One of the main advantages of air source heat pumps is their versatility and affordability. An ASHP can work for heating or cooling purposes and can be used for space heating or water heating. Most homeowners who have heat pumps use them to heat and cool their homes. But a heat pump can also be used to heat water, either as a stand-alone water heating system or as a combined water heating and space conditioning system.
A heat pump can not only be used to heat and cool your home, it can also be used to heat water. To operate, an air source heat pump water heater draws heat from the surrounding air and pours it at a higher temperature into a tank to heat the water. An air source heat pump is a renewable heating source that heats your home by harnessing the heat from the outside air. It is usually much smaller than a heat pump for space heating and is usually integrated into the hot water cylinder.
It uses a refrigeration cycle to move heat from outside air and transfers it as usable heat in your home. One of the first decisions to be made when buying an air source heat pump is whether it will provide space heating or domestic hot water or both. The weather in Western Manitoba is a challenge for any type of air source heat pump, whether it's an air-to-air heat pump or an air-to-water heat pump. The renewable heat produced comes from ambient air, so as the air around the unit cools down, the efficiency will decrease.
It heats the water with an inexpensive electric resistance tank (my guess here is that, because the design heat load is small, the house is also small enough that the noise of a heat pump water heater is problematic). The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) used to offer a more generous return to owners of domestic land-based heat pumps before its closure this year. However, there are a few things you should consider before deciding if a heat pump is right for you. There are a few key criteria you must meet in your home for the installation of an air source heat pump to be viable.
Heat pump water heaters do not work efficiently in a cold space, as they tend to cool the space in which they are located. Hybrid heat pumps are also available, combining an air source heat pump and a gas boiler in a single box, designed to work together and get the best out of each heating system. The air source heat pump obtains its energy from the surrounding air, so as the ambient air temperature drops, so does the efficiency. Lower temperatures will also mean that an air source heat pump is only compatible with homes that have high levels of insulation and airtightness.
Despite the fact that the exhaust air in the mini-splits was noticeably warm, they continued to heat their house, to temperatures in the range of -30C. Therefore, when the geothermal heat pump works frequently during the summer, it can heat all the water.
