| Heating Option 15: Heat pump | |
|---|---|
|
Nature of fuel/energy source |
Electricity |
|
Availability of fuel/energy source |
Usually readily available but may be subject to shortages at times of peak demand. |
|
Fuel/energy consumption |
35-40 kWh/100 kWh delivered. |
|
Efficiency of conversion of energy to heat |
220-300% of delivered energy at point of use but full fuel-cycle efficiency will be lower when generation and transmission losses are considered. Inverter models show greater efficiency than non-inverter types. Efficiency is dependent on outside air temperature. Cooler outside air will lower the co-efficient of performance of a heat pump with the result that it is more efficient in warmer regions (such as Zones 1 and 2, as defined by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority). |
|
Typical operating costs |
Ministry for the Environment: 3.7–7.3 cents/kWh Christchurch City Council: 5–10 cents/kWh Own calculations:
|
|
Typical capital costs |
Approximately $2,000–$2,500 for small (< 3 kW) units. Approximately $2,500–$3,000 for medium (3–5 kW) units. Approximately $3,000–$3,500 for large (5–7 kW) units. The above costs are based on single-outlet heat pumps. Whole house split-ducted options typically range from $6,000 to $8,000. |
|
Heating capacity |
3 kW-12 kW (typically 3–6kW for a single-outlet heat pump, with larger models having two or more heat outlets). |
|
Nature of the heat (radiant, convection, etc.) |
Convection |
|
Fuel/energy handling issues |
None |
|
Convenience of use |
Easy |
|
Ease of heat control |
Usually thermostatically controlled. Heat pumps can also be programmed to automatically switch on at a preset time of day. |
|
Effectiveness of heat transfer |
Good |
|
Heat-up rate |
Moderate/fast. |
|
Ability to heat whole house vs single room |
Good if designed/sized appropriately. |
|
Particulate emissions |
None at point of use, but electricity generation will produce particulate emissions when electricity supplied from coal- and gas-powered generators. |
|
Greenhouse gas emissions |
|
|
Other emissions |
|
|
Health and safety issues in the home (eg, indoor emissions and moisture) |
None |
|
Embodied energy |
Steel; plastic; copper. |
|
Special features |
Can achieve greater than 100% efficiency. |
|
Risks associated with this option |
Rising electricity prices. Seasonal constraints on electricity supplies. |
|
General comments |
They need to be installed correctly - determined by whether heating or cooling is the main use, as well as optimum siting of both the outdoor and indoor units. Inverter heat pumps are more efficient than non-inverter models due to the use of electronics to alter the quantity of heat output, rather than simply having the heating on or off, as is the case for a conventional split-cycle unit. It should be noted that heat pumps use a fan to circulate the air. This means there is some background noise when the appliance is operating. |
|
Suitability for use with heat-transfer system |
No |
| Heating Option 16: Ceiling heating - distributed | |
|---|---|
|
Nature of fuel/energy source |
Electricity |
|
Availability of fuel/energy source |
Usually readily available but may be subject to shortages at peak demand times. |
|
Fuel/energy consumption |
80-100 W/m2 100 kWh/100 kWh delivered. |
|
Efficiency of conversion of energy to heat |
100% of delivered energy at point of use, but full fuel-cycle efficiency will be lower when generation and transmission losses are considered. |
|
Typical operating costs |
Christchurch City Council: 6-20 cents/kWh Own calculations:
|
|
Typical capital costs |
$50–$80/m2 |
|
Heating capacity |
80-100 W/m2 |
|
Nature of the heat (radiant, convection, etc.) |
Radiant |
|
Fuel/energy handling issues |
None |
|
Convenience of use |
Easy |
|
Ease of heat control |
Timer and thermostatically controlled. |
|
Effectiveness of heat transfer |
Good |
|
Heat up rate |
Fast |
|
Ability to heat whole house vs single room |
Yes if designed/sized properly. |
|
Particulate emissions |
None at point of use, but electricity generation will produce particulate emissions when electricity supplied from coal- and gas-powered generators. |
|
Greenhouse gas emissions |
|
|
Other emissions |
|
|
Health and safety issues in the home (eg, indoor emissions and moisture) |
None |
|
Embodied energy |
Foil |
|
Special features |
– |
|
Risks associated with option |
Rising electricity prices. |
|
General comments |
Only suitable for new houses. |
|
Suitability for use with heat-transfer system |
No |
| Heating Option 17: Ceiling heating - radiant | |
|---|---|
|
Nature of fuel/energy source |
Electricity |
|
Availability of fuel/energy source |
Usually readily available but may be subject to shortages at times of peak demand. |
|
Fuel/energy consumption |
110 kWh/100 kWh delivered. |
|
Efficiency of conversion of energy to heat |
