This BLOG discusses all-electric heating and cooling systems adding value to your home. It discusses mandatory energy ratings that have been in force in the UK and Europe for more than a decade, slowly catching on in Australia starting with the ACT. The justification for all-electric heating and cooling includes: a) lower running costs with solar power, b) adding value to your home and c) reducing Greenhouse emissions.
This Victorian house in Castlemaine was transformed into a comfortable, low energy home. It features all-electric heat pump hydronic heating/cooling, heat recovery ventilation and heat pump hot water. The new home married its Victorian past to a modern extension using passive home principles.
Replace your gas boiler with a heat pump for heating and cooling. Other benefits include much lower heating and cooling bills by using your own solar power, less greenhouse emissions, adding value to your home, longer life and safer.
Heating, Ventilation and Cooling (HVAC) Design starts with thinking through your needs. Good building design has low heating and cooling requirements. This enables all-electric solutions with energy efficient appliances such as inverter heat pumps and air conditioners. These appliances can be largely powered by solar panels. The thermal energy can be stored in the mass inside your home during the day and released at night.
You can enjoy underfloor heating and cooling if you are renovating or building with suspended floors. Use a heat pump as the heat source to have reverse cycle cooling in summer as well. This will absorb heat from your home and expel it outside in reverse cycle mode. You can apply most types of floor coverings over your underfloor heating circuits including tiles timber boards and loose weave carpet.
Consider adding a larger heat pump buffer tank or thermal battery to increase the internal mass of your home for greater thermal storage. This will help moderate the extremes of your indoor temperatures, reduce your power consumption for heating and cooling and maximise your solar power during the day.
A cool temperate climate zone such as Victoria is well suited to hydronic heat pumps. This is an efficient and effective way of heating and
Heat Pump Water Heaters use about one quarter of the power of an electric element water heater. They are an ideal appliance to use with your solar power because you can time them to run during the day. They act like a battery storing thermal energy to use 24/7.
Choose the best air conditioning system for your home. Options are: Split, Multi Split, Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF), Energy Recovery or Ducted systems. All can be WIFI connected to operate on your electronic devices.
Understanding the power demand of your home appliances, and timing some of them to run during the day when you are producing power, will reduce your power bills. This BLOG explores ways to reduce your power demand from the grid.
Reduce heat loss and running costs, and improve air quality with Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV). This BLOG explores HRV and ERV ventilation systems. Homes built years ago were not designed for efficiency and so they leaked air everywhere. Modern homes with 6+ Star rating are much more air tight and require ventilation systems to keep a fresh feel inside without needing open windows in winter and summer. Air leaks and open windows can account for a quarter of your energy costs.
Heat pumps use water to transfer heat to your home in winter from the outside air and reverse this process in summer to keep your home cool. Water is 3300 times more capable of transferring heat than air so you don’t need large air ducts with heat pumps.
Case study of a period home, renovated and extended with energy efficient heat pump and a/c systems installed. Hydronic systems included underfloor in-screed circuits, radiators, hydronic towel rail and space saving fan coil convectors, with ceiling fans.
