IVT HEAT PUMP RECYCLING SCHEME
Information about Heat Pump Recycling
As part of the IVT Heat Pump Recycling Scheme, Alto Energy collects your old heat pump. Not only does this save you a difficult disposal task, but it also ensures that the heat pump can be very effectively recycled. Nearly all of the components contained within a heat pump can be re-used or recycled, and below we cover each stage of journey below.
Refrigeration Gases
What is refrigerant?
All heat pumps contain a gas called refrigerant. This is the working fluid within the refrigeration system, which is what enables the heat pump to convert latent heat in the ground to useful heat in your property. This is found in all refrigeration equipment, including heat pumps. The most commonly used refrigerant in the IVT Greenline product range is R407C. You can find out more about this refrigerant by clicking here.
Partnership with a-gas
Our exclusive supply partner for refrigerant gases is A-GAS, who are a specialist in the supply and recovery of refrigerant gases. We have chosen A-GAS as our supplier due to their commitment to supporting complete lifecycle management and therefore their commitment to recovering and reclaiming the maximum amount of product when equipment reaches the end of its life.
How Is Refrigerant Recycled?
Unless the refrigeration system in your heat pump has been severely damaged, causing significant oil ingress into the refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant in your old heat pump is completely recoverable. Essentially, refrigerant is recycled by following a process of recovery and reclamation.
Credit: www.agas.co.uk
Firstly, the refrigerant is recovered from the heat pump into a dedicated A-GAS recovery cylinder. Under the IVT Heat Pump Recycling Scheme, Alto Energy collects your old heat pump and returns it to our warehouse. Alto Energy is fully F-GAS compliant and holds a REFCOM approved certificate for carrying out refrigeration works. Once in our warehouse, one of our trained engineers will recover the refrigerant gas from the heat pump into a dedicated A-GAS recovery bottle. This recovery bottle is then returned to A-Gas.
Once returned, A-GAS then analyses the recovered refrigerant. IVT heat pumps only use a single refrigerant, which is already a good start because it means that each refrigerant does not need to be separated out into it's constituent parts. Furthermore, the refrigeration system within the heat pump is hermetically sealed, which means that unless there has been damage to the refrigeration system, which has caused significant ingress of oil and other debris, the refrigerant itself will remain pure.
Once seperated, the refrigerant is then stored in bulk with other reclaimed refrigerant, before it is re-packaged and sold through the trade and wholesale market, where it is used again as normal refrigerant, completing the cycle!
Re-Use: Refurbished Parts
The majority of the components contained within a heat pump and mechanical parts, which naturally wear with age. This does limit the scope for any parts being refurbished and re-sold. That said, there are still some parts that can be refurbished successfully.
Rego controller
The Rego controller in each IVT Ground Source Heat Pump is the computer that operates the heat pump. It records all of the data, and controls the operation of the heat pump, including the weather compensation feature. This component does not experience any mechanical wear,
Alto Energy will recover the Rego Controller, carry out electrical and operation tests on it using our test rig, and provided it passes the tests will offer these as Refurbished Spare Parts with a 6 month warranty.
Recycle
Once the refrigerant has been recovered, as well an any parts that can be refurbished, the remainder of the heat pump needs to be disposed of responsibly. Thankfully, due to the high build-quality of the IVT Heat Pumps, the bulk of the remaining components are metal (majority steel, some copper). Metals can be easily and effectively recycled.
Frame and Casing
All frame and casing components are made entirely of steel. Steel is the most recycled metal on the planet, and as such processes for recycling are efficient.
Electrical Components
The Rego controller (part 15) can be recovered and refurbished. Other electrical components will be transferred to a mixed recycling facility, where the plastic is removed and the copper components recycled.
Mechanical Components
All mechanical components are steel or copper. Some components have insulation which needs to be removed and disposed before the metal can be recycled.
IVT Heat Pump Recycling Scheme