Water Source Heat Pump Benefits

Rivers and lakes, heated by the sun, are a source of renewable heat that can be used in homes and businesses. To transfer the heat, a device called a water-source heat pump is used, powered by a small amount of electricity.

Using heat naturally available in water dramatically reduces the amount of other energy needed to heat a building, typically by around 80%. As a result, water-source heat pumps provide affordable heating with a very small carbon footprint.

Because they’re so environmentally friendly, the UK government even pays an incentive for all heat delivered in this way. This gives water-source heat pump projects a quick financial payback.

A water-source heat pump benefits from the following:

Benefit	Explanation
High efficiency	Compared with other heat pumps, water-source systems have a very high efficiency, with a ‘Coefficient of Performance’ (CoP) of around 5. This means every unit of electricity delivers 5 units of heat to the building.
Quick financial payback	Typical payback period of less than 5 years for domestic, or less than 10 years for larger projects.
No boreholes or large trenches	Unlike ground-source heat pumps, water-source systems don’t require any deep excavations.
Low energy consumption	Only a small amount of electricity is required, the remaining energy all comes from the natural heat present in the water source.
Small carbon footprint	And by using electricity from renewable sources, the carbon footprint can be reduced even further!
Eligible for government incentives	The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) supports almost all water-source heat pump projects.
Works well with other heating systems	Ideal for retrofit alongside conventional gas boiler, solar thermal and other heating systems. It’s also possible to use a thermal store to improve performance in winter.
Works well with on-site generation	Using electricity generated on-site, such as from wind, solar or hydropower, can improve the project finances. Battery storage may also help to reduce running costs.
Can provide both heating and cooling	Heat pumps are well-suited to cooling, including air conditioning. Reversible heat pumps can even alternate between heating and cooling if necessary.
Quiet, long-lasting operation	Water-source heat pumps are quieter and have a longer lifetime than air or ground source heat pumps. Servicing is very straightforward – similar to a conventional gas boiler.
It’s the future, here today!	Renewable heating is a vital step in decarbonisation: space heating and hot water accounts for almost 35% of the UK’s total energy use.

There are only a few limitations:

• Requires a source of water nearby (within a few hundred metres)
• Requires mains electricity power supply, the same as any other heating system, except a log wood stove
• Requires environmental consents