Thursday, 26 April 2018

The Most Efficient Hot Water System A Solar Heat Pump?

If you are looking for the most efficient solar hot water system then solar PV panels powering a heat pump are hard to beat.

While both the panels and heat pump will need to be proficient performers, it is possible for the combination to beat solar thermal hot water which is widely considered the most efficient method.

A typical heat pump hot water system is 3 times more efficient than a conventional electric hot water system that uses electrical resistance heating.  This is because rather than using electricity to create heat, they use electricity to move heat around.  Heat pump hot water works in exactly the same way as a refrigerator does, aside from the fact they work in completely opposite ways.  That is, a refrigerator pumps heat out to keep what’s inside cold, while heat pump hot water pumps heat in to keep what’s inside hot1.

Because heat pump hot water systems conserve energy they are eligible to receive Renewable Energy Certificates called STCs that lower their cost.  While these are the same certificates that are received for installing rooftop solar, the number received is determined differently.
While they are efficient, heat pump hot water has suffered from a number of drawbacks that have held them back from widespread acceptance.  These include:

High initial cost.
Poor reliability.
Expensive to repair.
High noise output.
Misleading claims by manufacturers.

Despite this apparent surfeit of dead albatrosses slung around heat pump hot water’s neck, I am confident the technology. http://www.tuhorse.com.au/

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