More than four million Spanish homes use aerothermal energy as a heating system in winter, cooling in summer and domestic hot water, according to the latest data from the IDAE. It is an upward trend due to the increase in the price of gas in recent months, since it represents significant annual savings in air conditioning the house. Although it is true that the initial investment is more expensive than gas boilers and can be high, there are subsidies of up to 6,500 euros for their installation.
Aerothermal energy is a particularly efficient system that reduces consumption and CO2 emissions, and uses an inexhaustible source. Because to work it extracts up to 75% of energy from the air through a unit that is placed outside the home. Only consume electrical energy to run the compressor motor: for every kWh you spend, you generate between 3 and 4 kWh of heat energy.
Then the indoor unit converts the energy into heating or hot water in winter. On the contrary, in summer, it extracts the heat from the house and expels it outside to lower the temperature. Within aerothermal there are several systems:
radiating floor
It is the heating system that comes closest to the ideal temperature distribution. Through some ducts installed under the floor, it allows the room to be air conditioned by letting the water pass through. With it a more pleasant and homogeneous heat is achieved throughout the house. In addition, it remains on the ground itself.
In general, the consumption of aerothermal energy with underfloor heating is lower than that of radiators, although it is true that the installation requires more work and implies a more expensive initial investment. The bigger the house, the more we will save compared to gas boilers and the sooner the cost of the installation will be amortized. The cost would range from 8,000 euros for a 90 m2 house to 24,000 euros for homes that exceed approximately 200 m2.
low temperature radiators
They work in a similar way to a conventional radiator, but they are more efficient than these because they work at a lower temperature. Installation is easy, fast and low cost. The initial investment is easily recoverable, taking into account an average price of 450-500 euros for each radiator already installed, although there are more expensive ones, of course.
Despite everything, they are less efficient than underfloor heating, since the heat rises and ends up cooling over the hours. This will also cause a higher energy cost to heat the water from the radiators.
Fan coils and fan coil
They consist of a fan, a heat exchanger and a filter. Its main characteristics are the ease of installation, which have a wide power range and a modular and very compact design that makes it suitable for any type of room, since it takes up little space. They can be installed on the floor, on the wall, on the ceiling or through ducts. The price of the cheapest fan coil models starts at around 250 euros without counting the installation. All of them guarantee optimal air distribution and are silent.
