Why heat pumps are increasingly popular at home
2017-12-11
Nothing warms as well as a clear conscience. The fact that a heat pump is eco-friendly is only the second most common reason they are purchased. The main reason is that they are more economical.
Heating homes and hot water with a heat pump is becoming increasingly popular in Sweden. According to current statistics from the Swedish Energy Agency, the number of single-family homes with a heat pump has increased by over 50 percent since 2009. Today, more than one million single-family homes have at least one heat pump.
The increase is due to the fact that many newly built houses have heat pumps installed, and that existing houses with other heating methods change to or complement with heat pumps. In the last ten years, the use of oil for heating has gone down by over 80 percent.
The most common types of heat pump today, just like in 2009, are ground source, geothermal and lake heat pumps. In second place are air-to-air heat pumps. Third are air-to-water heat pumps. And in fourth are exhaust air heat pumps.
Lower costs an important selling point
According to the trade organisation Swedish Refrigeration & Heat Pump Association (SKVP), financial reasons are of utmost importance when homeowners invest in a heat pump.
- They want lower operating costs for their property, says Anne-Lee Bertenstam, Technology Specialist at SKVP.
She also says that convenience and eco-friendliness are another two reasons high up on the list.
- The majority of those who had a wood boiler in the past state convenience as the main reason.
Savings potential of different heat pumps
There are a multitude of heat pumps. To estimate how much costs will be lowered by after an installation, calculations must be specifically performed for the individual household. Factors that must be taken into account include the winter temperature, the age of the house, the current heating system, the proximity to bedrock or a lake, and annual energy consumption.
But at an overall level, the Swedish Energy Agency has calculated that air-to-water heat pumps create savings of around 50 percent. Including hot water. Air-to-air heat pumps create heating costs savings of 30-50 percent. Excluding hot water.
Ground source, geothermal and lake heat pumps offer the best savings when it comes to heating and hot water: 70-75 percent. All figures relate to waterborne electricity or oil boilers.
Financial savings become more apparent a bit later on. A heat pump and its installation can incur significant costs initially. When the Swedish Refrigeration & Heat Pump Association conducted its annual survey this year, the various types of heat pumps had the following total contract costs: The costs apply to a detached home with an annual heating need of 20,000 kWh.
Ground source heating: Approx. SEK 150,000.
Geothermal heating: Approx. SEK 130,000.
Groundwater: Approx. SEK 140,000.
Air-to-water heat pump: Approx. SEK 110,000.
Exhaust air heat pump: Approx. SEK 70,000.
Air-to-air heat pump: Approx. SEK 25,000.
Get a free calculation
Would you like to know which solution would be most profitable for you and your household? At ctc.se you can perform a simple calculation and see how much you can save with a heat pump from CTC. We look forward to your enquiry!
