Question: | What is a heat pump? |
Answer: | A heat pump extracts low temperature energy from the environment and increases its temperature for heating purposes. Heat pump efficiencies are normally quoted as the coefficient of performance of the system, these are typically in the range 3 to 5. In other words, extracting heat from renewable sources requires just 1kW of electrical input in order to generate 3kW to 5kW of heating output. Heat pump systems therefore, are 3 to 5 times more efficient than fossil fuel boilers and are more than capable of warming a house completely, even during the lowest winter temperatures. The increasing popularity of these heating systems is reflected by their overwhelmingly successful application in the cold climates of Scandinavia.
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