Heat pump operating principle. Heat pump for heating a house: principle of operation, review of models, their pros and cons

Heat pump (HP) is a device that carries out the transfer, transformation and conversion of thermal energy. According to the principle of operation, it is similar to well-known devices and equipment, such as a refrigerator or air conditioner. The operation of any TN is based on the reverse Carnot cycle, named after the famous French physicist and mathematician Sidi Carnot.

Working principle of a heat pump

Let's study in more detail the physics of the operating processes of this equipment. The heat pump consists of four main elements:

1. Compressor
2. Heat exchanger (condenser)
3. Heat exchanger (evaporator)
4. Connecting fittings and automation elements.

Compressor necessary to compress and move refrigerant through the system. When freon is compressed, its temperature and pressure rise sharply (pressure develops up to 40 bar, temperature up to 140 C), and in the form of a gas with a high degree of compression it goes to the capacitor(adiabatic process, i.e. a process in which the system does not interact with external space), where it transfers energy to the consumer. The consumer can be either the immediate environment that needs to be heated (for example, indoor air) or the coolant (water, antifreeze, etc.), which then distributes energy through the heating system (radiators, heated floors, heated baseboards, convectors, fan coils, etc.). In this case, the temperature of the gas naturally decreases, and it changes its state of aggregation from gaseous to liquid (an isothermal process, i.e. a process occurring at a constant temperature).

Next, the refrigerant is in a liquid state enters the evaporator, passing through a thermostatic valve (TRV), which is necessary to reduce the pressure and dose the flow of freon into the evaporative heat exchanger. As a result of a decrease in pressure when passing through the evaporator channels, a phase transition occurs, and the state of aggregation of the refrigerant again changes to gaseous. In this case, the entropy of the gas decreases (based on the thermophysical properties of freons), which leads to a sharp drop in temperature, and heat is “removed” from an external source. The external source can be street air, the bowels of the earth, rivers, lakes. Next, the cooled gaseous freon is returned to the compressor, and the cycle repeats again.

In fact, it turns out that the heat engine itself does not produce heat, but is a device for moving, modifying and modifying energy from the environment into the room. However, this process requires electricity, the main consumer of which is the compressor unit. The ratio of the received thermal power to the expended electrical power is called the conversion factor (COR). It varies depending on the type of turbocharger, its manufacturer, and other factors and ranges from 2 to 6.

Currently, various types of ozone-friendly freons (R410A, R407C) are used as a refrigerant, which cause minimal damage to the environment.

Modern heat engines use scroll-type compressors that require no maintenance, have virtually no friction, and can operate continuously for 30-40 years. This ensures a long service life of the entire unit. For example, a German company Stiebel Eltron There are HPs that have operated without major repairs since the early 70s of the last century.

Types of Heat Pumps

Depending on the media used for the selection and redistribution of energy, as well as design features and methods of application, there are four main types of HP:

Air-to-air heat pump

This type of equipment uses street air as a low-potential energy source. Outwardly, it does not differ from a conventional split air conditioning system, but it has a number of functional features that allow it to operate at low temperatures (down to -30 C) and “remove” energy from the environment. The house is heated directly by warm air heated in the heat pump condenser.

Advantages of air-to-air HP:

• Low cost
• Short installation time and comparative ease of installation
• No possibility of coolant leakage

Flaws:

• Stable performance down to -20 C
• The need to install an indoor unit in each room or organize an air duct system to supply heated air to all rooms.
• Inability to obtain hot water (DHW)

In practice, such systems are used for seasonal housing and cannot act as the main source of heating.

Air-to-water heat pump

Their operating principle is similar to the previous type, however, they do not directly heat the air inside the room, but the coolant, which in turn is used to heat the house and prepare hot water.

Advantages of TN “Air – Water”:

• does not require the organization of an “external contour” (drilling)
• reliability and durability
• high efficiency indicators (COP) in the autumn and spring periods

Disadvantages of TN:

• Significant reduction in COP at low temperatures (up to 1.2)
• The need to defrost the external unit (reverse mode)
• Inability to operate at temperatures below -25 C - -30 C

Such pumps in our climate still cannot act as the only source of heating. Therefore, they are often installed (according to a bivalent scheme) in conjunction with additional heating equipment (electric, pellet, solid fuel, diesel boiler, fireplace with a water jacket). They are also suitable for the reconstruction and automation of old boiler houses using traditional fuels. This allows the system to be operated in automatic mode for most of the year (there is no need to load solid fuel or refuel diesel fuel), using only the power of the HP.

Brine-water heat pump

One of the most common in the Republic of Belarus. Using statistics from our organization, 90% of installed heat pumps are geothermal. In this case, the bowels of the earth are used as the “external contour”. Due to this, these heat pumps have the most important advantage over other types of heat pumps - a stable operating efficiency indicator (COP) regardless of the time of year.

According to established terminology, the external circuit is called geothermal.

There are two main types of geothermal circuit:

• Horizontal
• Vertical

Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Horizontal outline

Horizontal outline is a system of polyethylene pipes laid under the top layer of soil at a depth of about 1.5 - 2 m, below the freezing level. The temperature in this zone remains positive (from +3 to +15 C) throughout the calendar year, reaching a maximum in October and a minimum in May. The area occupied by the collector depends on the area of ​​the building, the degree of its insulation, and the size of the glazing. So, for example, for a two-story residential building with an area of ​​200 m2, which has good insulation that meets modern standards, about four acres of land (400 m2) will have to be allocated for a geothermal field. Of course, for a more accurate assessment of the diameter of the pipes used and the occupied area, a detailed thermal engineering calculation is required.

This is what the installation of a horizontal collector looks like at one of our facilities in Dzerzhinsk (Republic of Belarus):

Advantages of a horizontal collector:

• Lower cost compared to geothermal wells
• Possibility of carrying out work on its installation together with the laying of other communications (water supply, sewerage)

Disadvantages of a horizontal collector:

• Large occupied area (it is prohibited to erect permanent structures, asphalt, lay paving slabs, it is necessary to ensure natural access to light and precipitation)
• Lack of possibility of arrangement with ready-made landscape design of the site
• Less stability compared to a vertical collector.

The arrangement of this type of collector is usually carried out in two ways. In the first case over the entire laying area, remove the top layer of soil, 1.5-2m thick, the heat exchanger pipes are being laid out with a given step (from 0.6 to 1.5 m) and backfilling is carried out. To perform such work, powerful equipment is suitable, such as a front loader, bulldozer, excavators with a large reach and bucket volume.

In the second case laying the ground contour loops is carried out step by step in prepared trenches, width from 0.6 m to 1 m. Small excavators and backhoe loaders are suitable for this purpose.

