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| Can you use solar panels with your heat pump |
Collaborative post by another author.
Heat pumps have shot up in popularity over the past few years. A combination of increased concerns for the environment and rising gas prices has left a lot of people looking for alternative solutions to heat their homes, with heat pumps coming out on top in many cases.
That being said, there are still a lot of questions that people have about how heat pumps work, one of which is how they’re powered. To shine more light on this important topic, let's take a look at a highly sustainable and often attractive solution to powering heat pumps: solar power.
First of all, we need to understand how heat pumps actually work. In short, they use something called a refrigerant, a substance that can turn from a liquid to a gas, to extract heat from the surrounding environment. Essentially, think of a fridge or freezer, and then reverse it's intended function.
The refrigerant doesn’t just work automatically however, it needs energy in order to work. In general requiring more energy the greater the difference between the temperature of the external environment that the heat is being extracted from, and that of the internal environment that needs to be heated.
If the property in question doesn’t already have solar panels, then the most common solution will be to get the required electricity from the power grid.
While electricity tends to be a lot more expensive per unit of energy than gas, the fact that heat pumps are so much more efficient than combustion boilers at heating homes means that overall, the electricity you need from the national grid still tends to be a fair bit cheaper than natural gas alternatives.
Even so, the cheaper and more sustainable your source of electricity to power your heat pump, the lower your costs and your environmental impact will be. Services like Thermly make it much easier to find out if your property is well suited to a heat pump and they can provide advice on how you can go about running your system.
Solar panels can provide homes with a sustainable, and free, source of electricity, which can be used to power heat pumps as well. It’s important to note, however, that solar panels don’t provide the same output throughout the year, or even throughout the same day.
As a result, it’s generally impossible to rely solely on your solar power to run your heat pump, especially during the winter months when there’s less daylight and sun at the time you need your heating the most. That being said, it can still contribute towards your overall electricity needs, substantially reducing your electricity bills throughout the year.
If you’re considering having a heat pump installed and you have the roof space available to install solar panels, it’s definitely worth looking into whether it could be worth it or not. Solar panels have got a lot cheaper in recent years and combined with government grants, most homeowners will find that they’re a very attractive solution.
That being said, there are still a lot of questions that people have about how heat pumps work, one of which is how they’re powered. To shine more light on this important topic, let's take a look at a highly sustainable and often attractive solution to powering heat pumps: solar power.
How do heat pumps work?
First of all, we need to understand how heat pumps actually work. In short, they use something called a refrigerant, a substance that can turn from a liquid to a gas, to extract heat from the surrounding environment. Essentially, think of a fridge or freezer, and then reverse it's intended function.
The refrigerant doesn’t just work automatically however, it needs energy in order to work. In general requiring more energy the greater the difference between the temperature of the external environment that the heat is being extracted from, and that of the internal environment that needs to be heated.
Using the grid for electricity
If the property in question doesn’t already have solar panels, then the most common solution will be to get the required electricity from the power grid.
While electricity tends to be a lot more expensive per unit of energy than gas, the fact that heat pumps are so much more efficient than combustion boilers at heating homes means that overall, the electricity you need from the national grid still tends to be a fair bit cheaper than natural gas alternatives.
Even so, the cheaper and more sustainable your source of electricity to power your heat pump, the lower your costs and your environmental impact will be. Services like Thermly make it much easier to find out if your property is well suited to a heat pump and they can provide advice on how you can go about running your system.
Using solar energy
Solar panels can provide homes with a sustainable, and free, source of electricity, which can be used to power heat pumps as well. It’s important to note, however, that solar panels don’t provide the same output throughout the year, or even throughout the same day.
As a result, it’s generally impossible to rely solely on your solar power to run your heat pump, especially during the winter months when there’s less daylight and sun at the time you need your heating the most. That being said, it can still contribute towards your overall electricity needs, substantially reducing your electricity bills throughout the year.
If you’re considering having a heat pump installed and you have the roof space available to install solar panels, it’s definitely worth looking into whether it could be worth it or not. Solar panels have got a lot cheaper in recent years and combined with government grants, most homeowners will find that they’re a very attractive solution.
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