subject: History of Air Source Heating [print this page] History of Air Source Heating History of Air Source Heating
A heat pump heats air from one area and them moves this heated air to another area, the area where the heat is required. Heat pumps are derived from their counterpart, the air conditioning unit and in this way cannot only cool air similar to an air conditioning unit but they can also heat the air, something their cooling counterpart can't do.
It is said that William Thomson, also known as Lord Kelvin, first explained the theory that would later lead to the heat pump in 1852. Heinrich Zoelly patented the idea of using it to draw heat from the ground in 1912.But it was not until the late 1940s that the geothermal heat pump was successfully implemented. This came about somewhat by accident when an American inventor realised that he could use the cool pump that was expelling hot air from his freezer to heat some if his home.
The earliest heat pump as we know it now was probably Robert C. Webber's home-made 2.2kW direct-exchange system, but sources disagree as to the exact timeline of his invention. Donald Kroeker designed the first commercial geothermal heat pump to heat the Commonwealth Building (Portland, Oregon) and demonstrated it in 1946. Professor Carl Nielsen of Ohio State University built the first residential open loop version in his home in 1948. The technology became popular in Sweden as a result of the 1973 oil crisis, and has been growing slowly in worldwide acceptance since then.
It is not only the air that you can pump heat from, this is called an air source heat pump, but you can also pump heat from the ground, this being called a ground source heat pump. Webber used both of these methods to heat his home, moving to using ground heat after his initial discovery of the air as a source of heat.
These heat pumps are now available in much smaller and quieter variants than their predecessors were and can work at increasingly cooler temperatures and be fitted to the outside of almost any home, making them a viable option for almost any home owner in any country.
Air source heating is becoming ever more popular as people want to become more self reliant and reduce their carbon footprint. With gas prices increasing dramatically in recent years and fossil fuels running out this is a trend that does not look to be changing. Investment in alternative and renewable sources of heating and energy, including heat pumps has in turn increased dramatically in recent years.