Vertical outline

Vertical collector represents wells with depths from 50 to 200 m and more, into which special devices are lowered - geothermal probes. The temperature in this zone remains constant for many years and decades and increases with increasing depth. The increase occurs on average by 2-5 C for every 100 m. This characterizing value is called the temperature gradient.

The process of installing a vertical collector at our facility in the village of Kryzhovka, near Minsk:

Studying maps of temperature distribution at various depths on the territory of the Republic of Belarus and the city of Minsk in particular, one can notice that the temperature varies from region to region, and can differ significantly depending on location. So, for example, at a depth of 100 m in the area of ​​Svetlogorsk it can reach +13 C, and in some areas of the Vitebsk region at the same depth it does not exceed +8.5 C.

Of course, when calculating the drilling depth and designing the size, diameter and other characteristics of geothermal probes, it is necessary to take this factor into account. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the geological composition of the rocks being passed through. Only based on this data can you correctly design a geothermal circuit.

As the practice and statistics of our organization show, 99% of problems during the operation of HP are associated with the functioning of the external circuit, and this problem does not appear immediately after commissioning of the equipment. And there is an explanation for this, because if the geocontour is incorrectly calculated (for example, in the territory of the Vitebsk region, where, as we remember, the geothermal gradient is one of the lowest in the Republic), its initial work is not satisfactory, but over time the thickness of the earth “cools”, The thermodynamic balance is disrupted and troubles begin, and the problem can arise only in the second or third heating season. An oversized contour looks less problematic, but the customer is forced to pay for unnecessary meters of drilling due to the incompetence of the contractor, which inexorably leads to an increase in the cost of the entire project.

The study of the subsoil of the earth should be especially critical during the construction of large commercial facilities, where the number of wells is in the dozens, and the funds saved (or wasted) on their construction can be very significant.

Water-to-water heat pump

One type of geothermal heat source can be groundwater. They have a constant temperature (from +7 C and above), and occur in significant quantities at various depths in the territory of the Republic of Belarus. According to the technology, groundwater is lifted from a well by a centrifugal pump and enters a heat and mass transfer station, where it transfers energy to the antifreeze of the lower circuit of the heat pump. The operating efficiency of this system depends on the level of groundwater (depending on the depth of rise, a certain pump power is required), and the distance from the intake well to the exchange station. This technology has one of the highest COP values, but has a number of features that limit its use.

Among them:

• Lack of groundwater, or low level of its occurrence;
• Lack of constant well flow, decrease in static and dynamic levels;
• The need to take into account the salt composition and contamination (if the water quality is not adequate, the heat exchanger becomes clogged and performance indicators decrease)
• The need to install a drainage well to discharge significant volumes of waste water (from 2200 l/h or more)

As practice shows, the installation of such systems is advisable if there is a pond or river in the immediate vicinity. Waste water can also be used for economic and industrial purposes, for example, for irrigation, or for organizing artificial reservoirs.

As for the quality of intake water, for example, a German manufacturer of alternative heating systems Stiebel Eltron recommends the following settings: the total proportion of iron and magnesium is not more than 0.5 mg/l, the chloride content is less than 300 mg/l, the absence of precipitated substances. If these parameters are exceeded, it is necessary to install an additional purification system - a preparation and desalting station, which increases the material consumption of the project.

Drilling work for a heat pump.

Based on experience in the installation and operation of geothermal units, we recommend drilling wells of at least 100 m. Practice shows that better performance and stability of a heat engine will be observed, for example, for two wells of 150 m each than for three wells of 100 m each. Of course, the construction of such mines requires special equipment and a rotary drilling method. Small-sized auger installations are not able to provide the required length of wells.

Since the geothermal circuit is the most important component, and the correctness of its arrangement is the key to the successful functioning of the entire system, the drilling contractor must meet a number of criteria:

• It is necessary to have experience in producing this type of service;
• have a special tool for immersing probes;
• provide a guarantee that the probe will be immersed to the designed depth and guarantee its integrity and tightness during the work process;
• after immersion, carry out measures to plug the well to increase its heat transfer and productivity, caulk the shaft of the mine before backfilling.

In general, with proper design and qualified installation, geothermal probes are very reliable and can last up to 100 years.

The process of lowering a geothermal probe into a drilled well:

Geothermal probe on the frame, before performing a leak test (“pressure testing”):

conclusions

Based on our experience in the design of alternative energy systems, we can highlight the main facts that are fundamental when our Customers choose heat pumps:

• full safety and environmental friendliness(no combustion processes or moving parts)
• the opportunity to order the system “today” and enjoy using it in three weeks without any coordination with regulatory and licensing authorities.
• Full autonomy and minimal maintenance(there is no need to be a member of a gas cooperative, to depend on it; there is no need to throw firewood or carry out monthly cleaning of air ducts, organize the access of a fuel tanker, etc.)
• The cost of a plot for the construction of an individual house without gas supply is much lower and the delivery period does not depend on gas services
• Opportunity remote control via the Internet
• Advanced and innovative equipment of stylish design, which is not a shame to show to friends and acquaintances, which certainly emphasizes the status of the homeowner.

If we have not touched on any questions in this article and you want to ask them personally, you can come to our office at the address: Minsk, st. Odoevsky, 117, Nova Gros LLC and consult with our engineers.

We also have the opportunity to organize free visits to already completed operating facilities.

Contact telephone number: 044 765 29 58; 017 399 70 51

Heat pump- a mechanical device that allows for heat transfer from a resource with low potential thermal energy (low temperature) to a heating system (coolant) with an elevated temperature. Let's try to explain this in more understandable language.

Gone are the days when people heated their homes by burning wood in fireplaces or stoves. They are being replaced by multifunctional long-burning boilers. In regions where main gas is available, efficient gas equipment is used for heating. In places inaccessible to gas mains, it is increasingly used.

Humanity understands that burning non-renewable energy sources is not a promising business; resources are gradually depleted. Scientists don't stop searching new ways of producing thermal energyand develop modern mechanisms to implement the assigned tasks.

In one such project, a heat pump was designed. Indeed, just like to the majority heat-generating units, the operation of a heat pump is not possible without electrical energy. A serious difference is that electricity is not involved in heating, for example, a heating element, as in an oil radiator, and does not close the spiral in a heat gun. A heat pump does not have heating elements, it does not create thermal energy, the heat pump only serves as a carrier of it from the environment to the consumer (coolant).

