Aerothermal heating in new and existing homes: key aspects to consider

What are the differences between aerothermal heating in new and existing homes?

Installing aerothermal heating in a new home offers two significant advantages:

Recent regulations, such as the Spanish Technical Building Code (in 2006) or the Regulation on Thermal Installations in Buildings (in 2007), emphasise energy efficiency. New buildings are increasingly aligned with these standards. This is particularly advantageous for climate control solutions like aerothermal heating, which perform better when energy demands are moderate, thereby maximising potential savings.

Installing aerothermal heating does not require any alterations to the home. In fact, the system is part of the design from the beginning, and installation works are coordinated with all other aspects of construction. Therefore, there are no damages, dirt, loss of spaces intended for other functions, or any of the other inconveniences associated with renovations.

In the case of an existing home, it's important to find a balance. On the one hand, you need to assess the benefits of incorporating aerothermal heating. On the other hand, the introduction of this technology will cause some degree of alteration to your home. This will cause inconvenience, but it may also bring additional advantages beyond just the aerothermal heating itself, such as prompting other improvements. In fact, it can sometimes be a starting point for considering major or complete renovations.

Aspects to consider in a new home

In the case of a new home, provided this is how it was designed, the aerothermal heating system is usually already included, and you won't be able to alter its features. However, you should still analyse the configuration of aerothermal heating before finalising the purchase. In particular, you should consider several aspects of the aerothermal heating configuration in the home, including the following:

• The impact of the aerothermal system on the home's final price.
• The expected savings, both in terms of energy consumption and costs.
• How the aerothermal heating system affects space availability and layout.
• Whether any additional systems are required to provide climate control for the home.
• The comfort level offered by the home's indoor temperature.
• Savings on pollutant gas emissions.
• The noise level in each room.
• The time it takes to reach the desired climate under different use scenarios.

H2: Aspects about aerothermal heating to consider in an existing home

In the case of an existing home, there's generally a lot more flexibility when it comes to selecting the type of aerothermal heating you want. As a result, you'll need to make several decisions, with various factors influencing your choices:

The type of renovation

In some cases, the goal is to minimise the extent of the construction works required. To achieve this, it's common to opt for aerothermal heating with conventional radiators. Alternatively, you may consider installing so-called 'fan coils.' While this approach will help you avoid many of the challenges (and potential benefits) of major renovations, it sacrifices efficiency. With moderate or high outdoor temperatures, energy consumption will be higher.

However, if you're planning a full renovation or substantial changes in your home, it's best to consider installing low-temperature radiators, underfloor heating, or a combination of both. These systems are long-lasting and can result in significant annual savings on energy costs.

Aerothermal heating as a primary or supplementary solution

This largely depends on your local climate. If you live in a temperate or warm region, you may opt for aerothermal heating to completely replace your old heating or cooling systems. It can even provide domestic hot water.

Conversely, in colder climates, it may be worthwhile to explore combining aerothermal heating with other heating systems (natural gas, oil, pellets, electric radiators, etc.).. This approach can help mitigate performance losses on the coldest days, allowing you to configure the system to operate on aerothermal heating or a different alternative in order to use the most cost-effective option at any given time.

Timeframes and interest rates

In the case of an existing home, the buyer is responsible for deciding which climate-control systems to replace, maintain, remove, or add. In this context, aerothermal heating typically requires a slightly higher initial investment compared to other options. However, it generally results in lower annual heating and cooling costs, which makes it natural to wonder whether the investment is worthwhile.

In this regard, it's important to keep in mind that the immediate benefits and costs will weigh more heavily in your decision than those projected for many years down the line. However, the lower the interest rates, the more significant the long-term savings will become in your decision-making process.

Size of the home

First and foremost, it plays a key role in determining the power of the heat pump. The larger your home, the more power you'll need. It's essential to choose the right size for the system. Overestimating can lead to unnecessary expenses, while underestimating may result in lost efficiency and compromised performance.

Additionally, the size of the home impacts the system's configuration. For instance, you can combine underfloor heating, fan coils, various types of radiators, etc. in different ways throughout the house. Keep in mind that each room has its own unique characteristics, such as its purpose and orientation.

Aerothermal heating and self-consumption

It's not uncommon to utilise aerothermal heating for self-consumption. This approach allows you to harness part of the energy generated for the domestic both hot water supply and climate control. In any case, you'll need to make decisions not only about your heat pump and how to distribute climate control, but also about energy generation and storage batteries.

In general, the ideal approach is to undertake a renovation where both aspects —(aerothermal heating and self-consumption)— are coordinated. However, if you already have solar panels and batteries and are looking to add aerothermal heating, it may be worth considering whether expanding your self-consumption system with additional panels and batteries is a sensible investment.

Removal of old equipment

In an existing home, it's often necessary to remove existing systems and equipment. You may no longer need a boiler, water heater, certain radiators, even spaces for fuel storage, etc. The success of your renovation will largely depend on how well you can repurpose these spaces and minimise the inconveniences caused by the use of new spaces for aerothermal heating.

Ultimately, aerothermal heating is an attractive technological solution, but the optimal effectiveness of the system largely depends on you and the professionals involved. A carefully planned project, coupled with expert construction execution, provides the strongest guarantee for the successful installation of aerothermal heating.