New online tool calculates the cost of going from gas boiler to heat pump

A new online estimator launched by the The Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP) will help companies size heat pumps to replace gas boilers, according to the organisation.

In a statement on Monday, the A2EP – a not-for-profit coalition of industry and research partners – said Australia has lagged Europe and other locations in adopting electrically-driven heat pumps.

These can make use of waste process heat and onsite renewable electricity, for example from solar PV arrays.

“There is a lack of understanding across industry which we at A2EP are trying to overcome with resources and tools like the Heat Pump Estimator,” Jarrod Leak, CEO of A2EP, said.

“A lot of manufacturing and operations managers think heat pumps don’t compete on cost, but that’s based on the incorrect assumption that you need to replace a boiler with a heat pump of the same capacity, which is not the case.”

Leak added that about 52 per cent of Australian industrial energy end-use is from generating process heat, and a good proportion could be supplied via available commercial heat pump technologies, cutting costs and emissions.

The Heat Pump Estimator was developed by A2EP, pitt&sherry and SmartConsult, with support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the Australian Meat Processor Corporation and Mayekawa Australia. It can be accessed at this link.

Picture: A2EP

Further reading

GETTING OFF THE GAS

ARENA BACKS HEAT PUMP FOR PROCESS HEAT APPLICATION

ARENA FUNDS TO WARM CHICKENS USING HEAT PUMP SYSTEM

GREEN ENERGY, REFRIGERANTS AND RESHORING