings are very rare.
Heat pumps are today installed in more than 90% of the new single family houses. The low
rate of new construction however, implies that the biggest market potential stems from the
existing building stock.
The following chart shows the heat demand per square meter and year for buildings, which
were typical for their construction year. Data provided by the Mid Sweden University.
Heat demand
Year of building construction
kWh/m²a
Table 6 Average annual heat demand in Sweden Data provided by The Mid Sweden University
9.5 Why the time was ripe for the heat pump technology
As in the other countries during the oil price shock in the eighties people were looking for
alternatives to conventional oil boilers. The installation of heat pumps became an interesting
alternative, because of the low operating cost due to low electricity prices and the relatively
high cost of oil, heat pumps were also a fully automatic heating system and the required space
for heat pump installation was little. The implementation of financial incentives by the
government for replacing direct electric or fuel heating was also an incentive for the heat
pump technology. The environmental policy of Europe was also a driving force. Under the
pressure of environmental requirements and in particular the reduction of CO2 released into
atmosphere, the development of the heat pump market has, since the beginning of the 1990s,
been given a fresh impetus.
• Loans with special interest subventions for single and multifamily houses
• Cash contributions to multifamily housing installation, dependent on the number of
installations
• Cash contributions to multifamily housing installation, dependent on the total costs of
installation
• Income tax reduction for single house residents equivalent to a certain percentage of the
total cost up to a fixed amount (renovation subsidy)
The different subsidies have had a different effect on the market. The first two types aimed to
increase the number of heat pump installation while the third aimed to stimulate the
conversion of direct electric heated buildings into water loop systems and the fourth
subvention aimed to stimulate the overall building industry and was valid for any kind of
investment concerning the building fabric or the heating system.
The subsidies contributed to an increase of heat pumps sales, but they had to be carefully
drafted. If the subsidies in Sweden had been drafted with better judgement from the beginning
the effects could have been much more powerful and the establishment and growth of a
functioning heat pump industry would have been faster.
Recommendations
However it takes a period of 5 - 10 years to create a market. Therefore it is necessary that the
subsidy is valid over a long time period. The market players must know the conditions and be
given an opportunity to develop products, marketing/sales channels and educate installers and
service technicians over a reasonable timeframe. The introduction of a subsidy must be loud
and clear. When a subsidy is introduced, all parts of it must be described. What is the nature
of the subsidy? How large amount is it? When is it valid? For how long is it valid? Who will
receive the subsidy? How does one apply? The transition from a period of a certain subsidy to
another or to a time without subsidies must be very smooth, and with great notice. For a
subsidy to have the intended effect it must be neither too large nor too small. Too large an
amount will create a great change in the demand of the product that the market players will
not be able to deal with. Too small an amount, on the other hand, will not give the boost that
is intended. A subsidy should be just large enough to give reasonable profitability to a heat
pump installation to a real estate owner. Judging from the experiences in Sweden a heat pump
installation should have a pay-back period of 5~7 years compared to other heating systems, in
order to be attractive.
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Alternatives to subsidies
• Legislation, massive training of the market players and extensive long-term
marketing of the technology can be alternatives to subsidies to hasten the market
transformation for the heat pumping techniques.
• Other governmental support The Swedish government has followed an active heat
pump development policy. Beside the subsidies, the Swedish government was also
active in the field of communication and Information. Efforts were made, not only in
technical publications, but also and above all in the general press and on television, an
effort which had a very strong impact on market development. In Sweden, heat
pumps are now considered a «natural heating» solution.
• Swedish heat pump association The setting up of the national heat pump association
SVEP in the year 1980 has played the key role in the development of the heat pump
market in Sweden. This association includes all important market partners (equipment
manufacturers, installers, etc.). SVEP was responsible for lobbying, information,
dissemination and the promotion of quality. This quality promotion has resulted in the
setting up of a label for the installation of quality systems and a training package in
the sizing and installation of heat pumps. Furthermore they have developed a very
innovative measure for provide consumer confidence in the new technology. They
offered a kind of all -inclusive insurance for heat pumps. So the consumers have no
expenses if problems arise with the new technology and therefore take no risk with
the new technology. The heat pump association was also linked closely to the
installers association.
• Electricity utility Vattenfall The electricity utility Vattenfall was especially dedicated
in the field of heat pumps. They have financed manufacturers for research and
development in the field of heat pump technology and they worked together with the
energy engineer association and the plumbing association. Furthermore they have
accompanied the movement through the setting up of a heat pump promotion
program, and providing financial incentives with a view to reducing investment costs.
The Swedish heat pump market is very strong at the moment. Nearly 40 thousand units were
sold in the year 2002 and there are no signs of market decline, in fact the market has shown
strong growth ever since 1995. As previously mentioned the Swedish building stock of single-
family houses is old with relatively high demands for heating. This fact gives the opportunity
for the relatively expensive ground source heat pumps to become more cost effective than the
cost of ever-rising bills from electricity- and oil suppliers. The Swedish heat pump market is
currently prospering as oil burners and electric boilers are replaced by heat pumps at a high
rate. Substitute products such as district heating and wood pellet burners that benefits from
lower initial cost, challenge the heat pump. As for new construction, exhaust air heat pumps
offer the most cost effective alternative and are common in new houses. The Swedish heat
pump market is now self-sustaining and has reached a level where heat pump programs
initiated by authorities are welcomed but not indispensable. It has however been a bumpy ride
for the manufacturers that have endured the market development. The preferred system
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solution has evolved over the years. Today we see that integrated ground source heat pumps
(unit including domestic hot water container and distribution pumps) dominate the
refurbishment segment and exhaust air heat pumps dominate the segment of new construction.
1. The P-label
The P–mark is a quality mark that has been developed by the SP, The Swedish National
Testing and Research Institute together with the Swedish heat pump associations and
manufacturers. To receive the label the product must fulfil:
• Noise
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• The refrigerant
• The secondary refrigerant
• Plastic details
• Surface treatments
• Packaging material
• Efficiency
• The information material
• Requirements on efficiency
• Requirements on training of the installer
•
Gas 0,4%
Hydro power 40%
Coal 3,3%
Wind 0,5%
Nuclear 49,5%
Oil 3,2%
Biomass 3,1%
Subsidies
The Swedish heat pump market is now self-sustaining and has reached a level where
governmental heat pump programs are welcomed but not indispensable.
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