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Understanding Heat Pump Efficiency: How Clade Delivers Sustainable Performance

Heat pump efficiency has become a major focus for organisations looking to cut costs and carbon at the same time. At Clade Engineering, we design and manufacture UK-built commercial heat pumps that are efficient by design, combining high performance, reliability, and low environmental impact through the use of natural refrigerants.

Here’s what drives efficiency in heat pumps, and how we make sure our systems deliver it consistently in the field.

How Efficient Are Heat Pumps?

Heat pumps don’t generate the heat the way a boiler does, and that’s what makes them so efficient.

By transferring energy from one place to another (for example, from outside air or water into a building), they can deliver three to five times more heat energy than the electricity they consume.

In other words, a Coefficient of Performance (CoP) of 3–5 means you get 300-500% efficiency. For commercial sites such as hospitals and leisure centres, this translates into significantly lower running costs and reduced emissions compared to fossil fuel systems.

At Clade, our R290 air-source and CO₂ heat pumps achieve high CoPs even under demanding conditions, ensuring consistent efficiency all year round.

How Is Heat Pump Efficiency Measured?

Two main metrics define heat pump performance:

Coefficient of Performance (CoP)

This measures efficiency at a single operating point. If your heat pump produces 4 kW of heat for every 1 kW of electricity consumed, its CoP is 4.

Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF)

SPF measures efficiency over time, taking into account temperature changes and varying loads throughout the year. It’s a more realistic measure of how your system performs in real-world conditions.

At Clade, we validate both CoP and SPF through in-house testing at our Leeds Technology Centre, ensuring every unit performs to specification before it leaves the factory.

What Affects Heat Pump Efficiency?

Like any engineered system, performance depends on the details. Several factors can have a major impact on real-world heat pump efficiency.

1. Temperature Difference (Lift)

The greater the temperature difference between the heat source and output, the harder a heat pump must work. For example, heating water to 70°C from an outdoor temperature of 0°C requires more energy than heating it to 45°C.

Ambient temperature plays a role in this too which means you can expect higher efficiencies at higher ambient temperatures. However, heat pumps have been widely proven to work well in places like Norway where they experience low ambient temperatures. 

Clade systems are designed with precisely controlled flow temperatures and advanced refrigerant management to maintain optimal lift and avoid unnecessary energy use.

2. System Design and Commissioning

Even a highly efficient heat pump can underperform if installed or commissioned incorrectly. Proper flow rates, sensor calibration, and pressure balance are essential to achieving and maintaining design performance.

That’s why every Clade project includes thorough pre-commissioning checks, functional testing, and detailed documentation before handover, ensuring that CoP figures in the field match those achieved in our factory.

3. Refrigerant Choice

The refrigerant inside a heat pump plays a key role in its efficiency and sustainability.

Clade only uses natural refrigerants:

  • R290 (Propane): Ideal for retrofit and high-temperature applications, offering CoPs of 2.5–4.
  • CO₂ (R744): Perfect for hot water and district heating systems, with zero ozone impact and excellent efficiency at high operating pressures.

Unlike synthetic refrigerants (like R410A or R32), natural options aren’t subject to F-gas phase-down regulations, so they ensure stable performance, low environmental impact and long-term compliance.

4. Building Conditions

A well-designed system can only be as efficient as its environment allows. Insulation, thermal losses and control strategy all influence heat pump performance.

That’s why Clade’s engineers collaborate closely with consultants and contractors from the earliest design stage, ensuring the heat pump, buffer tanks, emitters and control logic are aligned for optimal operation.

5. Ongoing Maintenance and Aftercare

Heat pump efficiency isn’t fixed at installation. It’s maintained through active care. Without routine checks and optimisation, performance can drift by as much as 10-20% over time.

Clade offers three levels of aftercare to keep systems performing at their best:

  • Bronze: Planned preventative maintenance to protect core efficiency and safety.
  • Silver: Adds remote monitoring and annual performance reports.
  • Gold: Includes 24-hour remote diagnostics, efficiency trend analysis and live optimisation, allowing our engineers to detect and resolve issues before they impact operation.

With real-time data from hundreds of systems across the UK, our team can spot anomalies, fine-tune controls, and restore performance remotely, often before clients even notice a change.

Heat Pump Efficiency Compared to Other Systems

Compared with traditional heating systems, Clade’s natural refrigerant heat pumps offer significantly higher efficiency and lower carbon impact.

While performance varies depending on the site and system design, Clade’s testing and live monitoring consistently show high Coefficients of Performance (CoPs) across both R290 (propane) and CO₂ models.

Here’s how they compare in real-world terms:

  • Gas boilers typically achieve around 90% efficiency because they burn fuel to generate heat. This means that nearly all of the energy in the gas is converted to heat, but the process still emits significant carbon.
  • Electric boilers convert electricity directly to heat with near 100% efficiency, but because they produce only as much heat as the power they consume, they don’t offer the same energy multiplier that a heat pump does.
  • Conventional air-source heat pumps using synthetic refrigerants (like R410A or R32) can achieve CoPs in the range of 2.5–3.0 under moderate conditions. These systems are becoming less viable due to F-gas phase-downs, higher global warming potential (GWP) and toxic PFAS in the refrigerants.
  • Clade R290 (propane) heat pumps deliver CoPs typically between 2.5 and 4.0, maintaining high efficiency even at higher flow temperatures.
  • Clade CO₂ (R744) heat pumps are proven to achieve high efficiencies for domestic hot water and district heating applications, maintaining performance even at 70°C flow and -5°C ambient conditions.

In other words, Clade’s natural refrigerant systems combine high energy performance, low environmental impact and long-term compliance, which makes them one of the most futureproof heating options available in the UK market today.

How to Improve Heat Pump Efficiency

Whether you already operate a heat pump or are planning a new installation, these factors help ensure optimal efficiency:

  • Size the heatpump, buffers, pumps, emitters, etc. correctly to prevent cycling losses.
  • Optimise flow temperatures to reduce energy use.
  • Keep airflow clear by checking and cleaning coils and filters.
  • Monitor performance data to identify efficiency drifts early.
  • Invest in professional servicing to maintain refrigerant balance and control accuracy.
  • Use smart controls to match operation to actual building demand.

Clade’s aftercare and data monitoring services integrate all of these practices, creating a continuous improvement loop that keeps performance high throughout the system’s life.

 

Talk to Us About Heat Pump Efficiency

There’s more to heat pump efficiency than meets the eye. It’s not just about the unit itself. It’s about design, commissioning, refrigerant choice, and long-term care.

Thankfully, you don’t have to worry about that yourself. Our engineers handle every step, from design and manufacturing to installation, commissioning, and optimisation.

With over 35 years of experience developing natural refrigerant heat pumps and refrigeration systems, Clade knows what it takes to keep systems efficient, reliable, and compliant for the long term.

Just get in touch to discuss your project or learn how we can help you achieve your efficiency goals.