A glimpse about Heat pumps

The device that extracts heat from air or waste heat 

Balance point in Air Heat pumps

Authentic information about running a heat pump efficiently is difficult to access. Some of the heat pump terminology used here is misunderstood by industrial personnel and heat pump suppliers. One of that those little-known phrases is the balance point. When we are asked by the customers about air source heat pump capacity, here is the information we provide them about the balance point of a heat pump.

Before going further, let’s see what is heat pump capacity and heat pump load. Even though it sounds similar, they have a distinctive difference. The heat pump capacity is the amount of heat that the machine can deliver, and heat load is the heat required by a process to maintain at a certain temperature. Knowing and understanding this term allows you to select a heat pump that runs optimally to meet the heat demand with respect to different ambient temperatures.

Here comes the balance point. A balance point is the approximate ambient temperature at which the maximum heating capacity of the heat pump matches the heating requirement of the application.

If you were to plot a graph showing the heating capacity of your heat pumps and your heating requirements as the weather changes, you would see two intersecting lines, like an X. The point at which these lines intersect is the balance point of your heat pump. The lower the balance point, in terms of temperature, the more efficiently your heating system is working.

The balance point of a heat pump varies for different applications. If the heat pump is subjected to operate below the balance point, the heat pump requires a supplemental heat source to meet the heat demand. The supplemental heat source can be electrical heaters, boilers, etc., Generally, we recommend the electrical heaters as it’s cheaper in price and can be maintained at ease. You should consider this factor into account before selecting the right heat pump solution.

I hope you all find this informative. To know more about heat pump selection, integration type, and cost benefits, check our website or contact our service engineer.