Electric storage hot water systems are popular with Australian homeowners. They are cheap to purchase, easy to use, and relatively easy to maintain. Unfortunately, they also require a significant amount of energy to function. Relying on an electric storage hot water system can raise your home's energy bills, and also makes your household less eco-friendly.
If you are looking to replace your electric storage hot water system with a more efficient system, heat pump hot water systems are an excellent choice. Here are three reasons to replace your ageing, inefficient electric storage system with a heat pump system.
Energy Efficiency
Heat pump hot water systems function using a circulating loop of refrigerant liquid. This liquid is passed through outdoor heat exchangers, where it absorbs ambient heat. The heated liquid is then funnelled to a hot water storage tank, and the heat is released to create hot water. The refrigerant liquid is then returned to the outdoor exchangers, and the cycle repeats.
Heat pumps can use two types of outdoor sources to generate heat. Air-source heat pumps extract heat from the air surrounding the heat exchanger, and the most efficient models can still extract useable heat at temperatures close to freezing. Geothermal pumps have buried heat exchangers, and extract heat from the soil, which remains at a relatively constant temperature throughout the year.
Because this system does not rely on any combustible fuel sources or electrical resistance heaters, it is extremely energy efficient. The only components that use energy are the compressor, which compresses the refrigerant liquid to make it absorb heat, and the circulator pump, which pumps the refrigerant liquid through the system.
Heat pump hot water systems, therefore, use significantly less energy than electric storage hot water systems and cost a lot less to run. Heat pump systems are more expensive than electric storage systems, but these lower running costs make a heat pump system an investment that will pay for itself over time.
Eco-Friendly
Energy efficiency isn't just good for your bank account — it also benefits the environment. Lowering your home's overall energy usage with a heat pump system will decrease your reliance on mains electricity, much of which is generated using non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels. Heat pump systems are also zero-emission, unlike gas or oil-fired hot water systems.
Reliability And Low Maintenance
Heat pump systems can also help you save money by avoiding expensive repair bills. Because heat pumps have relatively few moving parts, they are less likely to malfunction than other hot water systems, and require less maintenance to function properly. They are especially reliable compared to electric storage systems, which rely on heating elements that must be replaced every few years.
Share23 June 2022
If you experience plumbing problems, you will no doubt want to take action to get them fixed as soon as possible. Plumbing issues can lead to serious damage to your property so it is important that you take action fast. My name is Jackie and I would like to give you some advice on the steps you should take if your property develops a plumbing problem. I'm not a plumber myself but when my water pipes started to leak, I had to call out a plumber. The contractor who visited my home gave me lots of useful tips on how I could maintain my plumbing system.
