Market-leading Manufacturers such as Samsung, Daikin, Panasonic and Vaillant have each delivered to the marketplace state of the art technologies and by using eco-friendly refrigerants such as R32 and R290 they can deliver clean, efficient heating and hot water solutions and in most cases produce very impressive SCOP figures.

Many of the earlier Low Temperature Heat Pumps were using R410a refrigerant which has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 2088. Daikin expertise then paved the way to using R32 which has a lower GWP of 675. This enabled Manufacturers to deliver an even more efficient Heat Pump and still be kind to the environment in comparison to fossil fuelled appliances.

Vaillant introduced the R290 aroTHERM and now the aroTHERM Plus to the market a number of years ago and has had tremendous success particularly for projects requiring the option of a higher Flow Temperature when needed, and still delivering impressive SCOP figures. The New Panasonic Aquarea L Series uses the impressively low GWP R290, efficiently provides water flow up to 75°C when -10°C outside and can deliver SCOPs up to 5.12.

Samsung have now released their New EHS Mono R290 which can consistently deliver a Water Temperature for heating of up to 75°C even when it's as cold as -10°C outdoors. SCOP A+++.

Daikin Altherma 3 HT using R32 can deliver up to 70°C using the Heat Pump only even when -15°C. Impressively, these Market leaders demonstrate how using products that are less harmful to our planet can in many ways match or even surpass the capabilities of modern boilers.

The fact is that the technology is more than capable of delivering exceptional performance therefore being an ideal solution for retrofit projects that may have older high temperature rads, if the emitters are underfloor heating then even better still. Whilst the Heat Pumps can deliver the high Flow Temps it must be noted however that to achieve even better efficiency upsizing existing rads will improve the chance of achieving higher SCOP due to being able to run at a lower Flow Temperature.

*Interestingly, on returning to a number of our Clients in 2023 to carry out their first Annual Services, each were retrofit projects, the lowest SCOP was 3.4 yet this particular Client still saved money on their Annual Run Cost compared to their boiler the year before and lowered their Carbon Footprint. All were (HT) High Temperature units.

Ultimately what we aim for is to see impressive SCOP results for our Clients. A Heat Loss Calculation is without doubt the most important factors of any project. Once the Heat Loss calculation has been accurately determined we now know the amount of KW required to heat the Property to meet the System Design Temperature.

We must now match a suitably sized Heat Pump to meet that load and also taking into consideration other factors such as emitter types and sizes, how many heating zones, flow temperature and intended end use. By viewing the Capacities and Capabilities of the range of HP Models we can match the best suited HP KW size output. If the Heat Pump is not the sole source of heat within the property then other factors will be given consideration such as when the other sources are used.

Having the most suitably sized unit, we now need to consider the other important factors including System Volume and Flow Rates as these factors are essential for optimal system performance.

Just like a gas boiler functions on Gas Flow Rate, a Heat Pump operates with Water Flow Rate. If we under pipe a Gas Supply to a Combi it will underperform because it's Burner Pressure is low and likewise if we under pipe a Heat Pump it will under perform due to an insufficient Flow Rate so we need to ensure we can achieve the Flow Rates as per Manufacturer's Installation Manuals. In most cases Heat Pumps have a minimum System Water Volume in order to satisfy it's operational tasks including Defrost and if these are not met then it will affect the Heat Pumps performance and could therefore negatively impact the SCOP. Guaranteeing the System Volume and Flow Rates we are on track to achieving a good SCOP but end use will always be another important factor to consider. Balancing the System to meet the Client's needs will contribute to an efficient system and then once the System has been configured the End-User only needs to turn up or down their thermostats accordingly. Of course there are other factors to consider but the above mentioned gets us on the right path. *A popular conversation at present is having the system 'Open Loop' to allow the Heat Pump's own Controller to Modulate the system for improved efficiency. It has been suggested by some that too many actuators, thermostats and trvs create too many obstacles and could negatively impact performance or efficiency.

• Accurate Heat Loss
• Correct size HP
• Correct pipe sizing
• Correct System Volume
• Correct Flow Rates
• Balance Settings/System