National project to promote large scale use of heat pumps

The Lebanese Centre for Energy Conservation (LCEC) has launched a national project to introduce heat pump technology on a large scale to the local market, specifically for space and water heating.

A heat pump converts ambient energy from the air, water, or the ground into energy used in air conditioning and for heating water. It provides significant energy savings as it can produce up to four times more energy than the electricity used in operating it.

Those who want to install heat pumps in residential or commercial buildings can obtain soft loans under the National Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Action (NEEREA) initiative at an interest rate of 2.25 percent. The interest subsidy is part of the Central Bank’s annual stimulus package, said Pierre El Khoury, Director General of the LCEC. The loan tenure must not exceed 14 years.

In addition to the grant, the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea will offer grants that cover up to 30 percent of the investment costs of Italian-made heat pump systems.

A heat pump can be part of a hybrid system that could include another heating device such as an electrical heater or a gas boiler. The system is usually equipped with an electrical back-up heater. It can heat a hot water tank up to approximately 55 °C.

Khoury said that the LCEC will channel the transfer of Italian technological knowhow in this field to the local market. He said that installing heat pumps requires skilled personnel and is an engineering exercise.

The National Heat Pumps Project will also include setting up a test laboratory for testing heat pump systems and an energy performance monitoring program, as well as creating national standards for product testing.