How modern circulating pumps have improved energy efficiency

Circulating pumps are an incredibly important of any wet central heating system, however, in days gone by, they received a rather bad reputation for being for using disproportionately high amounts of energy. In fact, they were so inefficient, that in many cases they used more electricity than appliances such as fridge-freezers, washing machines and dishwashers, so clearly this couldn’t go on. Prior to EU legislation coming into force in January 2013, there were not very many high efficiency pumps on the market, and the few that were available were very expensive and therefore provided a homeowner or installer with very little incentive to avoid the cheaper low-efficiency alternatives. Since the legislation was introduced, only high efficiency pumps are available to buy and they have slowly been embraced by the heating industry and account for the vast majority of the new circulating pumps being installed across the UK today. When compared to the old pre-legislation pumps, the new pumps are saving bill payers as much as £137 per year on electricity bills. Savings like this should really be promoted as much as possible because it will hopefully encourage homeowners of systems still using the old pumps to upgrade and reduce their energy consumption. Because of the previous lack of emphasis on poorly performing pumps, it means there are still millions of homes using these old and inefficient pumps still in operation today. Installers need to be proactive in explaining just how much extra money could be saved if higher quality pumps are fitted and it should be demonstrated to customers that the initial outlay will be covered many times over in the following 5 year period. Helping to make people aware that any old pump will do will assist the UK in bringing down its energy costs, reducing its carbon footprint and making energy efficiency targets that much more achievable. Article by Benjamin Clarke RELATED ARTICLES • How to make sense of the new Enery Related Products Directive 21st Apr 2015  • How to maximise your heating system's energy efficiency 23rd Dec 2014  • Why it's time to upgrade your rads if they're over 15 years old 13th Aug 2015   

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