South West Heat Pumps Ltd. (SWHP) has installed a Robur K18 gas powered heat pump boiler to provide heating and hot water to a three bedroom home in Gunnislake, Devon.
Owner, Mr. Jackson, along with SWHP, evaluated a range of possible replacements for his old, inefficient non-condensing boiler and decided on the Robur K18 as the most cost-effective solution. Powered by natural gas, but benefitting from renewable energy from air, the Robur K18 is said to offer exceptionally low running costs, at least 38% below the cost of a modern condensing boiler, but can still provide water up to 70°C, just from the heat pump.
Supplied by Robur importer ESS, the K18 has an 18kW output and is intended for use in larger or older properties with a high demand. The capital cost is claimed to be substantially below that of a ground source heat pump and the running costs are lower and the performance is better than an equivalent electric heat pump.
The system can be installed by any gas safe heating engineer as it uses ammonia, exempt from F-Gas regulations, within a factory sealed circuit as its refrigerant. With gas burners replacing compressors and inverters, the K18 is considerably quieter than equivalent electric heat pumps. A new “Hybrigas” model from Robur, with a 37kW output, will be available later this year.
