Heat pumps

What is a heat pump?

So, what is a Heat Pump?

A heat pump is a heating system which harnesses energy from free renewable sources outside the building, for heating your house and producing your hot water. A heat pump uses electricity to run a compressor which draws heat from a low temperature source, such as external air or the ground and then increases the temperature of this heat in order provide heating to the building's interior.

While conventional heating systems such as storage heaters and boilers cannot produce more heat than that contained in their fuel source, a heat pump can! Through the use of a special refrigerant and the unit's compressor, a heat pump will typically produce three to four units of heat for every unit of electricity consumed. This sounds complicated, right? But we are very familiar with a very similar technology already in all of our homes; the fridge! A fridge works in a very similar manner to an air-source heat pump, drawing in ambient air from behind the fridge and through the use of a compressor and a refrigerant, reduces the temperature to keep products cold. It works in reverse but basically, it's the same technology.

Air-to-water heat pumps

Air-to-water heat pumps can provide an energy-efficient and eco-friendly way to heat your home and provide hot water. These systems work by extracting thermal energy from the air outside and transferring it into your home’s heating system. Available in two main configurations—monobloc (a single outdoor unit that integrates all components) and split (with components split between indoor and outdoor units)—they are versatile enough to suit a variety of property types and sizes.

For a heat pump to perform optimally, the building must be well-insulated and airtight to minimise heat loss. Proper system design is crucial, starting with a detailed heat loss calculations to determine the required heat output for each room and ensure radiators, underfloor heating, or other emitters are appropriately sized. Equally important is the system's control strategy, which includes advanced thermostats and weather compensation to maximise efficiency and maintain a comfortable indoor environment. By prioritising these factors, air-to-water heat pumps can deliver reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable heating for modern and retrofitted homes alike.

Geothermal heat pumps

Geothermal (ground source) heat pumps

The temperature of the ground remains remarkably stable throughout the year, and at greater depths, this stability increases even further. Geothermal heat pumps take advantage of this consistent underground temperature as their primary energy source to provide heating and domestic hot water. This makes them an ideal solution for regions with colder winters, as they operate at peak efficiency when heating demand is highest and air source systems face greater challenges due to low outside temperatures.

A geothermal heat pump system extracts heat from the ground using buried pipes, either in a horizontal loop (spread across a wide area) or a vertical loop (drilled deep into the ground for smaller spaces). The captured heat is transferred into the home’s heating system, whether that’s radiators, underfloor heating, or hot water tanks. This process relies on clean, renewable energy stored in the earth, ensuring not only efficiency but also a significant reduction in environmental impact.

Ecodesign & installation best practice

As with everything we do, Comfort Solutions Retrofit researches all products and systems, to ensure that they meet all requirements in terms of building regulations and compliance with energy standards. You can always trust us to ensure that any product or system has all the suitable certification and safety requirements.

In addition, our promise to you is to install every system to the highest possible standards, not to cut corners and to offer the best aftersales service in the market. All our installation works is covered by our unique and market-leading 10-year Installation Warranty.