I think heat pumps are a very exciting alternative to gas and oil heating. They work in reverse, so to speak, like a refrigerator: They absorb energy from the air, soil or water and release it in the form of heat. There are various ways in which the energy can be obtained from the ambient air or groundwater – or for example a water reservoir.
Sounds great, but raises a lot of question marks for me. First: Are there any special requirements for installing a heat pump? Or does my house have to be in a special place in order to connect to the energy suppliers? Can I do that, for example the groundwater? In a country like Switzerland x permits are required for something like this. I can see myself running from desk A to desk B to desk C and back again.
Of course I googled what such a thing looks like. Well, it’s no bigger than a kettle. But somehow that seems totally noisy to me. Doesn’t that make a lot of noise? And from an environmental point of view, it may make sense to ditch fossil fuels – but how much electricity does it take to run a heat pump? And last but not least, how much does it cost to install something like this?
questions upon questions. And I have even more – to the next heating alternative: district heating. The heat is generated in an external heat source, your own house is connected to an associated network. However, in most cases the heat still comes from gas or oil wells. Theoretically, heat sources can also be, for example, water, including waste water, or waste heat from waste incineration.
Question number one: If the heat is generated externally, isn’t an enormous amount lost during transport, so that ultimately there is no longer any energy saving? Then I tried to find out if there was a corresponding network in my area, but I couldn’t find anything. Is district heating – especially from renewable heat sources – still a dream for the future in our country? And then of course the obligatory question: how expensive is the pleasure?
Petra Tanner, Consulting Engineer MAS EnBau:
“The basic rule for heat pumps is: the lower the temperature that has to be produced, the more efficient the pump. This can be achieved with good thermal insulation and large areas for heat dissipation. However, the technology has now developed to such an extent that the air-water heat pump is no longer only efficient for underfloor heating in new buildings, but also for older houses and radiators. If these are replaced by new ones with a larger surface area, a heat pump saves a lot of energy.
In any case, a placement notification is required for placement and whether permits are required depends on the canton and the municipality. Geothermal probe drilling requires a geological report – that’s easier than it sounds – a permit for groundwater use, that’s a bit more complicated. Groundwater heating or water-water heat pumps are mainly used in industry and large buildings. Air/water heat pumps make about as much noise as a refrigeration unit on the roof of a supermarket. The cantons prescribe a maximum number of decibels over a certain distance. The sound only occurs when the sound of the heat pump is amplified on other surfaces.
District heating is worthwhile for people who have the boiler room very close to a district heating pipe. Where there is a lot of residual heat and a great demand for heat has arisen in the immediate vicinity, district heating networks are used. Construction is very expensive, which is why they are often built only in urban centers and not in single-family homes. The share of renewable energy must be coordinated with the energy supplier. It is true that energy is lost during transport, but that strongly depends on the age of the pipes and the temperature level.
Both the installation of a heat pump and the connection to a district heating network depend on so many different factors that it is impossible to give general costs. You should look at the specific case. Anyone who had direct electric heating before replacing the heating system can certainly expect a significantly lower electricity bill. In all other cases, money is no longer spent on energy sources (oil, gas), but you do have to pay more for electricity.”
Information on geothermal energy, long-distance heating and groundwater can be found on the cantonal geographic information systems (GIS for short). Example: GeoView BL
Do you have questions or experience with heat pumps or connection to a district heating network? Share them with us in the comment columns.
