Ecodan Refurbishment Case Study
The low carbon alternative to traditional boilers
A four bedroom house in Bedfordshire is the first home in the UK to benefit from the new, revolutionary Ecodan heat pump. As a result CO2 emissions from the home’s heating system were reduced by 50% and the overall carbon emissions from the property by an impressive 34%..
Built in 2000, the four bedroom detached house
has double glazed windows as well as loft and
wall insulation. The existing heating system was
previously run by an 80% efficient gas boiler
providing 23.2kW of heat output from an input of
29kW. Based on the existing radiators it was
calculated that the total heat output of the radiators
was 13.4kW under standard boiler conditions with
a flow temperature of 70ºC and the hot water
demand of the home totals 140 litres per day.
Using the Ecodan heat pump, the heat load of the house was calculated to be 8kW. Operating at a flow temperature of 55ºC the heat output of the radiators will be 8.4kW, confirming that Ecodan is fully capable of meeting the heating demand of the house, using the existing radiators. In addition, one area of the house was changed to under floor heating.
Reducing Emissions
When comparing the existing gas boiler to using
Ecodan to provide domestic space heating
and hot water, the reduction in CO2 emissions
from the home are startling. The Ecodan with a
seasonal COP of 3.4 emits 0.13kg of CO2 per
kW of heat provided to the house, compared
to the 80% efficient gas boiler, which emits
0.24kg of CO2.
This works out to 1,619kg of CO2 emitted per year when using Ecodan, as opposed to a massive 3,040kg of CO2 using the existing gas boiler. This clearly demonstrates a reduction of 50% with the help of Ecodan.
The annual gas bill to operate the existing gas boiler was £560. The estimated electricity running costs of the Ecodan are £358, which represents a saving of £202 (36%) per year.