The electricity consumed by the heat pump is spent only on compressing the refrigerant and pumping it around to circulate it. The refrigerant acts as a necessary working environment, it is he who moves heat from the environment to the heating system and hot water supply system. This review will help us how to choose a heat pump, the principle of its operation, and also learn about the pros and cons of such equipment.

Heat pump for heating

Traditional heating of a private home is still preferable if inexpensive resources are abundant. The question is, what to do when the availability of cheap sources is limited? An alternative solution is a heat pump - more than 40 years of operating experience in the European Union tells us that this can be very effective.

In the Russian Federation, the heat pump has not received proper distribution. The reason for this is two factors. Firstly, there is an abundance of oil, gas, and wood. Secondly, it is stopped by the high price and lack of popularization. Information about heat pumps is very scarce, the principle of their operation is not clear, and there is not enough information about the benefits.

In the European Union, fuel prices are so high that geothermal heating systems show benefits in operation. For example, up to 95% of households in Sweden and Norway they useheat pumps as the main source of heating. The International Energy Agency predicts that heat pumps will begin to provide 10% of energy demand for heating in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries by 2020, and by 2050 this figure will reach 30%.

Heat pump for heating - operating principle

From a school physics course, recalling the second law of thermodynamics, it is known for certain that heat from a hot body is transferred to a cold one without any mechanisms. The trick is how to transfer heat in the opposite direction? To do this, we will need a series of actions that ensure results.

These are the actions that a heat pump will help us perform. The energy costs for operating a heat pump depend proportionally on the temperature difference between the media involved in this process.

Have you ever touched the black grille of a refrigerator at the back? Anyone can verify that the back wall is very hot. Pointing a laser pyrometer at the black grating, you can see that its surface temperature is about 40°C. In this way, refrigeration equipment engineers recover unnecessary heat from inside the freezer.

It is known that in the late forties of the last century, inventor Robert Weber drew attention to the useless heating of air with a refrigerator radiator. The inventor thought about it and connected an indirect heating boiler to it. As a result, Robert supplied the household with hot water in the required volume. It was then that the enthusiast began to think about how to “turn” the refrigerator inside out and transform the cooling device into a heating device. I must admit, he succeeded.

How does a heat pump work?

The principle of operation of a heat pump is based on the fact that underground at any time of the year, falling below the freezing level, we will encounter temperatures above zero. It turns out that the frost-free soil layer is right under our feet. What if you use it as the back wall of the freezer?

Applying the operating principle of refrigeration equipment, To transfer heat from the underground to the home space, a system of pipes is used through which refrigerant circulates. Freon refrigerants are heated by underground heat and begin to evaporate. Cold air from outside cools it, causing the freon to condense.

By heating the heat by alternating cycles of evaporation and heating, the heat pump forces the refrigerant to circulate. The compressor creates pressure, forcing freon to move through the tubes of two heat exchangers.

In the first heat exchanger, freon evaporates at low pressure, during which heat is absorbed from the immediate surrounding atmosphere. The same refrigerant is then compressed by a compressor under high pressure and moved to a second coil where it is condensed. It then releases the heat it absorbed earlier in the cycle.

The booster compressor plays the main role in the process. By increasing the pressure, the freon condenses and produces more heat than it received from the warm earth. Thus, ground positive values ​​​​of + 7 ° C andtransforms into comfortable home conditions + 24°C.

By using a heat pump for heating, we achieve high efficiency.

I would like to note that the entire structure does not require a specially dedicated electrical wiring line. Power consumption is comparable to the energy consumption of a household electric kettle. The trick is that the heat pump “produces” thermal energy four times more than it consumes electricity. To heat a cottage of 300 m2, in severe frosts of 30°C, no more than 3 kW will be spent.

However, the owner of a geothermal pump will have to fork out a lot at the beginning. The cost of equipment and materials for connection is at least $4,500. Let's add installation work and drilling, and the same amount, it turns out that the simplest system will cost 10 thousand dollars.

It is clear that it will cost an order of magnitude cheaper. But pay monthly based on 1 kW per 10 m2will have to anyway. So it turns out that for 300 sq. meters at home it will take 30 kW - 10 times more than will be spent on a heat pump.

Calculations for heating with gas using a gas boiler give approximately the same figures - 2000 rubles per month, which is comparable to the operation of a heat pump. Unfortunately, not everyone lives in a gasified area.

The heat pump has an undeniable advantage. In the summer, such a “reverse freezer” can be “turned inside out” and with a slight movement of the hand, the heat pump turns into an air conditioner. On hot days it’s +30°C outside, but in the dungeon it’s cool. Using tubes filled with coolant, the pump will transfer the cold of the underground into the home. Next, the fan is turned on, so we get an economical cooling system.

Operating practice indicates payback periods from 3 to 7 years. The Scandinavian countries have long calculated their profits and heat themselves using this method. A striking example is the giant heat pump in Stockholm, geothermal equipment. The source of thermal energy in winter and coolness in summer is the waters of the Baltic Sea. The slogan fully applies to the heat pump: pay now - save later! Savings are becoming greater due to the fact that energy resources are becoming more expensive.

Heat pump. The truth about its effectiveness.

Unfortunately, not everything is so rosy with efficiency today. One of the main questions tormenting the consumer remains: to buy or not to buy a heat pump. Our advice is to carefully weigh the pros and cons; most likely, the option of buying a conventional one will cost less after use, and installation will be easier.

If we consider a heat pump as a concept of the future, as a new idea for generating heat, the engineering idea definitely deserves respect. Geothermal equipment works, you can touch it with your hands, and every year it becomes more and more efficient. However, if we calculate how much money we will spend on its operation, add the initial costs of purchase and installation, we will most likely get an amount showing that we will spend much more money on it than on any other type of heat generating device.

Considering a heat pump as an economic system, when you spend 100 rubles on its operation and receive 300 rubles worth of thermal energy, do not forget that you paid a lot of money for the right to receive an excess profit of 200 rubles. By the way, in the European Union, sales of heat pumps are supported by government programs.

So in Finland, more than 60 thousand heat pumps are sold annually and the number of sales is growing at a 5% rate. But firstly, the economic effect of using such equipment there is higher due to expensive electricity. The cost of electricity in Finland is 35 euro cents, compared to Russia – 7 euro cents. Secondly, the subsidy program provides reimbursement for the purchase of a heat pump in the amount of 3,000 EURO.

As long as gas and electricity prices remain low, introducing a heat pump as a major competitor remains challenging. Mass consumption will become possible only in the event of a crisis with hydrocarbon production or a crisis with electricity generation.

How to choose the right heat pump

First stage.

