How does it work?

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Ground source heat pumps provide one of the most efficient ways of heating and cooling properties using renewable energy, but how do they work?

The technical principle of a heat pump is similar to that of a fridge – it’s just turned the other way round.

In a fridge, heat is transferred from the inside to the outside. With a heat pump, this happens exactly the other way round. The heat from outside – e.g. from the ground – is transferred via the heating system to the inside, into the living space.

To raise the temperature, a refrigerant vapour is compressed until the temperature for central heating and hot water is reached; this can even be up to 65 °C. This means that heat pumps can also be used for modernisation projects, not just on new builds.

Very efficient scroll compressor

The compression process is vital for the efficiency of a heat pump. Greenheat uses compliant scroll compressors that comprise two scrolls which continually compress the heat transfer medium. As with a bicycle pump, the temperature also rises with the pressure. This ensures efficient temperature raising from the cold side (the heat source on the outside) to the hot side (the heating circuit in the building).