Heat pumps - how do they work?
Year-round comfort
In mid-winter, ground and water temperatures are warmer than air. Heat is extracted from the earth or water using a ground loop and delivered to the home or work place. Heat is delivered through a ducted heating system, or by delivering warm water to radiator or an underfloor heating loop system.
These systems can be reversed in summer to cool a building. Heat is removed from the building and delivered for storage into the earth or water source.
Efficient operation
Geothermal heat pumps require about 1kw of electrical power to transfer 4-5kw of heat. The more common air-sourced heat pumps require about 1kw of electrical power to transfer 3kw of heat.