Single-family homes are not the only buildings involved. Owners of public utility buildings also turn to heat pumps. They are often used in hotels, gyms, hospitals and sanatoriums. Are heat pumps really so popular? And if so, why is this happening?
More and more people are using the Clean Air programme
The government’s Clean Air programme is in full swing. By the end of September 2021, more than 325,000 applications had been submitted for funding to replace old boilers with more ecological and economical devices. As many as 15% of all these applications concerned funding for the purchase and/or installation of a heat pump. The Programme provides funding for projects of this type, and heat pumps, such as air-source or ground-source models, meet its requirements. Applications can be submitted in several ways. An application can be submitted in person at a local branch of the Voivodeship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. Those who prefer online contact and have an electronic signature or use a signature confirmed with an ePUAP trusted profile can submit an application electronically via the Internet. The third option is to submit an application through a bank—which ultimately grants the so-called Clean Air Loan.
Growing environmental awareness among Poles
The growing popularity of heat pumps is also due to increasing awareness of the importance of an environmentally friendly attitude. Air pollution and methods of counteracting it are current, pressing problems that concern today’s environmentalists. And they are sounding the alarm. There was a time when Kraków ranked among the most polluted cities not only in Poland but throughout Europe. Małopolska and Silesia are regions with the highest levels of airborne particulates, commonly known as smog. For this reason, heat pumps in Lubin, Kłobuck and Wieliczka, installed in single-family housing estates, may be an answer to the rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. Why are heat pumps said to be environmentally friendly? There are two reasons.
- Limiting the generation of harmful substances released into the atmosphere. Heat pumps do not operate through a combustion reaction. The entire mechanism is based on the appropriate processing of heat drawn from the air, water or ground. Components such as the evaporator, compressor, condenser and expansion valve are involved, among other things, in ensuring the appropriate temperature difference between the refrigerant in the evaporator and the heat source; however, there is no combustion and no generation of smoke, ash or any tarry substances.
- Unlike traditional boilers, heat pumps use the aforementioned renewable heat sources to heat homes. There is therefore no need to exploit dwindling natural gas deposits—the extraction process itself generates pollution—or hard coal, and so on. Renewable energy sources regenerate so quickly while being consumed slowly enough that their supply is practically continuous and inexhaustible.
One device, several functions
When considering the popularity of heat pumps, it is also worth mentioning that their multifunctionality plays a role. The primary function of a heat pump is to heat a building in winter, ensuring thermal comfort for its occupants even during very cold months. But it can also be used for cooling in summer. Active and passive cooling make it possible to use heat pumps outside the heating season as well. In turn, an additional domestic hot-water tank and Thermia’s patented HGW technology (Hot Gas Technology) mean that the pump can produce domestic hot water at low cost, even up to three times more efficiently than traditional methods.
Funding for heat pumps, the ecological operation of heat pumps and their multifunctionality are the reasons why an increasing number of homeowners are choosing these installations. One can only hope that these modern solutions will become commonplace in new construction and beyond.