A new system for energy-efficient indoor heating and cooling is being developed at the University of Edinburgh in the UK. The system, created by a university-based startup company Seawarm, utilizes heat energy bound to water and is currently undergoing tests. This heat pump can use seawater, as well as water from rivers and ponds, as its heat source and is similar to air heat pumps in technology.
According to Gus Fraser-Harris, who was involved in the planning of the system, it would be more expensive than a standard air source heat pump but cheaper than a geothermal heat pump. Seawarm’s system collects water in a large tank with a volume of 3.7 cubic meters and uses ethylene glycol to recover the heat from natural water, compressing it in a heat pump. The system is designed to use water sources located up to 500 meters away from the object to be heated, with pipes transporting glycol in a loop shape.
The heat pump can be placed underground to help maintain a constant temperature. It produces 350-400 percent more thermal energy than it consumes electricity. While the concept of a heat pump utilizing the thermal energy of water is not new, this particular system developed by Scottish researchers is being tested in housing projects and greenhouses. The system is small, easily portable, and aims to replace gas and oil heating in order to achieve emission reduction goals.
