What is a Heat Pump

A Heat Pump is a device that takes energy from a renewable source and converts it into heat to use in your home, business, industrial plant or leisure centre as swimming pool heating. The heat pumps are the answer to heating and cooling properties without burning fossil fuels and destroying the earth’s ecosystem. 

Heat pumps can take energy from three different sources. The heat pump selection will depend on many factors, including resources and the needed purpose. Our MasterTherm heat pumps range in size to enable us to meet the demands of any large or small heating or cooling demand. We will consult with clients to establish the requirement and then we can produce a bespoke design maximizing the efficiency of the system for our clients. 

Because heat pumps take up to 80% of their energy from natural sources they are cost efficient because they use a small amount of electricity to collect the heat energy from either the air outside, the ground or a water source. 

How Do Heat Pumps Work?

Air to Water heat pumps take the air from outside and use heat to create energy. This can work in temperatures as cold as -10ºc. The heat pump itself looks like an air source on the outside of your home. These are the most common in households as they are the easiest to install. 

A Ground to Water Heat Pump works a little differently and requires groundwork to install. A pipe is placed deep underground, below freezing temperature, and liquid is pumped through to collect the heat from the earth. This means the heat pump is drawing a consistent temperature even in the depths of winter making it extremely efficient. 

Water to Water heat pumps require a water source to take the energy from. Water source pumps are the most efficient but the least realistic for most homes. 

Heat pumps are incredibly convenient sources of heating and cooling in your building. Once installed, they run 24/7 ensuring comfort levels and hot water on demand for the client. Every MasterTherm heat pump can also be used to provide cooling. This means your bills are reduced in summer as well as winter in addition to the comfort levels provided by the systems. Temperatures can be controlled and the system monitored by using an app on your phone or tablet. This enables the client to adjust settings to your preference remotely. 

Swimming Pool Heating in Randles Hotel Leisure Centre

Randles Hotel needed to upgrade their leisure centre heating and hot water systems. They wanted to replace their existing LPG boiler plant with an air source heat pump plant. This involved an advanced management system that MasterTherm optimised for leisure centres. 

Leisure centres across Ireland changing their swimming pool heating source to a heat pump system can have a huge impact on the business’s energy use and fossil fuel consumption. We have online monitoring in place to figure out exactly how much of a difference it really makes. For Randles, their energy savings exceeded 70%. The entire plant room is future-proofed for the next 15-20 years. The installation of their heat pump did not require any work outside the plant room itself. This meant the installation caused minimal disruption to the hotel’s business. 

Their plant room is providing the heating and hot water for a 20-metre swimming pool constantly heated at 29 degrees celsius in addition to heating their changing rooms, showers and a number of hotel bedrooms. 

Benefits of a Heat Pump for leisure centres

LPG boilers in addition to oil and natural gas systems are no longer a sustainable way of heating as we transition to meet our climate change targets. However, in recent times, it has become more evident that we all need to change the way we heat homes and businesses. We were delighted to work with a team of people in Randles to deliver the system solution that enabled the client to move to a renewable solution to meet their energy requirements. 

The Environment

The global warming crisis is becoming more and more devastating with each passing year. We see fires raging and flooding destroying whole cities as the ozone layer traps more and more toxic gases that heat the earth. While using electricity can still be dependent on fossil fuels, a lot of it is not. Increasingly Ireland’s electricity is being provided from renewable sources. These sources come from Hydro plants, wind farms and solar heating.

Harnessing the natural resources the earth can offer is the key to eradicating fossil fuels from our day-to-day life. Large energy users such as leisure centres can convert to heat pump systems without major system design changes making them an ideal market for focus. As hotels and leisure centres nationwide have systems that are coming close to end of life we are increasingly able to design systems that make financial sense for the client in addition to moving to a more sustainable solution.

The Economic Decision for Clients

 All energy costs are increasing however oil and gas prices will be subject to increased carbon surcharges beyond the current price spikes. Ireland is moving slowly to switching our dependency on fossil fuels but it is important to make the switch now! 

With swimming pools and leisure centres, it is important for you to have the pool at a constant warm temperature for your customers. Heating your pool 24/7, or alternatively reheating it every morning, uses an incredible amount of energy if you are using fossil fuels. Luckily, using a heat pump as a swimming pool heater means that water is always available on demand and at the right temperature using a fraction of the energy of existing systems. 

Maximize the benefits of a heat pump as Swimming Pool Heating

Insulation 

Heat can escape through your roof, walls and floors. If the heat you are so carefully curating in your property to meet the optimal temperature is just escaping then your system needs to work harder thereby using more energy. That’s why it is important to ensure your property is insulated in addition to installing a heat pump. 

High-performance windows 

Heat can escape and cold can get in through thin windows. That is why windows with multiple glazing are vital to make sure you get the most out of the energy provided by your heat pump. 

When you have both of these things in your building you will receive a high energy rating which basically means your property is airtight and more efficient. 

Grants For Swimming Pool Heating

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (seai.ie) is offering grants to businesses that wish to install heat pumps in their buildings. These grants can cover up to half of the overall cost of your heat pump installation. We also work with other energy companies looking for projects to support financially as a move to offset our carbon use. 

Why Mastertherm?

A MasterTherm heat pump can be an efficient way of repurposing heat energy that otherwise would have been wasted. This is particularly relevant for large commercial or industrial users. We have multiple examples of how we can work with clients to maximize their savings and deliver efficiency via their heating and hot water systems.  This enables companies to move to a more sustainable and economical platform for the future operation of their business. 

For customers, Mastertherm heat pumps offer the added bonus of being ultra-quiet. The full range offers a 7-year warranty giving the end user peace of mind. The efficiency of the range also leads to lower heating bills and the flexibility that the system can be controlled easily from a tablet or phone.

Mastertherm will design and tailor a personalised heating system to suit your needs. Whether it’s for a complex monitored heating and cooling system using rejected heat or a central heating system with the cooling requirements. Mastertherm will ensure that your business is getting the maximum benefit and efficiency from your heat pump system. 

If you’re looking for a heating and hot water solution for a large complex building we may suggest multiple heat pumps working together. If you are unsure about how to start the journey to renewables using heat pumps, contact us and we can discuss bespoke designs for your property.