The energy crisis and the race of the Italians in trying to make the house more efficient (perhaps before winter and under the pressure of the media alarm) collides with reality, with the needs of correct planning and with the availability of offers from part of the market.
Choosing the best solutions
How to choose the best heating system without making a mistake? Let’s focus in particular on condensing boilers and systems with heat pumps, the most common solutions today.
“Whether we are talking about a redevelopment of the heating system or a new installation, the choice of the best heat production system is a question that can only be answered in a careful design and analysis of the specific case”, explain Paola Triaca and Cristian Crippa, founders of Studio Tec Engineering of Olgiate Molgora, respectively engineer and architect, a great consulting experience also (and not only) in the condominium sector. «An absolute winning solution does not exist – they continue -. It depends on the type of home, on the analysis of user habits, which must always be performed upstream, on the location and on a projection on consumption. These indicators are essential to make a choice ».
Condensing boilers exploit the heat released by combustion, of methane, pellets, LPG or other, to raise the water temperature to the necessary temperature. The condensing specification indicates that the system also uses the heat of the combustion fumes to preheat the water. This allows a higher efficiency than a standard boiler even if the operation of the two types of generators is conceptually identical: they burn something to heat the water. The heat pump, on the other hand, transfers heat taken from an external natural source, air, water or earth, and transfers it to the system via a heat exchanger. The operation is similar to the kitchen refrigerator, but the result is opposite: production of heat on the one hand, production of cold in the appliance. Some pumps can operate reversibly (inverter) and also perform summer air conditioning. The machine consists of a circuit containing gas which raises its temperature following a strong compression and transfers it to the heating system. Electricity is used to achieve compression.
From the aspect of power supply, an important advantage of the heat pump is the possibility of exploiting energy from a non-fossil source, if combined with photovoltaic panels for the production of electricity from solar energy and storage batteries. “Against a great advantage – continue by the Tec study – the area where the technology is installed must be evaluated, because the performance coefficient of the heat pumps worsens with the lowering of the temperature of the heat source, which does not happen. for the efficiency of the condensing boiler ».