JFrancois Advies optimizes heat pump installation
Jos François from JFrancois Advies, is busy renovating and expanding an uninsulated old bungalow into a sustainable future-proof home. The heart of the new building installations consists of a ground source heat pump, the operation of which has been optimized with Spirotech deaerators and dirt separators.
Consultant sustainability
Jos François started JFrancois Advies on the basis of more than 25 years of experience as a project manager in non-residential construction, of which the last 10 years focused on making installations more sustainable. His mission is to minimize the energy loss associated with every project from start to finish. “In the renovation and expansion of our own 1960s bungalow in Nuenen, I put all the knowledge and experience I have gained into practice as optimally as possible,” says Jos François. “Because I had the opportunity to install a ground source heat pump here, it forms the heart of our technical installation. In our previous house I also gained ten years of experience with heating and cooling with a ground source heat pump, from which I apply the 'lessons learned' here.”
“When making an existing home or other buildings more sustainable, you cannot simply replace a high-efficiency boiler with a heat pump.”
Minimum energy consumption and efficient processing
For each project, Jos François applies the following main principles: to use minimal energy and to generate it as efficiently as possible. “In order to minimize energy consumption, an effective insulation shell must first be installed around the building or home. We achieve this here by replacing all window frames and fitting them with HR+++ glass and a twenty centimeter insulation layer under the floor and roof.
Because warm air rises and cold air sinks, we will heat this house through the floor and cool it in the summer with pipes in the ceiling. Our ground source heat pump has a COP value of 5, which means that only 1 kWh of electricity is needed to produce 5 kWh of energy. That electricity is generated with several dozen solar panels.
Because heat pumps work at a low temperature, where air is more difficult to separate from the water, it is important to prevent efficiency losses and adverse consequences for the lifespan due to air and dirt in the installation. This can largely be prevented with automatic deaerators and dirt separators.”
“The choice for Spirotech is based on the proven quality and reliability of their products and direct short lines of communication for advice and technical support.”
Improving efficiency and service life of the installation
Low-temperature heating systems, including heat pumps, are considerably more sensitive to efficiency losses due to air and dirt than traditional central heating installations. Besides the fact that these losses can lead to higher energy costs, they also affect the living environment. “I added a SpiroCombi MB3 deaerator and dirt separator, a SpiroTrap MB3 dirt separator, a SpiroVent deaerator and a SpiroTop automatic air vent to our installation,” continues Jos François.
“That may seem like a lot, but the extra investment in those additions more than pays for itself because they improve the efficiency and lifespan of an expensive heat pump. I have regularly experienced this in practice over the past decade as a project leader and consultant.”
A sustainable comfortable living environment
In addition to air and dirt particles, the system water quality also affects the efficiency and thus the lifespan of cooling and heating installations. The influence of this is also greater with solutions for low-temperature heating. In addition to heating and cooling, ventilation is also important to create a sustainable comfortable living environment.
“This is centrally controlled in this bungalow via a balanced ventilation system with heat recovery (WTW)”, says Jos François. “An advantage of low-temperature heating that has not yet been mentioned is that less air with suspended matter and other particles is moved compared to traditional AC/CV installations.
A sustainable comfortable living environment starts with good insulation and then having the most efficient cooling and heating solution installed, the efficiency of which you must of course maintain, just like with any installation.”