Get the latest tech news
The Hunt for the Most Efficient Heat Pump in the World
A new generation of engineers has realized they can push heat pumps to the limit, but just how much heat you can extract depends on your setup.
Since moving to his detached house near Sheffield about 10 years ago, Ritchie has installed loft insulation and solar panels, but the fabric of the building is not necessarily ideal for keeping the place toasty in an efficient way. Ritchie’s heat pump is not quite in pole position at present, but it is noteworthy, emphasizes Blakemore, because once a year’s worth of data has accumulated this September, it could be the first air-source device on the leaderboard to achieve a 365-day seasonal COP, or SCOP, of 5. WIRED spent weeks scouring the web and speaking to experts to find examples of heat pump systems that could beat Rob Ritchie’s current SCOP and found only a handful of possible contenders.
Or read this on Wired
