For many decades, one type of water heating system held sway over them all: the storage tank water heater. These systems are still around and still doing excellent work for homes. But now they have to share the stage with new technology that offers some excellent advantages to customers. One of these newcomers is the heat pump water heater.
The Basics of a Heat Pump Water Heater
In general home comfort terms, a heat pump is a device that works very much like an air conditioner. It circulates refrigerant through two sets of coils, one indoors and one outdoors. The refrigerant goes through a process of evaporation that pulls thermal energy out of one set of coils and then through a process of condensation releases it from the other. Depending on the mode the heat pump is set it, it will either warm or cool a home.
What does this have to do with a water heater, however? A heat pump that is attached to a water heater tank can warm up the water inside by absorbing heat through evaporation (pulling this thermal energy from the air around the water heater) and then condensing it to release it into the tank. Unlike a standard electrical water heater, which creates heat through electrical resistance to heat the water, a heat pump water heat is simply moving heat from one place and putting it in another—in this case, inside the water tank.
Why This Is an Advantage
There are a number of reasons why using this method to heat the home for your water is beneficial. The most important is that it is very cost effective: it requires much less power to move heat than to create it. If you don’t have a gas line to your home and must use electricity to power your water heater, you can save a great deal of money with a heat pump mother rather than a standard electrical.
Another advantage is that these systems are very safe. Even if you have the option to install a natural gas water heater, you might consider going with a heat pump, which doesn’t create any combustion or carbon monoxide risks.
Want to know more about heat pump water heaters? Call on Ken Neyer Plumbing, Inc. in Cincinnati, OH.