Renewables for Households: Heat Pumps

Rethinking household energy provision – getting to grips with heat pumps.

Heat pumps are often advertised as ‘free heat’ as for a small amount of energy in (electricity) they can emit more energy (as heat) out. Come and explore the science, develop a cost benefit analysis and quantify the emissions reductions of heat pumps, enabling you to decide if a heat pump is right for you.

Key information

Duration: one day
Upcoming date: Saturday 8th March 2025
Start and finish times: starts at 9:30am and ends at 3:30pm
Fee: £125
Includes: tuition, buffet lunch.
Terms and Conditions:
- you must be 18 years or over to attend our courses.
- For full list of terms and conditions click here

What you will learn

Heat pumps work by extracting heat from either the air, ground or water depending on the system. How they do this is a complex process, and installing heat pumps requires a good level of knowledge and understanding of various principles.

During the course we will examine the operating principles of heat pumps, how they work and what conditions they work best in. We will explore the differences between air, ground and water source heat pumps and calculate the energy efficiency of each.

A mixture of lectures and hands on sessions will explore the need for detailed design, both of the system and the recipient building. The course will also cover developing a cost benefit analysis and quantifying emissions reductions, enabling you to decide whether heat pumps are right for your home, community space or business.

A basic knowledge of MS Excel (or equivalent) is desirable for this course.

Renewables for Households courses

This course is part of a series exploring renewable energy technologies for households. Each course can be taken as a standalone or as a series where they will equip you with the skills and knowledge to implement different renewable technologies in your home.

Meet your tutor

Alan is a Chartered Energy Engineer and lecturer on our postgraduate courses here at CAT. His research ranges from numerical modelling of sustainable energy systems and resources in Europe, to developing international sustainable energy policy and strategy in post-conflict/post-disaster areas of South East Asia.