What are Thermodynamics and Solar Assisted Heat Pumps

What are Thermodynamics and Solar Assisted Heat Pumps

Thermodynamics is the generic term used by industry for the technology that heats water by use of a heat pump and refrigeration circuit.  The first companies to offer ‘thermodynamic’ products were based in Europe and there was little regulation in the market.  This made it difficult for the specifier or consumer to make informed choices between products.
The marketplace grew in the early 21^st Century as it became more receptive to the technology and in November 2012 a sub-group of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) was set up which included  Magic Thermodynamic Box Ltd (MTB Ltd), the leading UK thermodynamic manufacturer.  It was agreed that the technology should be included as part of the Heat Pump Division of the MCS and the technology was rechristened ‘Solar Assisted Heat Pumps’ and covered the production of hot water.  Meetings were held over the next two years which included participation by all interested parties including manufacturers and testing houses and in particular Magic Thermodynamic Box Ltd who drove the process.  A set of standards were produced including product Specification and Testing and Installer Requirements.
At the end of last year the Standards were approved and published by the MCS (MCS 007 and MIS 3005) and MTB Ltd have booked time at a major UKAS testing laboratory to obtain approval of their products to meet the published MCS standards.  Testing is being carried out to the EN16147 European Standard.
The process has proved tortuous as it has proved difficult to plough a new pathway through ignorance and suspicion and get products to market.  Throughout the process all parties have had to be educated about the technology and the benefits to the user.
Solar Assisted Heat Pumps (SAHP) have the advantage of working night and day, even in complete darkness, to provide hot water.  SAHP are very economical to run and there is minimal maintenance unlike solar thermal products.  It uses a passive thermodynamic panel on an outside wall or roof to act as an evaporator and this operates silently.  The panel absorbs environmental energies from the ambient air, sun, wind and rain, this energy excites the refrigerant gas, R134a, that circulates within the panel and converts it from a liquid to a gas.  This gas is compressed in the heat pump unit and the resultant hot gas heats the water.  This hot water is stored in the cylinder, available for instant use.  There are different configurations to heat the water, it can be a standalone cylinder with integral coil or as in the Little Magic Box it draws water from the cylinder into the Box where it is heated and then returns it via the cold feed, making the product an ideal retrofit to any existing cylinder, vented or unvented.
Because of the new approval under the new solar assisted heat pump category, Thermodynamics will become even more recognised to businesses residential homeowners. Lewis Borg who is a Director of one of the biggest providers of Thermodynamic products to residential homeowners in the south east  said ‘ this is great news for the product and will help businesses like ours grow through the MCS approval of the solar assisted heat pump, we have come across many potential customers that would only purchase the product once it has the MCS certification, mainly because they have never heard of the product. This will now give consumers even more confidence in our company and products however this will cause more competition.