How a heat pump became an old friend

In 1970, Lisbeth and Per-Olov Eriksson bought a house in Kumla, in Sweden. The couple are now retired, with three adult children who have all moved away, but the house is the same. For the first ten years after buying the house, it was heated by an oil boiler with supplementary wood heating. However, in the late 1970s, times were troubled, and there were fears that oil prices might skyrocket. An acquaintance of the couple was well-versed in alternative heat sources and suggested they look at geothermal heating provided by a heat pump.

Lisbeth and Per-Olov became pioneers when they scrapped the oil boiler and installed geothermal heating in the villa. The year was 1980, and heat pumps were an innovation in heating and still uncommon. “We did some research and felt confident that a switch would be a smart choice. Our garden was large enough for a collector loop, and we got good help to install the heat pump. We were quite nervous at first, before we knew if it would work, says Per-Olov, but it worked extremely well and has been working well ever since, with a few repairs over the years.”

The Thermia JBC 400 heat pump is still in place in the basement and still works. It has heated both house and family for 45 years without major problems. However, in that time, Thermia’s technology has developed significantly and the Erikssons were excited at the prospect of getting a new and better Thermia heat pump.

“We looked for installer in the area and got in touch with Edekyl & Värme AB in Örebro. They were delighted that the old pump had been so good and recommended a new one that would be even better” says Lisbeth. The new pump has a significantly lower weight (old one has around 600kg) and smaller dimensions than its predecessor. Sune Davidsson, advisor at Edekyl & Värme, visited the villa and planned the exchange.

Together with their customer, Edekyl & Värme examined the current system and planned the replacement of the heat pump. The collector loop that was installed in the garden in 1980 could still be used, and the new pump has a control system that adapts to the existing ground source. So what can Per-Olov and Lisbeth expect after replacing their heat pump?

The Erikssons agree: “We have received good advice and help along the way and are now looking forward to many carefree years”.