Research and analysis

Examination of performance of air-source heat pumps in a London social housing block

This project was part funded by DECC and part funded by the TSB.

• From: Department of Energy & Climate Change
• Published: 7 August 2013

Documents

First year of monitoring of exhaust air heat pumps with underfloor heating

PDF, 1.87 MB, 35 pages

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Performance of exhaust air source heat pumps: summary of detailed monitoring results

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Report on under-floor heating design

PDF, 306 KB, 11 pages

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Details

The aim was to investigate the efficiency and usability of exhaust air-source heat pumps in social housing flats. Co-heating tests were carried out to establish the heat loss of the building and the ventilation rates were also measured. Detailed monitoring of heat pump efficiency was carried out in two flats with exhaust air source heat pumps and underfloor heating. Supplementary monitoring of internal temperature and electricity demand was carried out in a further 10 flats to establish an estimate of the efficiency of the heat pumps in these properties. During the first year of the measurements, both the flats subject to detailed monitoring used underfloor heating. During the second year, the underfloor heating in one of the flats was replaced by radiators. The housing association carried out regular questionnaires to determine the level of comfort and householders’ views on the usability of the systems.

The reports cover issues such as efficiency, warm up times and householder satisfaction.

The publication is divided into 5 reports:

• The first report describes the design of the underfloor heating system used to distribute the heat. Design of the heat emitters (whether radiators or underfloor heating) is a key element in determining the efficiency of a heat pump.
• The second report describes the co-heating tests used to establish the heat loss of the buildings, the ventilation measurements and the results of the first year of monitoring in the two flats subject to detailed monitoring.
• The third report describes the temperature monitoring in the remaining 10 flats in the block and the results of questionnaires on the householders’ experience of comfort, bills, and warm up times.
• The fourth report describes the results from the second year of monitoring, during which the underfloor system was replaced by large radiators in one of the two flats.
• The final report describes lessons learned.

Published 7 August 2013