Calculation of the required heat for heating a house. To select a heat pump (HP) that is included in the heating system of a house, it is important to calculate the heat demand. An accurate calculation will help you avoid unnecessary cost overruns, as this leads to unnecessary expenses.

Second phase.

Which heat source to choose for your heat pump. This decision depends on many components, the main ones:

• Financial component. This includes the direct cost of the equipment itself, as well as the work of installing a geothermal probe or laying an underground thermal circuit. This depends on the location of the site itself, as well as on the immediate surroundings (reservoirs, buildings, communications) and geology.

• Operational component. The main cost is the operation of the heat pump. This figure depends on the heating mode of your building and the selected heat source.

Third stage.

Analysis of initial data for selecting a heat pump:

1. Budget for the proposed system.
2. Heating system: radiators, air heating, heated floor.
3. The area of ​​the site that can be allocated for laying a thermal collector.
4. Is it possible to drill on the site?
5. Geology of the site to determine the depth of the geothermal probe if such a decision is made.
6. Is air conditioning required in summer?
7. Is air heating available or planned in the future?
8. Capital cost of purchase and installation of the HP with all work (approximate initial estimate).

Let's sort it all out in order

Budget for the proposed system

When creating a heating system using a heat pump, it is possible to install an air-water circuit. Capital investments will be minimal, since no expensive excavation work is required. But there will be high costs during the operation phase of this heating system due to low operating efficiency.

If you want to significantly reduce operating costs, then installing a geothermal pump is suitable for you. True, it will be necessary to carry out excavation work to lay the thermal circuit. This system will also provide “passive” cold.

Heating system: radiators, air heating, heated floors

To increase the efficiency of the HP system, it is desirable to reduce the difference between the temperature of the heated medium and the temperature of the heat source.
If you have not yet chosen a heating system, it is recommended to choose heated floors, which allow you to use the heating system more efficiently.

Area of ​​land that can be allocated for laying a thermal collector

The area of ​​the site for installing the collector is critical if it is impossible to drill and install a geothermal probe. Then you will have to lay the collector horizontally, and this will require a space approximately 2 times larger than the area of ​​the heated house. It should be taken into account that this area cannot be used for development, but only in the form of a lawn or lawn, so as not to block the flow of sunlight.

Is it possible to drill on the site?

If it is possible to drill on the site (good geology, access, lack of underground communications), the best solution would be to install a geothermal probe. It provides a stable and long-term heat source.

Geology of the site to determine the depth of the geothermal probe, if such a decision is made

After calculating the total drilling depth, it is necessary to study the site plan and determine how to ensure the drilling depth. In practice, the depth of one well usually does not exceed 150 m.

Therefore, if, for example, the estimated drilling depth is 360 m, then, based on the characteristics of the site, it can be divided into 4 wells of 90 m each, or 3 of 120 m each, or 6 of 60 m each. But we must take into account that the distance between the nearest wells should not be less than 6 m.
The cost of drilling operations is directly proportional to the drilling depth.

Is air conditioning required in summer?

If air conditioning is required in the summer, then the obvious choice is a heat pump of the “water-to-water” or “ground-to-water” type; other heat pumps are not ready to effectively and economically perform air conditioning functions.

Is air heating available or planned in the future?

It is possible to integrate the heat pump into a single air heating system. This solution will allow to unify engineering networks.

Capital cost of purchasing and installing a heat pump with all work

The initial estimated capital costs* for purchase and installation depend on the type of heat pump:

HP with underground collector:

Works - $2500
Operating costs - $350/year

VT with probe:
Equipment and materials - $4500
Works - $4500
Operating costs - $320/year

Air VT:
Equipment and materials - $6500
Work - $400
Operating costs - $480/year

TN “water-water”:
Equipment and materials - $4500
Works - $3500
Operating costs - $280/year

* – approximate, average market prices. The final cost depends on the selected equipment manufacturer, the region of work performed, the cost of drilling operations and site conditions, and so on. Estimating department note

Fourth stage. Types of work

Single. The heat pump is the only heat source, providing 100% of the heat demand. Works for operating temperatures not higher than 55 °C.
Paired. The HP and the boiler work together, which allows the boiler to achieve higher operating temperatures.

Monoenergetic. The HP and the electric boiler form a power system with only one external energy source. This allows you to smoothly regulate power consumption, but increases the load on the input machine.

Selecting a heat pump

After collecting all the initial data and working out the main technical solutions, it is possible to select the appropriate type of HP. The configuration and choice of equipment supplier will depend on your financial capabilities. The main thing is to approach the choice of system with a full understanding of what you want. We will help you choose and implement a comfortable heating system. It can take into account all the nuances: from the climate control function to the distribution of heat across zones of the house.

Conclusion

By choosing an ecological heating system with a heat pump, you can be confident in the future. You get complete independence from heat supply organizations, world oil prices and the political situation in the country. The only thing you need is electricity. But over time, the generation of electricity can be transferred to absolute autonomy with the help of a windmill.

In simple terms, the principle of operation of a heat pump is close to a household refrigerator - it takes thermal energy from a heat source and transfers it to the heating system. The heat source for the pump can be soil, rock, atmospheric air, water from various sources (rivers, streams, primers, lakes).

Types of heat pumps are classified by heat source:

• air-to-air;
• water-air;
• water-water;
• soil-water (earth-water);
• ice-water (rarely).

Heating, air conditioning and domestic hot water - all this can be provided by a heat pump. To provide all this, it does not need fuel. The electricity used to keep the pump running is approximately 1/4 of the consumption of other types of heating.

Components of a heat pump heating system

Compressor- the heart of the heating system using a heat pump. It concentrates the dissipated low-grade heat, increasing its temperature due to compression, and transfers it to the coolant into the system. In this case, electricity is spent exclusively on compression and transfer of thermal energy, and not on heating the coolant - water or air. According to average estimates, 10 kW of heat consumes up to 2.5 kW of electricity.

Hot water storage tank(for inverter systems). The storage tank accumulates water, which equalizes the thermal loads of the heating system and hot water supply.

Refrigerant. The so-called working fluid, which is under low pressure and boils at low temperatures, is an absorber of low-potential energy from a heat source. This is the gas circulating in the system (freon, ammonia).

Evaporator, ensuring the selection and transfer of thermal energy to the pump from a low-temperature source.

Capacitor, transferring heat from the refrigerant to the water or air in the system.
Thermostat.

Primary and secondary ground contour. A circulation system that transfers heat from the source to the pump and from the pump to the home heating system. The primary circuit consists of: evaporator, pump, pipes. The secondary circuit includes: condenser, pump, pipeline.