90% of delivered energy at point of use, but full fuel-cycle efficiency will be lower when generation and transmission losses are considered. |
|
Typical operating costs |
Christchurch City Council: 6–20 cents/kWh Own calculations:
|
|
Typical capital costs |
$100–$250 |
|
Heating capacity |
250 W |
|
Nature of the heat (radiant, convection, etc.) |
Radiant |
|
Fuel/energy handling issues |
None |
|
Convenience of use |
Easy |
|
Ease of heat control |
Instant control |
|
Effectiveness of heat transfer |
Good |
|
Heat-up rate |
Fast |
|
Ability to heat whole house vs single room |
No |
|
Particulate emissions |
None at point of use, but electricity generation will produce particulate emissions when electricity supplied from coal- and gas-powered generators. |
|
Greenhouse gas emissions |
|
|
Other emissions |
|
|
Health and safety issues in the home (eg, indoor emissions and moisture) |
Heat can be intense at source - heater must be located to minimise risk of burning/combustion. |
|
Embodied energy |
Glass; copper; filament materials. |
|
Special features |
– |
|
Risks associated with this option |
Rising electricity prices. Seasonal constraints on electricity supplies. |
|
General comments |
|
|
Suitability for use with heat-transfer system |
No |
| Heating Option 18: Diesel heater | |
|---|---|
|
Nature of fuel/energy source |
Diesel |
|
Availability of fuel/energy source |
Widely available, although additional charges may be made for home delivery in some regions. |
|
Fuel/energy consumption |
10 L/100 kWh |
|
Efficiency of conversion of energy to heat |
65-80% |
|
Typical operating costs |
Ministry for the Environment: 8.4- 9.8 cents/kWh Christchurch City Council: 8-10 cents/kWh Own calculations: 10-12.5 cents/kWh |
|
Typical capital costs |
$3,500-$4,500 |
|
Heating capacity |
7 kW-12 kW |
|
Nature of the heat (radiant, convection, etc.) |
Mainly convection, but also some radiant component. |
|
Fuel/energy handling issues |
Requires fuel storage tank; fuel oil can be messy. |
|
Convenience of use |
Easy |
|
Ease of heat control |
Good |
|
Effectiveness of heat transfer |
Good |
|
Heat-up rate |
Slow |
|
Ability to heat whole house vs single room |
Can achieve moderate heating of whole house if heat can be distributed. Good air/heat circulation is required to prevent overheating in the vicinity of the heater. |
|
Particulate emissions |
PM10: 0.3 g/kg; 6.5 mg/MJ |
|
Greenhouse gas emissions |
CO2: 3200 g/kg; 80,200 mg/MJ SOx: 4.0 g/kg; 87 mg/MJ NOx: 2.0 g/kg; 43 mg/MJ |
|
Other emissions |
CO: 0.5g/kg; 10.8 mg/MJ PM2.5: 0.2g/kg; 4.3 mg/MJ |
|
Health and safety issues in the home (eg, indoor emissions and moisture) |
None apparent. |
|
Embodied energy |
Steel; ceramics; transport of fuel. |
|
Special features |
Diesel heaters can be used to heat wetbacks, but this reduces the efficiency of heat transfer for space heating and may also overheat the water. |
|
Risks associated with this option |
Availability of fuel supply; rising oil prices. |
|
General comments |
– |
|
Suitability for use with heat-transfer system |
Yes |
| Heating Option 19: Oil-fired central heating | |
|---|---|
|
Nature of fuel/energy source |
Diesel |
|
Availability of fuel/energy source |
Widely available, although additional charges may be made for home delivery in some regions. |
|
Fuel/energy consumption |
7-9 L/100 kWh |
|
Efficiency of conversion of energy to heat |
90% |
|
Typical operating costs |
Own calculations: 9 cents/kWh. |
|
Typical capital costs |
$7,000–$15,000 depending on size of house and inclusion of water heating. |
|
Heating capacity |
15-35 kW. |
|
Nature of the heat (radiant, convection, etc.) |
Radiant and natural convection. |
|
Fuel/energy handling issues |
Diesel is usually stored in tanks of 500 L or larger. The fuel is piped to the boiler. |
|
Convenience of use |
Requires hardly any user input and runs entirely automatically. Maybe service once a year. |
|
Ease of heat control |
Controllability is part of the design. Systems can be programmed to come on to heat up before the household rises and go off immediately the room reaches a set temperature. Each room can be set to a different temperature. |
|
Effectiveness of heat transfer |
Good: use of water as the heat-transfer medium is the best form of heat transfer. A central heating system is designed so that the output of the radiators matches the heat loss of the room. |
|
Heat-up rate |
Fast: a large heat output enables very rapid heat-up rates. Can also be programmed to come on without manual input. |
|
Ability to heat whole house vs single room |
It is designed to be a whole-house system and is most cost-effective as a whole-house and hot-water system. |
|
Particulate emissions |
PM10: 0.3 g/kg |
|
Greenhouse gas emissions |
CO2: 3200 g/kg SOx: 4.0 g/kg NOx: 2.0 g/kg |
|
Other emissions |
CO: 0.5 g/kg PM2.5: 0.2 g/kg |
|
Health and safety issues in the home (eg, indoor emissions and moisture) |
