Brink | Replacing an air heater

Energy-neutral by 2050: what choice are you going to make?

In 2050, all new homes in the Netherlands must be fully energy-neutral. New-build homes must be built that way; existing homes must be made more sustainable and, in future, be gas-free where possible. No small challenge, because not every home can easily be decoupled from mains gas. To increase sustainability, it may first be necessary to better insulate the home.

When replacing an air heater, you face a number of choices. Which choices will you go for in terms of energy and sustainability? And what options are open to you if you replace your air heater? Will you stick to gas, go for hybrid-ready (or straight to hybrid), or is entirely gas-free (all-electric) an option?

REDUCE YOUR DEPENDENCE ON GAS OR GO GAS-FREE?

As an alternative to sticking with completely gas-fired heating, you could opt for hybrid heating. A hybrid heating system is one that combines a heat pump and a central heating boiler. Heat pumps work at lower temperatures, so they have a lower capacity than a central heating boiler. A heat pump warms your home at average ambient temperatures; at very low temperatures, the central heating boiler cuts in. This hybrid heating system can save you up to 50% on gas consumption. As the space available for a technical installation is usually limited, the decision to dispose of a large hot-water storage tank is often the obvious choice. In that case, tap water is heated by the central heating boiler.

With an all-electric solution, you can go completely gas-free. In this situation you have a heat pump, so you don’t need a connection to mains gas or, indeed, a central heating boiler. To make an all-electric solution viable, your home must be well insulated.

Why replace your air heater?

An air heater has a long service life. Even though the system’s working fine, it might be a good idea to replace your old air heater with a new model. Take the most recent generation of Allure gas-fired high-efficiency air heaters: hybrid-ready, so they can be used with a heat pump. The Elan indirectly fired air heaters can be combined flexibly with a central heating boiler with air/water heat pump, for a hybrid solution, or with just a heat pump as an all-electric solution.

Benefits of climate control with air

Choose from gas, hybrid and all-electric
UP to 50% less gas consumption with a hybrid system
Improve your home’s EU energy label rating and push up its market value
Let the government share the cost (with a sustainable energy and energy saving investment (ISDE) grant); excluding an air/air heat pump
Easy to integrate with ventilation and cooling
Healthy air and a pleasant temperature in each season, in next-to-no time

Air heating and a heat pump: a great match

The new generation of air heaters in combination with a heat pump offers extensive options for climate control with air. Air heating means you’re ready to face the future, plus all the benefits of air heating, such as reaching the desired temperature faster than other systems, freedom in your floor finish and easily integrated cooling, as heat pumps can usually also cool water. Even ventilation with heat recovery can make use of the same air ducts. In existing homes, an air/water heat pump is most often used in combination with the Elan air heater, while an air source heat pump is used with the Allure model.

Air heating and hot tap water

A gas-fired air heater
Do you already have a gas-fired air heater? Then you have a separate installation to heat tap water in place. This may be an on-demand water heater or, possibly, a gas-fired electric boiler. If you opt to stick with a gas-fired solution then you can keep using this installation (depending on wear and tear). There is also a more sustainable solution possible, such as a solar boiler or heat pump boiler. In that case there must, of course, be space to fit an additional boiler.

An indirectly fired air heater and central heating boiler
Do you already have a central heating boiler that delivers heat to the air heater? Then this will usually also supply hot tap water. A central heating boiler supplies ample hot water on demand, for instance for a shower, or to do the washing up. Demand for tap water has priority over hot water for heating. When the air heater alone is replaced, you can still use the current central heating boiler for hot tap water and hot water for heating.

As hybrid with indirectly fired air heater
If you opt for a hybrid solution, then either the central heating boiler or the heat pump can supply hot tap water. The central heating boiler can supply an ample amount of hot tap water on demand. A heat pump can heat water less quickly, so it needs a storage tank. The desired amount of hot tap water determines the size of the storage tank. Or you may want to opt for heating tap water with a separate heat pump boiler. Grants are available for both heat pumps for heating and heat pump boilers for hot tap water. So you can use this to your advantage and get double the amount of subsidy.

All-electric with an indirectly fired air heater
Are you able, and do you want to switch immediately to an all-electric solution?
Here too, it is important that the buffer tank is big enough or, alternatively, use a separate heat pump boiler.

Insulation
If your home is better insulated, you'll need less heating, Better insulation and sealing up cracks is often the first step to be made in the transition from gas-fired to hybrid or all-electric.

And then ventilation!
A good ventilation system is essential in a well-insulated home. This is important to prevent mould growth, and to keep you and your home healthy. It is easy to opt straight away for a sustainable ventilation solution, as the existing heating air ducts can be used. In the case of ventilation with heat recovery the cold ambient air (in winter) must be pre-heated with the warm exhaust air. A sustainable second step, to retain as much heat as possible, is then made automatically.

And, this way you can make use of the benefits of ventilation with heat recovery straight away.

Excellent filtering of the ambient air
Ventilation without a draught
No heat lost
On high-summer days when the temperature outside is higher than that indoors, heat recovery works the other way around.
The warm ambient air is pre-cooled before entering the property.

Greater comfort with cooling
As properties are now better insulated, the need for cooling in the summer months is increasing. Air cooling in combination with a heat pump, a solution that includes dehumidified air, becomes a pleasant solution in summer. In short, there are many options available for further optimising the climate in your home.

NEW GENERATION OF AIR HEATERS

ELAN 10/16 2.0 AND ELAN 25 2.1
ELAN 25 3.0

ELAN 10/16 2.0 AND ELAN 25 2.1 Title

This Elan series of indirectly-fired air heaters can be combined with a central heating boiler (existing or otherwise) or as a hybrid solution.. In this situation, the central heating boiler is combined with a heat pump, or you can opt for all-electric with just a heat pump. A gas-fired installation can be expanded now or in the future with a heat pump for heating and cooling. If the Elan is combined with a heat pump, it can save you up to 60% on your gas bills. A water cooling block is available as an optional extra for the Elan 16 2.0 and the Elan 25 2.1.

ELAN 25 3.0 Title

The indirectly-fired Elan 35 3.0 air heater, like the Elan 25 2.1, can heat, but can also cool with cold water via an air/water heat pump.

What are the energy costs?
How much the energy costs depends on the choices you make. Under normal circumstances, going for a hybrid solution means you use less gas, but the heat pump uses more electricity. Whether or not you use solar panels has a great impact on these costs. Unpredictable factors in terms of your energy bill include fluctuations in the price of gas and whether or not a net metering scheme for solar panels remains in place. In other words, it is not easy to give a straight answer to the question of expected energy costs.

Select a new air heater

Look for your current air heater in the table and see what options are available for replacing it. The choice also depends to a great extent on whether there is sufficient space for the technical installations. For a recommendation tailored to the needs of your home in the Netherlands, just visit one of our air heater dealers. If you live abroad, then contact one of our Brink partners abroad.

Download the full range here

Replacing your air heater?

look no further than the new generation of air heaters