Exhaust Air Heat Pumps (EAHP)

What are Exhaust Air Units?

An exhaust air heat pump (EAHP) is an advanced system designed to enhance your home's energy efficiency. Here’s how heat pumps work:

• Ventilation and Heating: The EAHP brings fresh air into your home while expelling stale air, ensuring excellent ventilation. The clever part is that it captures the warm air from your kitchen and bathrooms before it exits the building, using this energy to provide all your heating and hot water needs.
• Heat Recovery: The system uses ducting hidden in the ceiling to draw warm air through the heat pump. This process extracts energy from the air before expelling it outside, enabling the heat pump to supply the entire house with hot water and heat. This is not only energy-efficient but also ensures a comfortable indoor environment.‍
• Compact Design: An EAHP is a compact unit, about the size of a fridge-freezer, making it ideal for modern, well-insulated flats and homes with underfloor heating but limited space. Its sleek design allows it to fit seamlessly into small spaces without compromising on performance.

Why Use an Exhaust Air Heat Pump?

Exhaust air heat pumps are part of a broader category of heat recovery systems designed to boost energy efficiency and reduce running costs. By extracting heat from indoor air, these pumps ensure that no valuable energy is wasted. Here’s why they are an excellent choice:

• Consistent Heating and Hot Water: The system provides a reliable supply of hot water and heating, contributing to lower energy bills and making it an economical choice for homeowners. This consistency means you can enjoy hot water and warmth whenever you need it, without worry.
• Environmental Benefits: By capturing and reusing heat that would otherwise be lost, EAHPs optimise energy use and significantly reduce the household's carbon footprint. This makes them a greener alternative to traditional heating systems.‍
• Improved Home Performance: Integrating such energy-efficient systems can enhance your home’s overall environmental performance. This integration can lead to better air quality, reduced moisture levels, and a healthier living environment.

Real-World Application

We recently completed a project in Essex, fitting 15 new build flats with individual exhaust air heat pumps. This installation showcases the effectiveness and benefits of EAHPs in modern housing developments.

Each flat now enjoys improved energy efficiency, reduced running costs, and enhanced indoor air quality.

Advantages of Exhaust Air Heat Pumps

1. Cost-Effective: They are cheaper to run than fossil fuel boilers, providing significant savings on energy bills over time.
2. Eco-Friendly: EAHPs reduce your carbon footprint by creating less CO2 emissions, contributing to a cleaner environment.
3. Prevents Condensation: Helps prevent condensation in your home, which can protect your property from mold and damp issues.
4. Multi-Functional: Provides heating, ventilation, and hot water in one integrated system, simplifying home maintenance.
5. Improved Air Quality: Keeps your house ventilated, which is crucial for well-insulated homes. Better ventilation leads to a healthier living space.
6. Quiet and Low Maintenance: Operates quietly and requires minimal upkeep, offering peace of mind and convenience.
7. Safe: Runs on electricity, making it safer than fossil fuel boilers that burn fuel, reducing the risk of leaks or combustion-related accidents.

Ideal Applications

An exhaust air heat pump can provide about 5 kilowatts (KW) of energy, making it suitable for new flats and small homes with good insulation and underfloor heating. This makes EAHPs particularly beneficial for modern housing developments that priorities energy efficiency and sustainability.

Get in Touch

If you are a builder, developer, or architect working on a new housing scheme and looking for a simple alternative to gas boilers, contact us. 

We’d be happy to discuss how exhaust air heat pumps can be integrated into your green energy project. Our team is ready to provide expert advice and support to ensure your project benefits from the latest in energy-efficient technology.

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