LG considers the move to ban fossil fuels in new builds from 2025.
Since the Government announced its intention to ban the use of fossil fuel boilers in new build properties in the UK from 2025, there has been scarcely concealed panic in the heating sector – a heating sector that has become wedded to the prospect of white boxes hanging on walls and standing in utility rooms, for decades.
As an industry, we have been lobbied hard by multiple boiler manufacturers in recent months suggesting that hydrogen is the fuel of the future – allowing the white boxes to continue to be produced – but we’ve not heard quite so much about the infrastructure changes required across the land to enable the new fuel to actually make it into our homes in sufficient and reliable quantities to enable this technology to become the new ‘gas’.
There has been a marked reluctance to even consider the option of using a tried and tested technology, that has made huge strides across the rest of Europe, in Scandinavia and Canada – which when we last looked, had far more testing climates than we have here in the UK – the heat pump. Ground source heat pumps do require significant disruption to install and either a lot of land or an expensive drilling operation to get down into the ground, but air source heat pumps come with no such issues.
The LG Therma V line up of Air to Water Heat Pump (AWHP) systems – monoblocs or splits – presents a variety of energy-saving options for a home’s heating and hot water system. By replacing a traditional gas, oil, or solid fuel system, an AWHP can significantly reduce carbon emissions and energy usage. The device’s absorption of natural energy from external air makes it consume less energy than conventional heating systems. The LG Therma V split has 100% capacity at temperatures as low as -7°C.
The new LG R32 Monobloc range has already had a massive impact on the residential heat pump market. The unit is compact, meeting permitted planning permission guidelines, has a low GWP and an energy rating label of A+++. The new Monobloc units incorporate a new Scroll Type Compressor with a seasonal efficiency improvement of 7% over the previous rotary compressor.
LG units offer quicker response times for the provision of heating and cooling, by sensing not only the temperature but also pressure – a pressure control sensor provides a faster and more accurate response, reducing the time delay for implementing heating or cooling commands significantly. The addition of pressure control enables the Therma V R32 Monobloc to take less time to reach the desired temperatures, with up to 30% quicker response in cooling and 44% quicker response in heating.
Andrew Hooper is LG’s Heating Manager: “The market for air source heat pumps is set to explode in the UK and this new range puts LG in pole position. The UK is currently 25th out of 27 countries in Europe when it comes to renewable energy. Only 16,000 air source heat pumps were installed in the UK in the past year – compared to more than 1 million in Germany. We will be seeing exponential growth of renewable systems in the UK over the next ten years. This new range of LG Therma V R32 Monobloc units puts us in a very good place, able to provide a high quality solution to the developers and end users in the UK looking for an energy efficient, cost efficient, eco-friendly source of heating and hot water.”
The new offering from LG comes with a revolutionary new scroll compressor combining the high efficiency, low noise characteristics of the scroll compressor with the stable compressing structure of a rotary compressor, in one unit. The new compressor incorporates new technology developed by LG including wet vapour injection.
The Therma V R32 monobloc series also incorporates LG’s Black Fin epoxy resin coating on its heat exchangers, designed to perform well in corrosive environments – in seaside towns where salt in the air can be damaging for example – giving longer lifespan and lower operational costs for the units.
LG equipment has always benefited from exceptional controllers. The new series comes with an intuitive controller, with a 4.3” coloured LCD display which is perfect for installers and end users alike.
LG is also seeing an increase in its smaller Multi V VRF systems being used within new build apartments and larger residential applications. The space saving, smaller air conditioning units that are able to heat and cool simultaneously, with the added production of hot water as required, along with the range of connectable indoor units, are proving a huge attraction to homeowners. The units are highly flexible with long pipe lengths so the outdoor units can easily be located in areas where they do not impact on the look of the building.
Due to the cutting edge technology inside – such as LG’s own designed and manufactured 5th generation compressor equipped with High Sided Shell (HSS) and a new Polytheretheketone (PEEK) bearing – the inverter system compressor can operate between 10Hz – 165Hz, increasing partial efficiencies, extending capacity and increasing reliability. The impressive energy efficiency of VRF systems means the payback period for the homeowner is quick and their home is always comfortable.
To find out more about LG’s new Therma V R32 AWHP, and other LG products and services, visit partner.lge.com/uk
