Whole life emission for air to water heat pumps: an investigation.

The UK Government is heavily promoting and supporting the use of renewable heating in place of fossil fuels such as heat pump systems through a mix of stimulus including incentives. These incentives aim to help reducing the UK greenhouse gas emissions by meeting its renewable energy targets. However, the recent changes to the EU F-Gas regulations may have significant impact on the growth of the heat pump technology, as some of the HFCs mostly used in heat pumps have been proposed to be phased-out. This report provides a critical review of refrigerants currently available today and in the future for heat pumps and comments on their suitability and effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions. The refrigerant options for air-to-water heat pumps are analysed comparing the performance from whole life carbon, operating cost, safety and practical perspectives in typical domestic application.