For over thirty years, businesses in Northern Europe have been using commercial heat pumps to provide cheap and reliable sources of heat and hot water. Businesses in the UK are also starting to take advantage of this opportunity to reduce their fuel bills in the face of rising energy prices.

Heat pumps extract the heat from their surroundings and can then channel it into your work place. They transfer the energy found in the air, ground or water of your surroundings into high-grade energy which can be used for heating and producing hot water.

Here is a little more detail about the different types of pump:

Air Source Heat Pumps: The air that is extracted from the general surroundings is passed through a compressor while absorbed in fluid and this raises its temperature. The resulting temperature is high enough to heat radiators, underfloor heating systems, and to produce hot water.

Ground Source Heat Pumps: These work using the same theory but take the thermal energy which is stored in the earth. Pipes are laid in trenches or boreholes which heats fluid. Again, this then goes through a compressor to raise the temperature further and is then ready for your heating system. The fluid is then recycled and passes through the whole system again.

Ground source heat pumps can also extract any thermal energy found in local water sources.

Some advantages of using air or ground source heat pumps:

Cutting energy bills

For many businesses the most attractive aspect of installing air or ground source heat pumps will be the impact on their energy bills. By replacing your business’ non-renewable energy sources, which are likely to become even more expensive in the coming years, with pumps which only require free air, you are set to make significant savings. These savings are in the region of 60% for ground source heat pumps and 40% for air source heat pumps.

Another great incentive for installing renewable technology such as heat pumps is the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). This helps businesses to fund the installation of the technology. According to a survey published last year, 87% of Non-domestic consumers of renewable energy who received funding from the RHI were satisfied with their technology and the majority of these would not have had it installed had it not been for the incentive. Businesses also cited CSR or reputation as an important reason for deciding switch to a renewable energy source.

Increased efficiency

Heat pumps have a serious advantage over standard heating systems as far as efficiency is concerned as they are not creating heat, simply moving it. Researchers have suggested that heat pump systems are as much as 400% more efficient than standard heating systems.

These pumps also last a lot longer too. They can run for 25 years without any loss of efficiency at all which is more than twice as long as the average boiler which will be losing efficiency every year.

Safe and minimal maintenance required

With this reliability comes the added bonus that they don’t need the constant maintenance that other types of boiler frequently require. Many heat pumps are also designed so that they can be integrated with existing heating systems so can be easily adapted for retrofits as well as being perfect for new builds.

There are also no risks of gas leaks or fires that are a concern with standard heating systems especially as they get older. The water that is heated through this system also remains at a temperature that isn’t dangerous so it won’t scald any employees using it.

Environmentally friendly

In a world where human impact on the environment is becoming a very serious consideration, any steps that can be made towards renewable energy sources are positive ones. Your business’ environmental impact could be greatly reduced by using air or ground source heat pumps as they produce zero carbon emissions, use minimal electricity and the heat that the pumps use is drawn from renewable sources.If you combine these pumps with a green electricity supply, solar panels for example, you have a completely carbon neutral heating system. This is great news for businesses concerned with CSR or who have strict environmental targets to reach.