Ever since the Ecodesign Directive was introduced and energy-saving household objects came onto the market, kitchens have been full of high efficiency fridges and clothes are now often only washed with class A+++ machines. People monitor their own consumption habits closely with regard to the high power costs and adjust them if necessary.
Often it is not considered that other systems – which may be a little less obvious - can have extreme effects on the electricity bills.
We are talking about outdated heating pumps without speed control. Even when winter is long gone, they remain active in the basement and thus run on full load all year round. This can constitute up to 10 percent of the electricity consumption of an entire household, which is much higher than say large household units like dishwashers or fridges.
Simple conversion to high-efficiency pumps
"Modern high-efficiency pumps use approximately 90 percent less than the pumps without speed control. This actually includes all products that are more than 10 years old," explained Wilo product manager Stefanie Sabinarsz. "But an installer can exchange a pump in a few steps and it normally pays off within a few years. Since the investment is comparatively low, it is worth exchanging the pump even if the old pump is still intact."
A modern high-efficiency pump with speed control, such as the Wilo-Stratos PICO, is characterised by a power consumption as low as three watts. Moreover, the pumps adapt to the current demand and regulate their output according to the load.
If the total output is not called on one occasion, the pump adapts automatically, thus saving further energy. The integrated display of the Wilo-Stratos PICO can be used to conveniently read the present and overall kilowatt consumption.