Trianco Activair Air Source Heat-pump S120 (12 KW / 41000 Btu) for DHW and heating

The ingenious Activair ASHP

Air Source Heat Pumps are becoming an increasingly popular choice for home heating, especially in areas with less severe winters. But what makes it such a viable heating alternative, and how does it work? Quite simply, the Activair ASHP has a motor powered by electricity that supplies more energy than it consumes when it extracts heat from the surrounding air. For every unit of energy purchased as electricity, several units of heat are delivered, making it up to four times more effective.

Saving energy and preventing pollution

It works in a very similar way to a domestic refrigerator, utilising a working fluid driven around a refrigerant circuit containing four components - an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser and an expansion valve. The refrigerant liquid circulating within the system has a boiling point as low as -40°C and evaporates when absorbing heat from ambient air. This means it’s possible to extract considerable heat from extremely low temperatures. The resulting refrigerant gas is then compressed, adding more heat energy and raising its temperature to around 60°C. This heat is then passed via the heat exchanger into your home for use in your hot water cylinder.

Unique efficiency

This unique product consists solely of one neat, compact unit, complete with refrigerant. The 3 and 5kW are suitable for DHW and can be sited internally or externally. This product can be easily installed in a loft space or externally (with optional adjustable fixing bracket) and quickly plumbed into an indirect cylinder. For those wanting DHW and heating, a 12kW model is available which is also suitable for underfloor or radiator heating, and can only be sited externally. The Activair ASHP is the modern way to harvest yet another natural resource - it satisfies the need to move heat from ambient air, where it’s not needed, into the house where it can become an integral part of our domestic comfort in a completely safe and reliable way.

Coefficient of Performance

The average COP for all the machines at 21 DegC was a minimum of 3. The COP of heat pumps seem to compare very favourably with high efficiency gas appliance (90-99% efficient), and electric heating (100%), but the full cost of the energy consumed must be considered. Energy from gas is typically much less expensive than that from electricity. However, a heat pump of COP 3.4, such as in the example above, could be less expensive to use than even the most efficient gas appliance.