The owners of a small family home in Estonia found themselves facing a decision nobody expects when buying a heat pump. Their existing air-to-water heat pump from another manufacturer was six years old when it failed, and the repair would have cost so much that it was no longer worth it. A low-cost unit that should have kept running for at least another decade had become an expense with no future. It is an experience that shows why choosing a heat pump on purchase price alone does not pay off.
The house covers around 90 m² and is home to three people. The building envelope is less well insulated, so heat losses are higher than in modern new builds, and the heating system has to perform reliably through long, cold Estonian winters. The owners were looking for a solution that would heat the house efficiently while giving them the long-term reliability they had not had with their previous unit.
They chose the KRONOTERM ADAPT S air-to-water heat pump, which replaced the existing unit without any changes to the home’s heating system. The house is heated by underfloor heating, which runs on a low heating water temperature. This allows the heat pump to work very efficiently, as it needs less electricity to deliver the same amount of heat.
The residents are very satisfied with their new heat pump, both in terms of comfort and efficiency. Just how efficiently the unit works can be seen directly on the controller display. In its first month of operation, the ADAPT S was drawing 0.22 kW of electrical power while delivering 2.28 kW of heat to the house. That is ten times more heat than the electricity consumed.
The difference between the two values does not come from nowhere. The heat pump uses electricity only to run, while it draws the heat from the outdoor air and transfers it to the underfloor heating. Because underfloor heating needs a low heating water temperature, the unit can make this transfer using very little energy.
Thinking about replacing a worn-out or irreparable heat pump? Contact us – our experts will help you choose a unit that suits your home and heating system.
