Heat Pump Water Heater – Benefits and Who Should Get One
Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWHs) are a very promising technology in both residential and commercial applications because of their improved efficiency and user benefits. A HPWH operates on an electrically-driven vapor compression cycle and pumps energy from its surroundings to water in a storage tank, raising the temperature of the water.
A Heat Pump Water Heater is just transferring heat.
To understand its concept, A HPWH takes the heat from surrounding and transfers it to water in an enclosed tank while a refrigerator removes heat from an enclosed box and expels that heat to the surrounding air. Imagine a refrigerator working in reverse.
HPWHs are more efficient than conventional electric or gas water heaters because they don’t create heat. Instead, they use electrical energy to distribute the heat from the outside environment to your house.
How It Works
During demand for hot water, HPWH automatically switch to standard electric resistance heat and they come with control panels that you can use to select from different operating modules which includes:
- Efficiency: By only using the heat pump to heat water, it maximizes energy efficiency and savings.
- Hybrid / Auto: Provides energy -efficient water heating with sustained heat making it ideal for daily use.
- Heater / Electric: Uses only electric element to heat water thus the least energy efficient high-demand setting.
- Vacation and Timer: You can save on energy when you are away because of the “sleep” mode that you can turn back on when you return. However, it is not available on all models.
Therefore, compared to conventional electric resistance water heaters, Heat Pump Water Heater is two to three times more energy-efficient.
Two Types of Heat Pump Water Heater
- Split Systems: This is the type where the hot water tank is inside, the compressor unit is situated outside, tank could also be placed outside the home independent from the compressor.
- All-in-one units – both the compressor and the water tank are placed together and the whole system is usually installed outside.
Benefits of a HPWH
- Reduces electricity bills by $200-300 annually
- Digital controls let you set operation of the heater according to your preference of efficiency vs. quick recovery
- Ideal for a garage or other un-conditioned space
Who Should Consider Getting One?
If you currently own a standard tank water heater and are considering replacing it…and if reducing annual electricity bill and an environmental impact is important to you, consider a Heat Pump Water Heater.
