Energy Heat pump company’s claim: An electric heater can save € 2,000 a year in energy repairs – “Suddenly this sounds pretty achievable,” says the researcher

Electric has been expensive all winter, and the end of high prices is yet to be seen.

Another solution that is still poorly known in Finland for permanently reducing the electricity bill is to install an air-to-water heat pump and room-specific fan coil units, suggests heat pump manufacturer Daikin.

According to Daikin, converting direct electric heating to water circulation can save up to more than 2,000 euros a year.

The room-specific fan coils resemble the indoor unit of an air source heat pump and enable the use of an electricity-saving air-to-water heat pump to heat both the premises and the domestic hot water.

“The combination of an air-to-water heat pump and fan coil units is an investment that simultaneously improves living comfort and saves money and the environment,” says Daikin’s Product Manager. Jussi Kummu in the bulletin.

Today a popular solution is the Air Heat Pump, which, however, is not suitable as the only heat source in the home but is a form of auxiliary heating. The energy savings it achieves are also significantly affected by the floor plan of the apartment.

The air-to-water heat pump, on the other hand, heats both domestic hot water and heating water circulating throughout the home’s heating system. The system does not require drilling a heat well, as the unit, like an air source heat pump, draws energy directly from the outside air.

According to Daikin’s modeling, the heating costs of a typical detached house can be saved up to 2,000 euros a year if direct electric heating is replaced by an air-to-water heat pump and fan coil units.

Heating costs have been modeled according to the energy consumption of a typical detached house in Jyväskylä. The modeling uses 20,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year to heat the premises and hot water.

Electric heating the efficiency is one, i.e. one kilowatt of electricity produces one kilowatt of heat. In Daikin’s calculation, the total efficiency of the new system is assumed to be three, ie electricity would provide three times the amount of thermal energy, says Aalto University’s postdoctoral researcher Jussi Vimpari.

“Suddenly, this sounds pretty achievable,” he says.

However, Vimpari points out that the calculations are always affected by the energy efficiency of the house. This directly affects the efficiency of the heat pump system.

Vimpari has been researching heat pumps. According to a study published by Aalto University last May, the investment in the heat pump will pay for itself in just over ten years.

In the study, Vimpari compared the prices, rents and heating systems of all residential buildings in eight large Finnish cities, as well as the emissions caused by heating and the share of heating costs in residents’ income.

Heating accounted for an average of about nine percent of revenue and about 4 percent after installing a heat pump.

The investment required by the pump per inhabitant averaged EUR 3,800 and the payback period with the savings achieved in heating costs was just over ten years.

“A heat pump can produce up to four units of heat per electrical unit. So it is really an energy-efficient and by far the most cost-effective form of heating, ”Vimpari said at the time.

Daikin raised energy repairs According to the company, it would cost about 20,000–25,000 euros to install, depending on the property, and you will also receive a household deduction for the installation work.

Installing heat distribution piping is simpler than building a traditional radiator network or underfloor heating, as only one fan coil needs to be installed in each room.

The fan distributes the heat evenly throughout the room and the circulating water temperature is 35-45 degrees, even in frost. Thanks to this, the efficiency of the heat pump is excellent and energy is saved.

“Fan convectors also improve living comfort, as they react quickly to changes in heat demand and the same system can also be used to cool the hottest days of summer with low energy consumption,” says Kummu.