Heat pumps transform renewable energy from air, ground and water to useful heat. They can also re-utilize waste energy and exhaust air. A heat pump consists of a heat source, the heat pump unit and a distribution system to heat/cool a building and to provide sanitary hot water. A transfer fluid transports the heat from a low-energy source to a higher energy sink. Auxiliary energy - usually electricity or gas - is used with a high efficiency to run the compressor and the pumps.
It is possible use the same machine for heating and cooling giving it an additional economic advantage in case both services are needed. In heating mode, ambient energy is the heat source and the building is the heat sink. In cooling mode, the cycle is reversed: the building is cooled down using the outside as heat sink.
Using the average sales prices of the different systems provided by the national associations, the total value of the 2011 market volume exceeds 6 174 million Euro (incl. VAT).
Based on the number of man-days needed to install the different types of heat pumps and based on expert estimates on turn-over per employee, the total number of employees in the European heat pump industry is estimated to exceed 35 000 persons, approx. 25 % of these being active in heat pump manufacturing.
RES from air, water and ground produced by all heat pumps sold from 2005-2011:
The savings achieved by all heat pumps sold from 2005-2020:
- The refrigeration cycle (Source: EHPA / Alpha-InnoTec).
