Commercial Heat Pumps

Heat Pumps for Commercial and Industrial Premises

Many companies seeking to reduce their energy bills and carbon footprint are beginning to look at heat pumps for a cost-effective, long-term solution for heating a busy office. A ground source heat pump, providing energy to a business without the supply of gas, can save you about £3,000 annually, according to the Energy Savings Trust.

In effect, commercial heat pumps transfer heat from one part of a commercial building to another. Its most popular version is the air source heat pump, which utilises minimal electricity to convert the ambient heat in the outside air and bring it indoors, where it can then be used to maintain a supply of hot water at a higher temperature, for underfloor heating, and radiators.

Many types of heat pumps use water or the ground as an abundant, free source of heat, but the concept remains essentially the same.

An air source heat pump’s cooling system consists of copper tubing coils that are surrounded by aluminium tins to assist in heat transfer, as well as a compressor. When the system is in heating mode, liquid refrigerant from the outside coil absorbs heat from the air and transforms into a vapour. The heat from the refrigerant is released from the indoor coils as it compresses back into a liquid. In winter, a reversing valve near the compressor can change the direction of flow of the refrigerant in order to defrost and cool the outdoor coils.

The various types of commercial air source heat pumps with air source are:

• Multi-zone
• Packaged
• Split
• Ducted
• Short-run ducted
• Ductless
• Single-zone

Commercial Air Source Pumps: Running Costs

In order to calculate how much a commercial air source heat pump can cost and what it could save you, different factors have to be taken into account. The approximate installation costs for a standard commercial air source heat pump system will differ depending on several factors, including the size of your building, how well the property is heated, how you use your office space and what room temperatures you want to achieve.

Commercial Ground Source Heat Pumps

Ground Source Heat Pumps are perfect for organisations, schools, and businesses with heat-extraction land available. Owing to the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive from the UK government, a ground source heat pump would earn you an income for 20 years while paying for itself.

Commercial ground source heat pumps achieve considerably more efficiency by transferring heat between the ground and your house or a nearby water source. While ground source heat pumps are more expensive to install, as they use relatively constant water or ground temperatures, they have lower operating costs.

Commercial heat pumps with ground sourced energy have a number of significant advantages. They can reduce power consumption by 60%, fit in a wide range of buildings, are robust and reliable, and can control moisture. Based on your landscape, subsoil, and property size, you can determine if a geothermal heat pump is a good option for your property. Water or ground source heat pumps can be used in more extreme climates, rather than air source heat pumps.

On the other hand, a horizontal ground source heat pump only requires that one drill 1 to 2 meters into the ground, resulting in lower installation costs. A horizontal system typically costs between £20,000 and £35,000. When considering ground source heat pumps for your property you need to bear in mind these several cost factors:

•   Financial support schemes such as the RHI
•   Installation fee
•   Type of system
•   Size of the system

A ground source heat pump pays for itself in lower cooling and heating costs as well as RHI payments even though it is a huge initial investment.

Renewable Heat Incentive for Commercial Heat Pumps

The Non – Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) was established by the UK Government to facilitate the installation of renewable energy heating devices in commercial properties In the UK. The subsidies you earn from the RHI would further lower the already low running costs of your air source heat pump by around 75%. The RHI payments depend on the amount of heat you consume and the rate is set for twenty years, starting from the day you start using your heating system. The Renewable Heat Incentive rate for installed non-domestic air source heat pump systems is 2.5p / kWh.

If you install a ground source heat pump, your output becomes metered and your RHI payments are based on how much heat you utilise. You get billed at the tier one rate for the first 1,314 running hours of heat your system generates. You get paid at the tier two rate for over 1,314 running hours. You are paid 8.95p / kWh for all tier-one sizes while at tier 2 you get 2.67p / kWh. Other Grants Include:

Why Heat Pumps Should Replace Gas Boilers in Commercial Buildings

Massive heat pumps are being increasingly used for commercial premises and other buildings, including schools, sports centres, shops and offices. It is predicted that nearly 50% of carbon footprint will come from commercial heating alone and for many businesses, seeking innovative and new ways of heating premises is a priority.

Commercial heat pumps are particularly useful because cooling and heating can be provided by one heat pump, thereby providing an easier way of improving the commercial premises. Crucially, at the point of use, they generate no carbon emissions, effectively increasing the air quality. Whether you actually use liquid gas, solid fuel, oil or electricity to heat your premises, there are substantial savings that can be made on your fuel bill despite the initial cost of installing a commercial heat pump system.

You can also take advantage of the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s new Renewable Heat Incentive initiative, which pays you per kilowatt as you produce energy. A heat pump, when installed correctly by a qualified supplier, should not require regular servicing and could last for over twenty-five years.

Heat pumps can be used as air conditioning when necessary, to provide a controlled climate and cool down the office environment, have low running costs, produce low noise, and improve air quality. With every 1 kWh of electric energy used to fuel it, a heat pump delivers about 4 kWh of energy, which means they are up to 400% more productive than electric heating. While the cost of setting up an air source heat pump will differ based on the complexity and scale of the commercial premises, substantial savings are undoubtedly possible.

According to a study, if used to substitute oil heating, installing an air source heat pump can cost between £9000 and £14,000 but you can save £585 to £880 per year, possibly more if it replaces electric heating.

Of course, you will have to pay upfront installation costs that could be prohibitive based on the scale of your business or property, and you may not see the advantages of bill reduction for a while as you pay off the outlay expenditure, however, when you reach the break-even point, you’ll get a good ROI and save significantly.

Installing heat pumps will also require checking of your commercial property. Air source heat pumps, for example, require an appropriate flat roof space or an exterior wall to fit the external unit in. A commercial heat pump system has the ability to provide all your business’ heating needs, represents good value for money by helping business premises mitigate carbon footprint, generating revenue from the Renewable Heat Incentive, and results in saving from the reduced energy bills in the long run.

Our engineers have vast expertise and are able to work on various projects, from large corporate buildings to small businesses, industrial sites and schools. If you would like to install heat pumps in your office or commercial premises or have any questions about how heat pumps work, please contact us today on 01273 257407.