Air-to-water heat pump 5-28 kW

Air-to-water heat pump for heating and hot water supply 12-20 kW

The principle of operation of a heat pump is the absorption and subsequent release of thermal energy during the process of evaporation and condensation of a liquid, as well as a change in pressure and a subsequent change in the temperature of condensation and evaporation.

A heat pump reverses the movement of heat - it forces it to move in the opposite direction. That is, the HP is the same hydraulic pump, pumping liquids from bottom to top, contrary to the natural movement from top to bottom.

The refrigerant is compressed in the compressor and transferred to the condenser. High pressure and temperature condense the gas (freon most often), and heat is transferred to the coolant into the system. The process is repeated when the refrigerant passes through the evaporator again - the pressure decreases and the process of low-temperature boiling starts.

Depending on the source of low-grade heat, each type of pump has its own nuances.

Features of heat pumps depending on the heat source

An air-to-water heat pump depends on the air temperature, which should not fall below +5°C outside, and the declared heat conversion coefficient COP 3.5-6 can only be achieved at 10°C and above. Pumps of this type are installed on the site, in the most ventilated place, and are also installed on the roofs. Much the same can be said about air-to-air pumps.

Ground-water pump type

Ground-water pump or a geothermal heat pump extracts thermal energy from the ground. The earth has a temperature of 4°C to 12°C, always stable at a depth of 1.2 -1.5 m.

The horizontal collector needs to be placed on the site, the area depends on the soil temperatures and the size of the heated area; nothing other than grass can be planted or placed above the system. There is a variant of a vertical collector with a well up to 150 m. The intermediate coolant circulates through pipes laid in the ground and warms up to 4°C, cooling the soil. In turn, the soil must replenish heat loss, which means that for the HP to operate effectively, hundreds of meters of pipes are needed across the site.

Heat pump"water-water"

Water-to-water heat pump works on low-grade heat of rivers, streams, wastewater and primers. Water has a higher heat capacity than air, but cooling groundwater has its own nuances - it cannot be cooled to the point of freezing, the water must drain freely into the ground.

You need to have one hundred percent confidence that you can easily pass tens of tons of water through yourself in a day. This problem is often solved by dumping cooled water into the nearest body of water, with the only condition that the body of water is behind your fence, otherwise such heating costs millions. If there are ten meters to a flowing reservoir, then heating with a water-to-water heat pump will be the most effective.

Ice-water heat pump

Ice-water heat pump a rather exotic type of pump that requires modification of the heat exchanger - the air-to-water pump is converted for water cooling and removes ice.

During the heating season, about 250 tons of ice accumulate, which can be stored (this volume of ice can fill an average swimming pool). This type of heat pump is good for our winters. 330 KJ/kg - this is how much heat water releases during the freezing process. In turn, cooling the water by 1°C produces 80 times less heat. The heating rate of 36,000 KJ/h is obtained from freezing 120 liters of water. Using this heat, you can build a heating system with an ice-water heat pump. While there is very little information on this type of pump, I will look for it.

Pros and cons of heat pumps

I don’t want to rant here about “green” energy and environmental friendliness, since the price of the entire system turns out to be sky-high and the last thing you think about is the ozone layer. If we omit the cost of a heating system using a heat pump, then the advantages are:

1. Safe heating. Judging by myself, when my gas boiler turns on the burner with a bang, a gray hair appears on my head every 15 minutes. The heat pump does not use open flames or combustible fuel. No reserves of firewood or coal.
   The efficiency of the heat pump is about 400-500% (takes 1 kW of electricity, spends 5).
2. "Clean" heating without combustion waste, exhaust, odor.
3. Quiet operation with the “correct” compressor.

Fatty minus heat pumps- the price of the entire system as a whole and the rarely encountered ideal conditions for efficient operation of the pump.

The payback of a heating system based on a heat pump can be 5 years, or maybe 35, and the second figure, unfortunately, is more realistic. This is a very expensive system at the implementation stage and very labor-intensive.

No matter what anyone tells you, nowadays the Kulibins are divorced; calculations for a heat pump should only be carried out by a heating engineer specialist, with a visit to the site.

The first versions of heat pumps could only partially satisfy the needs for thermal energy. Modern varieties are more efficient and can be used for heating systems. This is why many homeowners try to install a heat pump with their own hands.

We will tell you how to choose the best option for a heat pump, taking into account the geodata of the area where it is planned to be installed. The article proposed for consideration describes in detail the principle of operation of “green energy” systems and lists the differences. With our advice, you will undoubtedly settle on an effective type.

For independent craftsmen, we present the technology for assembling a heat pump. The information presented for consideration is supplemented by visual diagrams, photo selections and a detailed video instruction in two parts.

The term heat pump refers to a set of specific equipment. The main function of this equipment is to collect thermal energy and transport it to the consumer. The source of such energy can be any body or environment with a temperature of +1º or more degrees.

There are more than enough sources of low-temperature heat in our environment. This is industrial waste from enterprises, thermal and nuclear power plants, sewage, etc. To operate heat pumps in home heating, three self-regenerating natural sources are needed - air, water, and earth.

Heat pumps “draw” energy from processes that regularly occur in the environment. The flow of processes never stops, because the sources are recognized as inexhaustible according to human criteria

The three listed potential energy suppliers are directly related to the energy of the sun, which, by heating, moves the air with the wind and transfers thermal energy to the earth. It is the choice of source that is the main criterion according to which heat pump systems are classified.

The operating principle of heat pumps is based on the ability of bodies or media to transfer thermal energy to another body or environment. Receivers and suppliers of energy in heat pump systems usually work in pairs.

The following types of heat pumps are distinguished:

• Air is water.
• Earth is water.
• Water is air.
• Water is water.
• Earth is air.
• Water - water
• Air is air.

In this case, the first word determines the type of medium from which the system takes low-temperature heat. The second indicates the type of carrier to which this thermal energy is transferred. Thus, in heat pumps, water is water, heat is taken from the aquatic environment and liquid is used as a coolant.

This fall, there is an aggravation in the network regarding heat pumps and their use for heating country houses and cottages. In the country house that I built with my own hands, such a heat pump has been installed since 2013. This is a semi-industrial air conditioner that can effectively operate for heating at outdoor temperatures down to -25 degrees Celsius. It is the main and only heating device in a one-story country house with a total area of ​​72 square meters.

