An air source heat pump works much like a fridge operating in reverse to heat your home. Here’s how it works:
Air Source Heat Pump
How do they work?
- Outside air is blown over a network of tubes filled with a refrigerant. This warms up the refrigerant, and it turns from a liquid into a gas.
- This gas passes through a compressor, which increases the pressure. Compression also adds more heat – similar to how the air hose warms up when you top up the air pressure in your tyres.
- The compressed, hot gases pass into a heat exchanger, surrounded by cool air or water. The refrigerant transfers its heat to this cool air or water, making it warm. And this is circulated around your home to provide heating and hot water. Meanwhile, the refrigerant condenses back into a cool liquid and starts the cycle all over again!
Boiler Upgrade Scheme
The government is providing grants to encourage property owners to install low carbon heating systems such as heat pumps, through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS). These grants can help property owners overcome the upfront cost of low carbon heating technologies.
The scheme is open to domestic and small non-domestic properties in England and Wales. It runs from 2022 to 2025.
What you’ll get
You can get:
- £5,000 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump
- £5,000 off the cost and installation of a biomass boiler
- £6,000 off the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump