Featured in Marching orders for coal – 12-2021

Headroom on heat pumps

Heat pumps can now achieve sufficiently high flow temperatures to operate most heating systems, even in older buildings. They are not yet highly efficient, but new refrigerants are expected to provide a remedy. This presents a number of challenges, but German researchers and industry participants are working on solutions to harness the power of heat pumps to keep people warm throughout the year.

By

pv magazine

08 Dec 2021

German manufacturer Viessmann uses propane as a refrigerant in its heat pumps to reach flow temperatures of up to 70 C. This allows the system to be integrated with existing radiators. Some in the industry, however, have expressed safety concerns over the use of propane, particularly in residential settings. | Image: Viessmann

Clean heating has been a demand of environmentalists for decades. “Heating is by far the largest producer of CO2 in the household,” reports Germany’s Federal Environment Agency. But there is a wide spread of emissions intensity between heating technologies. Some homes are heated by burning oil or gas and are thus responsible for high CO2 emissions. Others …

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