2. Let me briefly remind you of the background. Four years ago, I bought a 6-acre plot of land from a gardening partnership, on which I, with my own hands, without hiring hired labor, built a modern, energy-efficient country house. The purpose of the house is a second apartment located in nature. Year-round, but not constant operation. Maximum autonomy was required in conjunction with simple engineering. There is no main gas in the area where SNT is located and you should not count on it. Imported solid or liquid fuel remains, but all these systems require complex infrastructure, the cost of construction and maintenance of which is comparable to direct heating with electricity. Thus, the choice was already partially predetermined - electric heating. But here a second, no less important point arises: the limitation of electrical capacity in the gardening partnership, as well as fairly high electricity tariffs (at that time - not a “rural” tariff). In fact, 5 kW of electrical power has been allocated to the site. The only way out in this situation is to use a heat pump, which will save about 2.5-3 times on heating compared to direct conversion of electrical energy into heat.

So, let's move on to heat pumps. They differ in where they take heat from and where they release it. An important point, known from the laws of thermodynamics (8th grade of high school) - a heat pump does not produce heat, it transfers it. That is why its ECO (energy conversion coefficient) is always greater than 1 (that is, the heat pump always gives out more heat than it consumes from the network).

The classification of heat pumps is as follows: “water - water”, “water - air”, “air - air”, “air - water”. “Water” indicated in the formula on the left means the extraction of heat from a liquid circulating coolant passing through pipes located in the ground or reservoir. The effectiveness of such systems is practically independent of the time of year and ambient temperature, but they require expensive and labor-intensive excavation work, as well as the availability of sufficient free space for laying a ground heat exchanger (on which, subsequently, it will be difficult for anything to grow in the summer, due to freezing of the soil) . The “water” indicated in the formula on the right refers to the heating circuit located inside the building. This can be either a radiator system or liquid heated floors. Such a system will also require complex engineering work inside the building, but it also has its advantages - with the help of such a heat pump you can also get hot water in the house.

But the most interesting category is the air-to-air heat pump category. In fact, these are the most common air conditioners. While working for heating, they take heat from the street air and transfer it to an air heat exchanger located inside the house. Despite some disadvantages (production models cannot operate at ambient temperatures below -30 degrees Celsius), they have a huge advantage: such a heat pump is very easy to install and its cost is comparable to conventional electric heating using convectors or an electric boiler.

3. Based on these considerations, a Mitsubishi Heavy ducted semi-industrial air conditioner, model FDUM71VNX, was selected. As of autumn 2013, a set consisting of two blocks (external and internal) cost 120 thousand rubles.

4. The external unit is installed on the facade on the north side of the house, where there is the least wind (this is important).

5. The indoor unit is installed in the hall under the ceiling; from it, with the help of flexible, sound-insulated air ducts, hot air is supplied to all living spaces inside the house.

6. Because The air supply is located under the ceiling (it is absolutely impossible to organize a hot air supply near the floor in a stone house), then it is obvious that the air needs to be taken in on the floor. To do this, using a special duct, the air intake was lowered to the floor in the corridor (all interior doors also have flow grilles installed in the lower part). The operating mode is 900 cubic meters of air per hour, due to constant and stable circulation there is absolutely no difference in air temperature between the floor and ceiling in any part of the house. To be precise, the difference is 1 degree Celsius, which is even less than when using wall-mounted convectors under windows (with them the temperature difference between the floor and ceiling can reach 5 degrees).

7. In addition to the fact that the internal unit of the air conditioner, due to its powerful impeller, is capable of circulating large volumes of air throughout the house in recirculation mode, we must not forget that people need fresh air in the house. Therefore, the heating system also serves as a ventilation system. Through a separate air channel, fresh air is supplied to the house from the street, which, if necessary, is heated (in the cold season) using automation and a duct heating element.

8. Hot air is distributed through grilles like this, located in living rooms. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that there is not a single incandescent lamp in the house and only LEDs are used (remember this point, it is important).

9. Exhausted “dirty” air is removed from the house through an exhaust hood in the bathroom and kitchen. Hot water is prepared in a conventional storage water heater. In general, this is a fairly large expense item, because... Well water is very cold (from +4 to +10 degrees Celsius depending on the time of year) and someone may reasonably note that solar collectors can be used to heat water. Yes, you can, but the cost of investing in infrastructure is such that for this money you can heat water directly with electricity for 10 years.

10. And this is “TsUP”. Main and main control panel for air source heat pump. It has various timers and simple automation, but we use only two modes: ventilation (in the warm season) and heating (in the cold season). The built house turned out to be so energy efficient that the air conditioner in it was never used for its intended purpose - to cool the house in the heat. LED lighting (the heat transfer from which tends to zero) and very high-quality insulation played a big role in this (it’s no joke, after installing a lawn on the roof, we even had to use a heat pump to heat the house this summer - on days when the average daily temperature dropped below + 17 degrees Celsius). The temperature in the house is maintained year-round at least +16 degrees Celsius, regardless of the presence of people in it (when there are people in the house, the temperature is set to +22 degrees Celsius) and the supply ventilation is never turned off (because I’m lazy).

11. A technical electricity meter was installed in the fall of 2013. That is exactly 3 years ago. It is easy to calculate that the average annual consumption of electrical energy is 7000 kWh (in fact, now this figure is slightly less, because in the first year the consumption was high due to the use of dehumidifiers during finishing work).

12. In the factory configuration, the air conditioner is capable of heating at an ambient temperature of at least -20 degrees Celsius. To operate at lower temperatures, modification is required (in fact, it is relevant when operating even at a temperature of -10, if there is high humidity outside) - installing a heating cable in the drain pan. This is necessary so that after the defrosting cycle of the external unit, liquid water has time to leave the drain pan. If she doesn’t have time to do this, then ice will freeze in the pan, which will subsequently squeeze out the frame with the fan, which will probably lead to the blades on it breaking off (you can look at photos of broken blades on the Internet, I almost encountered this myself because . did not put the heating cable in immediately).

13. As I mentioned above, exclusively LED lighting is used everywhere in the house. This is important when it comes to air conditioning a room. Let's take a standard room in which there are 2 lamps, 4 lamps in each. If these are 50-watt incandescent bulbs, then they will consume a total of 400 watts, while LED bulbs will consume less than 40 watts. And all energy, as we know from the physics course, ultimately turns into heat anyway. That is, incandescent lighting is such a good medium-power heater.

14. Now let's talk about how a heat pump works. All it does is transfer thermal energy from one place to another. This is exactly the same principle that refrigerators operate on. They transfer heat from the refrigerator compartment to the room.

There is such a good riddle: How will the temperature in the room change if you leave a refrigerator plugged in with the door open? The correct answer is that the temperature in the room will rise. To make it easier to understand, this can be explained this way: the room is a closed circuit, electricity flows into it through wires. As we know, energy ultimately turns into heat. That is why the temperature in the room will rise, because electricity enters the closed circuit from the outside and remains in it.

