As the main heating of the home by means of a heat pump or as a support to a solar heating, electric heating has a great future in domestic heating.
As a basic heating system:
There are two main trends: direct electric heating and heat pump heating.
Direct electric heating has different emission modes, convectors, radiant panels and electric underfloor heating
The main advantage of this system is that it connects directly to the electrical installation of the house, with a good regulation / programming, even with a home automation system it can have considerable energy efficiency, provided that it is installed in well-insulated rooms.
A heat pump also works by electrical energy, however it does not work through convectors or emitters that are electrically powered, but by means of a thermodynamic generator called a heat pump. The heat is "pumped" to the outside: to the ground or to the air and is transmitted with a multiplier effect called COP, coefficient of performance. The consumption, compared to a basic electric heating, is divided by 2.
There are ads that indicate POPs with yields of 3 and 4 but it is little problabe that they divide your electricity bill by 3 or 4. The COP or annual yield depends on external conditions. However, actions to reduce the energy bill by half is a very good balance and makes the heat pump an excellent performance generator.
In short...
Electric heating is a system that integrates well into a well-insulated building, can be optimized by regulation/programming systems and even by a home automation system. As a basic heating system it has a high energy yield.
Its apparent ease of installation can be an inconvenience, since it is usually an electrician who performs the installation without refining or calculating the overall energy performance (calculation of heat losses, integration with programming systems, in the home automation system of the house ...)
As a support heating
The ease of distribution of electrical energy and the more delicate transport of hot water, makes it an attractive reinforcement to combine with renewable energies
Consider the case of solar energy with a production of solar sanitary water. Electric heating can complete and secure hot water demands. Even in the case of a heat pump, a supporting electrical resistance will provide a complement when the outside temperature is very low (less interesting COP). This is a weak point of electricity, since in winter it is the most expensive energy. An energy support such as gas, is in this case, more economical in the exploitation. But you must have a boiler. But the latter is often presented as a necessity if domestic hot water is to be available on a continuous basis. Storage of hot water in an electric accumulator is limited.
In short...
Electric heating as a main or poyo system has an easy installation, but you must be very attentive, in direct systems, to the overall energy efficiency. Also monitor how often support resistors are put into operation and during what periods. How much hot water we get from the support systems and whether it is produced in the critical hours of consumption.
With the new building regulations (CTE, RITE) and the trend towards the construction of Energy-Efficient Buildings, new avenues are opened to electric heating systems, either as main systems or support systems.
The needs in this type of buildings are very reliable and clear, and only with the optimization of the electrical powers, its correct installation and its global management (clarity, ventilation,...) will a really high energy yield be achieved.
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Authors: Javier Gainza
