UK-based heating specialist Alpha, a unit of Italian group Immergas, has launched a new residential heating solution combining a heat pump and a boiler.
“The Alpha Custom Hybrid is a fully tailored solution suitable for all types of homes, including those with high hot water demands,” the manufacturer said in a statement. “The Custom Hybrid combines a range of heat pump outputs with both combi and system boilers, all managed by a built-in smart control. This automatically chooses the most efficient heating source based on real-time demand – reducing carbon emissions and maximizing energy savings.”
The hybrid solution utilizes the single-phase Magis M heat pump, a stand-alone monobloc heat pumps with reversible air-to-water inverter technology. The system uses R32 (difluoromethane) as a refrigerant and, for the Alpha Custom Hybrid package, is available in several versions with a nominal capacity ranging of up to 16 kW.
The heat pump can reportedly reach a flow temperature of up to 65 C and a coefficient of performance (COP) of up to 5.1. The largest system of the series has a weight of up to 172 kg and dimensions of 605 mm x 290 mm x 245 mm. It can operate in external temperatures between -25 C to 43 C, with sounds level being as low as 35 db(A), according to the company.
“With the supplied control panel, it’s easy to cascade units allowing for up to six heat pumps to work together to supply the required heat demand,” the company further explained. “The built-in control system continuously monitors the temperature and performance of the system to maintain the required room temperatures, managing the heat sources to activate the boiler to provide additional heat as required.”
As for the boiler, Alpha said the package may include either its E-Tec NX, NX Plus, and Evoke NX boilers. “By using a Magis M heat pump as the primary heating source, the kit enables the boiler to provide additional heating capacity when the heat pump alone might not be sufficient to meet the demand, for example on particularly cold winter days,” it also stated.
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What I need to know is the minimum CoP and at what temperature it occurs. To many heat pumps are advertised with headline CoP’s that run with a CoP of near unity at 0C, might as well put in direct electric heating, at least you would be warm.
Does it mean we can use one system to cool our house, and it will have the side effect of heating our hot water? Wasn’t 100% clear.