Aerothermics are a useful, efficient and ecological method for heating. Learn about it’s advantages and flaws.
Aerothermics, or aerothermal heating, is a technology capable of harnessing energy in the form of heat in the environmental air. Any air-to-air or air-to-water heat pump is by definition an aerothermal system. It harnesses the thermal energy in the air and transfers it to the inside of the home to provide heating, cooling and domestic hot water, depending on the comfort needs of the home.
The operation of the aerothermal system basically consists of heat exchange between the system and the surrounding air. The exchange takes place thanks to an aerothermal heat pump, called outdoor unit, which absorbs and recovers energy from the surrounding air and transfers heat to the circuit, while evaporating the refrigerant gas contained inside. In this way, the absorbed heat is passed to the heating system, making it an economical heating system.
Aerothermal energy is used in underfloor heating systems, radiators, for the production of hot water and for heating swimming pools.
Pros of aerothermics:
A report by Toshiba concludes that costs of heating and hot water by aerothermal are cheaper than diesel and natural gas. The Japanese company has put figures to this statement through the study has made in various real installations, including single-family homes, communities, blocks of apartments and other types of housing. The result is clear: the savings of an aerothermal heating system compared to natural gas and diesel are at least 25% and 50%.
The aerothermal system is easy to install, which makes it ideal for new construction and renovation of old houses. It also adapts easily to existing air conditioning installations. The small space it occupies is another factor that favors its installation, as it does not require a fuel storage area, something that helps for the safety of the house.
The maintenance cost is lower than other traditional systems. As heat pumps do not have a burner or combustion chamber, they do not generate waste and do not require frequent cleaning. It requires less maintenance than a gas or oil boiler.
It is one of the most ecological systems on the market. Aerothermics is a sealed system, which means that, at all times, the cooling fluid is kept inside the circuit without producing any type of leakage. This means an important evolution and zero CO₂ emissions in addition to greater comfort and an additional function, such as cooling or air conditioning for the summer, the suppression of the combustion of diesel or pellets. This makes it produces no emissions making it one of the most beneficial equipment for our health and the environment.
The aerothermal system uses the energy of the air, so it is renewable and free. Also, brands have focused on making the aerothermal system both environmentally friendly and efficient, allowing its compatibility with solar panels and condensing boilers.
Cons of aerothermics:
Evaporation that occurs in a changing environment such as air with significant temperature fluctuations, vary the performance of aerothermal equipment.
We must also take into account that the fuel used is electricity, which can be expensive depending on the location. This type of installation, outside the ideal conditions of use, suffers significant drops in performance that increase the energy cost. Consequently, it implies that the contracted power of electricity must be increased, so that the fixed part of the electricity bill that we receive every month, usually increases compared to a building without aerothermal energy.
When we need more than 11 or 12 kW of power it would be convenient to make a serious load calculation. If you are thinking of using this system with underfloor heating, it would be very interesting to make a simulation to verify the real power demand of the house and size the pump correctly. In short, as with this equipment we do not have reserve power as it happens when using boilers, it is necessary to make numbers and be finer in the calculations because we can get an unpleasant surprise. Another disadvantage of this technology is that the working temperatures are very “limited” and in places with very harsh winters, where a temperature of about 80ºC is demanded, except for very specific equipment, this technology can be discarded. Although its use is high because in the case of underfloor heating, the climate produced is much more natural because it takes advantage of the natural flow of hot air, which, being denser than cold air, tends to rise.
