Due to their high energy efficiency, low operating costs, durability and comfort, heat pumps are increasingly emerging as a viable alternative to the home heating and cooling solutions market, say E.ON specialists. In Romania, 66% of the inhabitants live in the houses and 34% in apartments, according to Eurostat data (2020), and the main sources of heating are wood stoves, followed by gas boilers.
“Heat pumps are more reliable and safer than any combustion-based heating system and can provide the desired comfort for at least 25 years. They provide heating during the winter, even at very low temperatures – some models are tested at -40⁰C, provide cooling during the summer and the domestic hot water throughout the year,” they say.
A heat pump can have an energy efficiency of 500% (COP5), in other words it produces 5 times more energy than it consumes and is 5 times more efficient than a gas fired boiler, and the average annual yield is of 3.5 (COP). It is good to know that an air-to-water heat pump consumes approximately 6,500 kWh per year for heating, cooling and domestic hot water preparation, for a building with an area of up to 150 sqm.
However, just by getting rid of gas bills, the annual savings can exceed 6,000 lei, the equivalent of an annual gas consumption of about 20,000 kWh for heating a 150 sqm house, according to some estimates. ”Let’s not forget, at the same time, that we get rid of the costs of purchasing an air conditioner, which is another important economy.”
The efficiency of heating with wood stoves is low, the efficiency being between 20—40%, while in the case of a gas-fired heating plant it reaches 90-108%. The installation of a gas-fired boiler, especially a high-performance condensing boiler, is a major improvement over the use of a wood-burning stove, but it is a source of pollutant emissions and exposes consumers to the volatile costs of natural gas.
“A much more efficient and, at the same time, sustainable alternative, in the medium and long term, is to take the existing heat in the earth, water or air, to raise the temperature and transfer it to the house. That’s what a heat pump does through a compressor. An important advantage is that it can be connected to an existing underfloor heating system or radiators.
”It is true that switching to heat pumps is currently hampered by the costs of the initial investment. Following the model of other countries, it is important for the authorities to provide financial support to enable consumers to invest in such systems.”
In the offer of E.ON Energie Romania, the air-water heat pumps start from about 40,000 lei (VAT included), and the investment can be recovered in about 6 years, due to the savings on bills and extended life. At the same time, the company comes to the aid of those who want such a system, offering the possibility to pay the project in fixed monthly installments.