Activair - Frequently Asked Questions
Are air source heat pumps better than solar panels or ground source heat pumps? In most cases yes, a ground source heat pump is usually much more complicated due to the need for wells or buried coils, together with alterations to land and property an expensive installation is usually the case. With solar power there is a dependency on fine weather for adequate performance levels. Activair will work around the clock, regardless of conditions, in all but the most extreme low temperatures, and is a cheaper solution both on purchase and installation.    How easy is Activair to install? Any competent heating engineer should be capable of installing an air source heat pump as no handling of refrigerant is involved. A simple connection to a suitable heating system and electrical connection is required.    What size Activair do I require? A engineer would have to calculate to suit the installation requirements, as various factors need to be taken into account i.e. size of property, heating requirements.    How much can I expect to pay for an Activair air source heat pump? You can expect to pay around £2000 for supply and installation of an 'Activair' 3kW for example (subject to survey and assessment from an engineer)    What are the running costs? This would depend on the tariff of electricity used, Activair can achieve upto 4 times its kW input, capable of providing substantial savings on energy bills.    How much money can I expect to save if I have an Activair installed? An average household using oil or gas could expect to make substantial savings on fuel bills of up to 60% when having an Activair unit installed.    What are the noise levels? Noise levels vary from 52 decibels upwards, and can be compared to that of a chest freezer for example.    Is there any government funding available for air source heat pumps? Grants are provided for renewable energy products, and air source heat pumps are currently being assessed for grant funding by the government.    Can I use Activair with underfloor heating? Activair ASHPs and underfloor heating are perfectly matched - Not only is underfloor heating an extremely efficient and cost effective way of distributing heat, by using large floor surfaces rather than radiators, it can also operate at much lower temperatures e.g. as low as 40ºC.    What is COP? The performance of an air source heat pump is usually shown as the COP, or Coefficient of Performance. This relates to the amount of energy extracted from ambient air around us for each unit of energy used to run the pump. For example an air source heat pump operating a COP of 3.4 will provide 3.4kW of heat output for every 1kW of household electricity consumed.