The most efficient way to power a wet central heating system and produce domestic hot water is through a correctly installed, electric-powered heat pump because they convert naturally occurring heat in the air, ground or water to a temperature high enough to meet your home heating and hot water needs.
Installed in a well-insulated property, heat pumps typically produce two to three times the heat that would be gained from the units of electricity used to power them. But if you have reservations about relying totally on a renewable energy source to heat your home or you are in distressed purchase situation, where your oil boiler has broken down and you need to replace it quickly, the solution could be the latest hybrid heat pump technology.
Hybrid heat pumps reduce the use of a fossil fuel-fired boiler – bringing subsequent savings in fuel bills – by providing the major part of your home heating and hot water needs from the heat pump, with the boiler as acting as supplementary back up.
A hybrid heat pump forms an intelligent heating system that automatically monitors, calculates and selects whether it is more effective to provide heat by the oil boiler or the electric-powered air-to-water heat pump, then automatically switches between the two as required so your home is always heated the most efficient way.
The new Grant VortexAir, now available in Jersey, is unique in that it offers a green alternative to oil boiler replacements with minimal disruption to the home, meaning you can replace your old or broken boiler quickly with a renewable solution.
The VortexAir combines a 16kW electric Aerona³ inverter-driven heat pump with a Grant VortexBlue oil boiler. So if you already have an oil boiler and are thinking of changing to a heat pump, the VortexAir allows you to make the change quickly and seamlessly without having to resize and replace radiators, or possibly being without heating while the heat pump is being installed.
The VortexAir’s unique arrangement allows the oil boiler to be installed first (either internally or externally) as a stand-alone unit replacing an older oil-fired appliance and providing your home with immediate heat and hot water. The heat pump is then installed externally (either joining the externally-located oil boiler and creating a single unit, or forming a separate unit outside when the boiler is located inside), completing this two-stage installation with minimum disruption.
The Grant VortexAir hybrid is ideally suited to Jersey Electricity’s new 24-hour uninterrupted heating tariff Economy 20 Plus. E20+ provides 20 hours of discounted electricity at 10.2p a unit (effectively giving you 30p of heat from the 300% efficient heat pump) for space and water heating with four peak hours charged at the Economy 20 Plus Rate of 14.5p. The VortexAir has been designed to maximise overall system efficiency with the use of an advanced control system. Automatically monitoring the system temperatures, the unit has four operating modes and will seamlessly switch to the most effective heating mode, whether that be heat pump, oil, or a combination.
- Mode 1 – Heat Pump only at lower flow temperatures between 35°C – 55°C for space heating (domestic hot water fixed at 60°C)
- Mode 2 – Heat Pump and Oil Boiler combined at lower flow temperatures between 40°C – 50°C
- Mode 3 – Heat Pump and Oil Boiler combined at higher flow temperatures up to 70°C
- Mode 4 – Oil Boiler with higher flow temperatures up to 70°C and little Heat Pump contribution
So if you are thinking of replacing your oil boiler this winter, think twice, think hybrid heat pump and cut your bills and your carbon.
For more information contact Jersey Electricity on 505460 or Romerils 738806
