How Do Household Heat Pumps Work?
At its core, a household heat pump is a device that transfers heat from one place to another. It extracts heat from the outside air temperature, concentrates it (using an electric compressor) to raise the temperature, and pumps the heat to where it’s needed.
It’s the same technology that’s used in fridges and reverse-cycle air conditioners and can save a lot of money compared with other forms of water heating!
Heat pump technology can achieve 300-600% efficiency which means that for each unit of electricity consumed, they produce three to six units of heat.
As well as working in really hot conditions, heat pumps can operate in freezing conditions too.
If you want a super-efficient heat pump, look at the number of STCs (Small Scale Technology Certificates) associated with that system; the higher the number, the more efficient the heat pump.
Electricity Savings Compared to Electric Hot Water Systems
One of the significant advantages of household heat pumps is their impressive energy efficiency, especially when compared to electric hot water systems. Traditional electric water heaters work by directly converting electrical energy into heat, resulting in high electricity consumption (in a 4 person home with typical usage, it’s not unusual to see energy usage of 8 -15kwh/day just to heat the water). In contrast, heat pumps leverage the ambient heat in the air or ground, requiring only a fraction of the electricity to transfer that heat into your home (typically 1- 3kwh/day).
Household heat pumps typically use 75% less electricity compared to traditional electric hot water systems, and are 50-90% cheaper than gas hot water systems, depending on whether you have solar panels installed or not.
There are substantial savings to be had, not to mention significant environmental benefits as a result of using less energy.
Effectiveness for Electrifying Everything
As households increasingly strive to become more self-sufficient and reduce their costs, heat pumps have emerged as an essential piece of the ‘Electrifying Everything’ puzzle, together with solar panels, battery storage, electric vehicles, air-conditioning and induction stoves.
If you’re keen to reduce your reliance on the grid and electrify your home, get in touch with us about a household heat pump. We install leading brands including, Sanden, Reclaim, EnviroSun, HydroTherm & iStore.
