What is aerothermal?

In an increasingly populated world, where the demand for energy, food, housing, etc. increases considerably and pollution is one of the main problems we have to face, renewable energies could be the solution we are looking for. 

This type of energy is clean and much more respectful of the environment than fossil fuels. One of the most interesting is aerothermal. Let's see what it is and if it is worth using.

What is aerothermal?

Aerothermy is a technology that extracts energy from the air to use it for different purposes, such as to produce sanitary hot water, air conditioning homes or closed spaces or for heating.

It is a very interesting energy, since we live surrounded by air and it is heated by the sun's rays entering the planet, so unless things change which is highly unlikely until a few million years have passed, we can always use their energy.

Does it allow us to save on the electricity bill?

If you need heating in your home or workplace, but you don't want to have to pay more than the bill, You should know that extracting energy from the air (up to 70%) is priceless, it is free; the remaining 30% is what you consume. As its energy expenditure is very low if we compare it with gas and other caloric energies, It is a solution that will undoubtedly allow us to save on the invoice.

In addition, its performance or coefficient of operability (thermal COP) is higher than that of other energies. What is the COP? It is the level of power that an air conditioning system consumes to transport a certain thermal power, and since doing so loses a part of energy, the efficiency of a classic boiler that uses fuel is less than 100%.

To give you an idea of ​​the performance of the different energies, take a look:

• Diesel boiler: between 65 and 95%.
• Gas boiler: between 85 and 95%.
• Biomass boiler: between 80 and 95%.
• Electric radiators: between 95 and 98%.
• Solar thermal energy (for a temperature of 35ºC): between 75 and 150%.
• Aerothermal heat pump (for a temperature of 35ºC): between 250 and 350%.
• Geothermal heat pump (for a temperature of 35ºC): between 420 and 520%.

Thus, aerothermal energy is one of the existing energies that has a higher performance.

What are the main manufacturers of fan heaters?

Today, there are many companies that manufacture fan heaters. However, there are some that you will surely know due to the wide variety of products they offer, such as: LG Electronics, Toshiba, Daikin or Bosch. But there are others that also bet on this type of energy, such as Ariston, Saunier Duval, Vaillant, Hermann or Viessmann.

How do they work?

Aerothermal heat pumps, or outdoor units as they are sometimes called, absorb energy from the air and transfer heat to the circuit. In doing so, the refrigerant gas it contains evaporates, so that the absorbed heat enters the home's heating system. From the indoor unit you can control what temperature you want to have inside the house. But in addition, fan heaters are very versatile, since they cool in summer, so they can be used to power both a heating system and a swimming pool.

Phases

1. The air from outside comes into contact with the evaporator, and the refrigerant inside evaporates as it gets colder.
2. The refrigerant travels to the compressor, where it is compressed and the temperature rises.
3. Compressed gas enters the condenser. As it condenses, it releases heat that will keep the home at a comfortable temperature. The condensed gas is transformed into liquid refrigerant.
4. The refrigerant liquid moves towards the expansion valve, which causes its temperature to decrease and returns it to the evaporator. And start over 🙂.

Air heater price

Aerothermal heat pumps they usually have quite high prices, which varies depending on several things: the brand, the power, whether it is mobile or not, whether it is electric or uses gas or diesel, the heating power it has as well as the air flow it can convert in energy, whether or not it has a thermostat, ...

A good quality heat pump can cost you over 1000 euros, with programmer and anti-legionella function included and weighing 55kg. But there are many cheaper. In fact, for less than 150 euros you can have an electric and portable fan heater.

Advantages and disadvantages of aerothermal

Aerothermy has many advantages, but also some drawbacks that should be known.

Advantages

• It is a renewable energy.
• You will only have to depend on a single energy source and supplier.
• Reduces emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2).
• Higher performance than other energies.

Drawbacks

• It is very little known in Spain.
• The building must be air-conditioned with low temperature.
• There is a visual impact if installed outside.
• The installation price of a fan heater is higher than that of a conventional one.

All in all, aerothermal energy is an energy that could be quite profitable, don't you think?