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Air/water heat pump: improved hydraulics result in a coefficient of performance of 8.0

"Carnot won't allow that," was a comment heard more than once at the recent ISH trade fair during discussions about renovating old buildings with air/water heat pumps. With a maximum COP of 3.5, that's the end of the line. The founder of thermodynamics – Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot – must have regularly turned in his grave when he heard that. Because he allows everything. Nowhere in his cycle does the energy source appear – only temperatures. Matthias Westermann, a planner and energy consultant, presented an installation with an impressive efficiency rating of 8: 8 kWh of heat from 1 kWh of electricity plus several thousand cubic metres of air. In short, the better the heat pump is integrated into the heating circuit, the higher the efficiency rating.

Hans-Georg Baunach

Management

Hans-Georg Baunach

1 Sep 2025