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Heat pumps do not require a chimney. Annual costs can be cut when an existing chimney is no longer needed. As an alternative, you can use your chimney for that cosy tile stove you’ve always dreamt about.

Nevertheless, informing your chimney sweep in writing of the changes in your chimney’s use and of the installation of a heat pump is recommended.

A component of a heat pump that mechanically conveys and compresses gases. The pressure and temperature of the refrigerant are raised considerably by means of compression.

The COP, or coefficient of performance, is used to gauge the efficiency of heat pumps. However, the COP should not be considered to be the actual efficiency itself, since technically an efficiency level >1 is not possible!

The COP expresses the ratio of the heat pump’s heat output to the electricity required to operate the compressor. For example, a COP of 4.0 means that four times the amount of energy needed to run the compressor is available as potential heat output.

As opposed to the annual performance factor, the COP only evaluates the quality of the heat pump process. It is calculated under laboratory conditions according to EN255 / EN14511. COPs are calculated at select points of operation – i.e., at specified heat source inlet temperatures and heating water flow temperatures. The specification A2/W35 for air-to-water heat pumps therefore specifies that the heat pump’s COP has been calculated at an outside temperature of 2 °C and a heating water flow temperature of 35 °C.