One of the main benefits of heat pumps is that they’re an incredibly energy efficient heating method. Air source heat pump efficiencies can exceed 300% since they transfer heat rather than generate it.
Heat pump efficiency depends on how hard they must work to maintain a comfortable room temperature in your home – the lower the flow temperature (the temperature water flows through your radiators), the greater the efficiency. That’s why bigger radiators are more efficient – with larger radiators and underfloor heating, the heat pump doesn’t have to operate at such a high temperature to heat your house, so the efficiency increases.
Measuring Heat Pump efficiency
Heat pump efficiency is measured by its Coefficient of Performance (CoP), which shows how efficiently the heat pump system can heat your home under the best possible conditions. Using this scale, heat pump efficiency can be as high as 4. This means that for every unit of electricity you put in, heat pumps have the potential to produce 4 units of heat.
To put this into perspective, electric heaters operate at around 100% efficiency (1 unit of electricity produces 1 unit of heat), and even brand-new oil and gas boilers only function at an efficiency of around 90%.
Heat Pump efficiency comparisons
The issue with comparing heat pumps based on their CoP values is that they give unrealistic expectations of heat pump performance, as they only show the efficiency in peak conditions. During the winter when the temperature outside drops, air source heat pump efficiency decreases (sometimes to around 1.5 CoP), as they must use more electricity to maintain your normal room temperature.
It’s much more beneficial to compare heat pump efficiency based on their Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCoP). The SCoP gives a true indication of heat pump efficiency because it takes seasonal change into account, giving you an average value over the whole year.
Want to find out how much your Heat Pump will cost?
Why not take our quick Home Survey and we’ll be able to let you know if your home is suitable for a heat pump, confirm your eligibility for the available government funding and also let you have a quote. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes. Click here to get started.
