WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Allbrite can help you to better understand heating systems and the available products and solutions in the market.

Airthermal
heat available in the atmosphere as an energy source

Air source temperature
temperature of the external air source that is being used as the primary energy source

Bentonite
a substance that expands when wet. It may be used to seal boreholes to prevent pollution of the energy source.

Boreholes
holes drilled into the earth at varying depths to extract water or energy.

Brine
the water and glycol solution used in closed loop horizontal and vertical collectors.

Buffer tank
a tank to assist in the smooth operation of a heat pump which stabilises the thermodynamic cycle of the heat pump ensuring maximum efficiency at all times.

Carbon tax
tax imposed by the government on fossil fuels to discourage use

Circulating pump
water being moved in a heating system to transfer heat in either direction

Closed loop
a geothermal or solar collector which is filled with Brine and sealed systems

Compression
a reduction in volume. By reducing the volume it will increase the temperature and pressure of the gas.

COP
Coefficient of performance, the output power of a heat pump in relation to power consumed.

Cost monitor
meter to record the running cost of a heat pump and allow track recording against time

Cross linked polyethylene pipe
is also known as pex pipe. Extra characteristics given to the pipe for strength. The process of linking modules together during the extraction process.

Delta T (delta t)
the difference between the flow and return temperatures is called the T or temperature difference. This is usually measured in degrees Kelvin

EET
electronic expansion technology, electronically operating the expansion in the heat pump

Expansion
increase in volume due to temperature change

Fan coils
heating units which contain a built in fan used to disperse heat. They can replace radiators and work at a lower flow temperature

F gas legislation
the objective of this legislation is to contain, prevent and thereby reduce emissions of fluorinated green house gases.

Flow temperature
the temperature of the flow to the heating system

Geothermal
heat stored in the ground vertically from 1 metre to 200 metres

Ground collector
also known as horizontal collector or flat loop collector, a collector to gather heat from the ground at a shallow depth of 1 metres to 3 metres, it is referred as a horizontal collector as it is laid horizontally across the ground. Flat loop collector refers to the looping of the pipe laid in the ground and covered by soil.

Harp database
home heating appliance register of performance database for products used in Ireland.

Heat pump
machine used to extract heat from a lower temperature source and deliver it at a higher temperature.

High capacity
large output heat pumps over 100Kw in size

Kw (kilowatts)
power measurement or energy measurement. This is usually associated to time as in Kw/h (kilowatt hours)

Open loop
a heat collection system where water is drawn from the earth, the heat is extracted and then returned to the earth. This system is not under pressure.

Operating range
boundaries of operation. The lowest and highest air temperature within the range of operation.

OTE controller
O-Tronic easy is a control device developed to manage the operation of a heat pump.

Output range
output varies with the temperature of source energy. The minimum to maximum out put of the machine is its output range.

Polyethylene pipe
pipe made from polyethylene, a by product of crude oil refinement

Probe
a device inserted into a vertical borehole installation to check temperature or extract heat

Radiant temperature
heat being transferred by radiant rays (similar to the sun), this is often used to describe the type of heat from an underfloor heating system.

Refrigerant gas
gas used in the internal operation of the heat pump to convert

Retrofit
fitting a heating system to replace an existing heating system

SEI
Sustainable Energy Ireland

SEAI
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

Sequence controller
the ability of the control unit to organise more than one heating device to operate together or separately based on heating demand.

Solar collector
heat collecting device to trap heat from solar energy available in the atmosphere or in the ground

Soft start
used for good starting torque and less starting current

SPF
seasonal performance factor, a value on the evaporator to increase the efficiency

Super split evaporator
an evaporator specially designed to extract heat from high moisture/high humidity

Three phase
power supply by the energy provider is either 3 phase or single phase

U tube
the tube inserted into a vertical borehole installation to extract heat

Vertical borehole
hole drilled vertically into the ground to extract heat at varying depths

Weather guided
allowing the weather to influence the amount of heat being produced by reducing the flow temperature as outside air temperature increases. The ratio is adjustable.

Water to water
or water to water is a term used to describe a heat pump system using water from the ground as an energy source delivering heat to a water filled heating system.