A little theory. Heat is a form of energy that is transferred between two systems due to temperature differences. In this case, thermal energy moves from a place with a high temperature to a place with a lower temperature. This is a natural process. Heat transfer can be carried out by conduction, thermal radiation or by convection.

There are three classical states of aggregation of matter, the transformation between which is carried out as a result of changes in temperature or pressure: solid, liquid, gaseous.

To change the state of aggregation, the body must either receive or give off thermal energy.

When melting (transition from solid to liquid), thermal energy is absorbed.
During evaporation (transition from liquid to gaseous state), thermal energy is absorbed.
During condensation (transition from a gaseous to a liquid state), thermal energy is released.
During crystallization (transition from a liquid to a solid state), thermal energy is released.

The heat pump uses two transition modes: evaporation and condensation, that is, it operates with a substance that is either in a liquid or gaseous state.

15. R410a refrigerant is used as the working fluid in the heat pump circuit. It is a hydrofluorocarbon that boils (changes from liquid to gas) at a very low temperature. Namely, at a temperature of 48.5 degrees Celsius. That is, if ordinary water at normal atmospheric pressure boils at a temperature of +100 degrees Celsius, then R410a freon boils at a temperature almost 150 degrees lower. Moreover, at very negative temperatures.

It is this property of the refrigerant that is used in the heat pump. By specifically measuring pressure and temperature, it can be given the necessary properties. Either it will be evaporation at ambient temperature, absorbing heat, or condensation at ambient temperature, releasing heat.

16. This is what the heat pump circuit looks like. Its main components are: compressor, evaporator, expansion valve and condenser. The refrigerant circulates in a closed circuit of the heat pump and alternately changes its state of aggregation from liquid to gaseous and vice versa. It is the refrigerant that transfers and transfers heat. The pressure in the circuit is always excessive compared to atmospheric pressure.

How it works?
The compressor sucks in the cold, low-pressure refrigerant gas coming from the evaporator. The compressor compresses it under high pressure. The temperature rises (heat from the compressor is also added to the refrigerant). At this stage we obtain a high pressure and high temperature refrigerant gas.
In this form, it enters the condenser, blown with colder air. The superheated refrigerant releases its heat to the air and condenses. At this stage, the refrigerant is in a liquid state, under high pressure and at an average temperature.
The refrigerant then enters the expansion valve. There is a sharp decrease in pressure due to the expansion of the volume occupied by the refrigerant. The decrease in pressure causes partial evaporation of the refrigerant, which in turn reduces the temperature of the refrigerant below ambient temperature.
In the evaporator, the refrigerant pressure continues to decrease, it evaporates even more, and the heat necessary for this process is taken from the warmer outside air, which is cooled.
The fully gaseous refrigerant is returned to the compressor and the cycle is completed.

17. I’ll try to explain it more simply. The refrigerant already boils at a temperature of -48.5 degrees Celsius. That is, relatively speaking, at any higher ambient temperature it will have excess pressure and, in the process of evaporation, take heat from the environment (that is, street air). There are refrigerants used in low-temperature refrigerators, their boiling point is even lower, down to -100 degrees Celsius, but it cannot be used to operate a heat pump to cool a room in the heat due to the very high pressure at high ambient temperatures. R410a refrigerant is a balance between the ability of the air conditioner to operate for both heating and cooling.

By the way, here is a good documentary filmed in the USSR and telling about how a heat pump works. I recommend.

18. Can any air conditioner be used for heating? No, not just anyone. Although almost all modern air conditioners run on R410a freon, other characteristics are no less important. Firstly, the air conditioner must have a four-way valve, which allows you to switch to “reverse”, so to speak, namely, swap the condenser and evaporator. Secondly, note that the compressor (located on the bottom right) is located in a thermally insulated casing and has an electrically heated crankcase. This is necessary in order to always maintain a positive oil temperature in the compressor. In fact, at ambient temperatures below +5 degrees Celsius, even when turned off, the air conditioner consumes 70 watts of electrical energy. The second, most important point is that the air conditioner must be inverter. That is, both the compressor and the impeller electric motor must be able to change performance during operation. This is what allows the heat pump to operate efficiently for heating at outside temperatures below -5 degrees Celsius.

19. As we know, on the heat exchanger of the external unit, which is an evaporator during heating operation, intensive evaporation of the refrigerant occurs with the absorption of heat from the environment. But in the street air there are water vapors in a gaseous state, which condense or even crystallize on the evaporator due to a sharp drop in temperature (the street air gives up its heat to the refrigerant). And intense freezing of the heat exchanger will lead to a decrease in the efficiency of heat removal. That is, as the ambient temperature decreases, it is necessary to “slow down” both the compressor and the impeller to ensure the most effective heat removal on the surface of the evaporator.

An ideal heating-only heat pump should have a surface area of ​​the external heat exchanger (evaporator) several times larger than the surface area of ​​the internal heat exchanger (condenser). In practice, we return to the same balance that a heat pump must be able to work for both heating and cooling.

20. On the left you can see the external heat exchanger almost completely covered with frost, except for two sections. In the upper, non-frozen section, freon still has a fairly high pressure, which does not allow it to effectively evaporate while absorbing heat from the environment, while in the lower section it is already overheated and can no longer absorb heat from the outside. And the photo on the right answers the question why the external air conditioner unit was installed on the facade, and not hidden from view on the flat roof. It is precisely because of the water that needs to be drained from the drain pan during the cold season. It would be much more difficult to drain this water from the roof than from the blind area.

As I already wrote, during heating operation at subzero temperatures outside, the evaporator on the external unit freezes over, and water from the street air crystallizes on it. The efficiency of a frozen evaporator is noticeably reduced, but the electronics of the air conditioner automatically monitors the efficiency of heat removal and periodically switches the heat pump to defrost mode. Essentially, the defrost mode is a direct air conditioning mode. That is, heat is taken from the room and transferred to an external, frozen heat exchanger to melt the ice on it. At this time, the fan of the indoor unit operates at minimum speed, and cool air flows from the air ducts inside the house. The defrost cycle usually lasts 5 minutes and occurs every 45-50 minutes. Due to the high thermal inertia of the house, no discomfort is felt during defrosting.

21. Here is a table of the heating performance of this heat pump model. Let me remind you that the nominal energy consumption is just over 2 kW (current 10A), and heat transfer ranges from 4 kW at -20 degrees outside, to 8 kW at an outside temperature of +7 degrees. That is, the conversion coefficient is from 2 to 4. This is how many times a heat pump allows you to save energy compared to the direct conversion of electrical energy into heat.