Generally most appliances have balanced flues, meaning no interchange of internal air and combustion air. Even distribution of heat means that damp and associated mould are eliminated from homes with central heating. |
|
Embodied energy |
– |
|
Special features |
High efficiency due to combustion efficiency and controllability. Can provide all the heating and hot water in the house with virtually no need for electricity or supplementary fuel. The heat distribution system lasts for decades. Only the boilers and pumps need replacing every 15-20 years. Easy to change fuels by just changing the boiler. Very quiet. No drafts. Very high heat output with even heat distribution. Can go to maximum heat output easily and conveniently. Can add significant value to a home. |
|
Risks associated with this option |
Availability of fuel supply. |
|
General comments |
This is a very high quality building service, which is standard throughout the world in countries that need heating in the winter. Although it has a high initial cost, the long term benefits and high quality of heating have made it one of the world's most popular heating systems among those that can afford it. |
|
Suitability for use with heat-transfer system |
N/A |
| Heating Option 20: Wood pellet-fired central heating | |
|---|---|
|
Nature of fuel/energy source |
Wood pellets |
|
Availability of fuel/energy source |
Pellets - local supplies; limited to certain areas. |
|
Fuel/energy consumption |
24-26 kg/100kWh delivered. |
|
Efficiency of conversion of energy to heat |
90-92% |
|
Typical operating costs |
7.5 cents/kWh. |
|
Typical capital costs |
$15,000-$20,000 depending on size of house. Lower price is for heating to all rooms; the more expensive option also provides water heating. |
|
Heating capacity |
15-35 kW. |
|
Nature of the heat (radiant, convection, etc.) |
Radiant and natural convection. |
|
Fuel/energy handling issues |
Pellets are usually in a hopper, which needs refilling every few days - depending on the weather and heat load. Can get much larger hoppers for many months' supply. |
|
Convenience of use |
Pellets require topping up and ash requires occasional removal. |
|
Ease of heat control |
Controllability is part of design. Systems can be programmed to come on to heat up before the household rises and go off immediately the room reaches a set temperature. Each room can be set to a different temperature. |
|
Effectiveness of heat transfer |
Good: use of water as the heat-transfer medium is the best form of heat transfer. A central heating system is designed so that the output of the radiators matches the heat loss of the room. |
|
Heat-up rate |
Fast: large heat output enables very rapid heat-up rates. Can also be programmed to come on without manual input. |
|
Ability to heat whole house vs single room |
It is designed to be a whole-house system and is most cost-effective as a whole-house and hot-water system. |
|
Particulate emissions |
PM10: 0.4 g/kg |
|
Greenhouse gas emissions |
SOx: 0.2 g/kg NOx: 5.2 g/kg. Note that this is a relatively high level, but it is based on the only available data (Scott 2004). Scott uses data derived from work carried out in 1998, which may well overstate the level of NOx emissions from a current model pellet fire. It would be useful to test a current model for NOx emissions. CO2: 1480 g/kg, but considered neutral. |
|
Other emissions |
CO: 15 g/kg PM2.5: 1.5 g/kg |
|
Health and safety issues in the home (eg, indoor emissions and moisture) |
Generally most appliances have balanced flues, meaning no interchange of internal air and combustion air. Even distribution of heat means that damp and associated mould are eliminated from homes with central heating. |
|
Embodied energy |
– |
|
Special features |
High efficiency due to combustion efficiency and controllability. Can provide all the heating and hot water in the house with virtually no need for electricity or supplementary fuel. The heat distribution system lasts for decades. Only the boilers and pumps need replacing every 15-20 years. Easy to change fuels by just changing the boiler. Very quiet. No drafts. Very high heat output with even heat distribution. Can go to maximum heat output easily and conveniently. Can add significant value to a home. |
|
Risks associated with this option |
Limited sources of fuel supply. |
|
General comments |
This is a very high quality building service, which is standard throughout the world in countries that need heating in the winter. Although it has a high initial cost, the long term benefits and high quality of heating have made it one of the world's most popular heating systems among those that can afford it. Pellet-fuelled central heating is established in other countries but has yet to become widespread in New Zealand. |
|
Suitability for use with heat-transfer system |
N/A |