By the way, there is another interesting point. The service life of an air conditioner when operating for heating is several times higher than when operating for cooling.

22. Last fall, I installed a Smappee electric energy meter, which allows you to keep statistics of energy consumption on a monthly basis and provides a more or less convenient visualization of the measurements taken.

23. Smappee was installed exactly a year ago, in the last days of September 2015. It also tries to show the cost of electrical energy, but does so based on manually set tariffs. And there is an important point with them - as you know, we increase electricity prices twice a year. That is, during the presented measurement period, tariffs changed 3 times. Therefore, we will not pay attention to the cost, but will calculate the amount of energy consumed.

In fact, Smappee has problems with visualizing consumption graphs. For example, the shortest column on the left is consumption for September 2015 (117 kWh), because Something went wrong with the developers and for some reason the screen for the year shows 11 instead of 12 columns. But the total consumption figures are calculated accurately.

Namely, 1957 kWh for 4 months (including September) at the end of 2015 and 4623 kWh for the whole of 2016 from January to September inclusive. That is, a total of 6580 kWh was spent on ALL life support of a country house, which was heated year-round, regardless of the presence of people in it. Let me remind you that in the summer of this year I had to use a heat pump for heating for the first time, and it never worked for cooling in the summer in all 3 years of operation (except for automatic defrosting cycles, of course). In rubles, according to current tariffs in the Moscow region, this is less than 20 thousand rubles per year or about 1,700 rubles per month. Let me remind you that this amount includes: heating, ventilation, water heating, stove, refrigerator, lighting, electronics and appliances. That is, it is actually 2 times cheaper than the monthly rent for an apartment in Moscow of the same size (of course, without taking into account maintenance fees, as well as fees for major repairs).

24. Now let’s calculate how much money the heat pump saved in my case. We will compare electric heating, using the example of an electric boiler and radiators. I will calculate at pre-crisis prices that were at the time the heat pump was installed in the fall of 2013. Now heat pumps have become more expensive due to the collapse of the ruble exchange rate, and all the equipment is imported (the leaders in the production of heat pumps are the Japanese).

Electric heating:
Electric boiler - 50 thousand rubles
Pipes, radiators, fittings, etc. - another 30 thousand rubles. Total materials for 80 thousand rubles.

Heat pump:
Duct air conditioner MHI FDUM71VNXVF (external and internal units) - 120 thousand rubles.
Air ducts, adapters, thermal insulation, etc. - another 30 thousand rubles. Total materials for 150 thousand rubles.

Do-it-yourself installation, but in both cases the time is approximately the same. Total “overpayment” for a heat pump compared to an electric boiler: 70 thousand rubles.

But that's not all. Air heating using a heat pump is at the same time air conditioning in the warm season (that is, air conditioning still needs to be installed, right? That means we’ll add at least another 40 thousand rubles) and ventilation (mandatory in modern sealed houses, at least another 20 thousand rubles).

What do we have? The “overpayment” in the complex is only 10 thousand rubles. This is still only at the stage of putting the heating system into operation.

And then the operation begins. As I wrote above, in the coldest winter months the conversion factor is 2.5, and in the off-season and summer it can be taken to be 3.5-4. Let’s take the average annual COP equal to 3. Let me remind you that 6500 kWh of electrical energy is consumed in a house per year. This is the total consumption for all electrical appliances. For simplicity of calculations, let’s take the minimum that the heat pump consumes only half of this amount. That is 3000 kWh. At the same time, on average, he supplied 9,000 kWh of thermal energy per year (6,000 kWh was “brought” from the street).

Let's convert the transferred energy into rubles, assuming that 1 kWh of electrical energy costs 4.5 rubles (average day/night tariff in the Moscow region). We get 27,000 rubles in savings compared to electric heating only in the first year of operation. Let us remember that the difference at the stage of putting the system into operation was only 10 thousand rubles. That is, already in the first year of operation, the heat pump SAVED me 17 thousand rubles. That is, it paid for itself in the first year of operation. At the same time, let me remind you that this is not permanent residence, in which case the savings would be even greater!

But don’t forget about the air conditioner, which specifically in my case was not needed due to the fact that the house I built turned out to be over-insulated (although it uses a single-layer aerated concrete wall without additional insulation) and it simply does not heat up in the summer in the sun. That is, we will remove 40 thousand rubles from the estimate. What do we have? In this case, I began to SAVE on a heat pump not from the first year of operation, but from the second. It's not a big difference.

But if we take a water-to-water or even air-to-water heat pump, then the figures in the estimate will be completely different. This is why the air-to-air heat pump has the best price/efficiency ratio on the market.

25. And finally, a few words about electric heating devices. I was tormented with questions about all sorts of infrared heaters and nano-technologies that do not burn oxygen. I will answer briefly and to the point. Any electric heater has an efficiency of 100%, that is, all electrical energy is converted into heat. In fact, this applies to any electrical appliances; even an electric light bulb produces heat exactly in the amount in which it received it from the outlet. If we talk about infrared heaters, their advantage is that they heat objects, not air. Therefore, the most reasonable use for them is heating on open verandas in cafes and at bus stops. Where there is a need to transfer heat directly to objects/people, bypassing air heating. A similar story about burning oxygen. If you see this phrase somewhere in an advertising brochure, you should know that the manufacturer is taking the buyer for a sucker. Combustion is an oxidation reaction, and oxygen is an oxidizing agent, that is, it cannot burn itself. That is, this is all the nonsense of amateurs who skipped physics classes at school.

26. Another option for saving energy with electric heating (whether by direct conversion or using a heat pump) is to use the thermal capacity of the building envelope (or a special heat accumulator) to store heat while using a cheap nightly electric tariff. This is exactly what I will be experimenting with this winter. According to my preliminary calculations (taking into account the fact that in the next month I will pay the rural tariff for electricity, since the building is already registered as a residential building), even despite the increase in electricity tariffs, next year I will pay for the maintenance of the house less than 20 thousand rubles (for all electrical energy consumed for heating, water heating, ventilation and equipment, taking into account the fact that the temperature in the house is maintained at approximately 18-20 degrees Celsius all year round, regardless of whether there are people in it).

What's the result? A heat pump in the form of a low-temperature air-to-air air conditioner is the simplest and most affordable way to save on heating, which can be doubly important when there is a limit on electrical power. I am completely satisfied with the installed heating system and do not experience any discomfort from its operation. In the conditions of the Moscow region, the use of an air source heat pump is completely justified and allows you to recoup the investment no later than in 2-3 years.

By the way, don’t forget that I also have Instagram, where I publish the progress of work almost in real time -