AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMP CYLINDER
AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMP CYLINDER
Heat pumps come in many forms. We recommend installing an air source heat pump cylinder in combination with your outdoor air source heat pump (ASHP) for the best performance, efficiency, savings, and CO₂ reduction.
WHAT IS AN AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMP CYLINDER?
An air source heat pump cylinder is an air source heat pump that operates within your domestic hot water cylinder.
It works in the same way as the outdoor unit, creating an exchange between the outdoor environment and the hot water in the cylinder.
CORE ADVANTAGES:
- Stand alone system: the ASHP cylinder operates independently from heat pump. This means there is no risk that heating losses priority over domestic hot water.
- Better efficiency: the ASHP cylinder sources it’s air from within your house, with the added benefit that the outside air goes through your home before meeting the evaporator, meaning the air is already a few degrees warmer than the outside air temperature, thus improving the SCOP performance of the pump.
- Cost Savings: because your domestic hot water needs are much less than your heating needs you don’t need the same power to run them. This means the outdoor unit has greater efficiency losses when it isn’t needed to heat your home. The lower powered ASHP cylinder is much better suited for daily domestic hot water needs.
- Summer usage: In the summer you won’t often need the outdoor unit (unless you use it to cool your house), the ASHP cylinder can run separately and again more efficiently.
- Different settings: Planning your hot water usage is much easier than your heating, and requires a different time-of-day program. The ASHP cylinder should only need to run at night, at the cheapest and least disruptive time, and because they are extremely well insulated (often less than 1°C heat loss per 24 hrs) it is very cost effective to run on this alternative setting rather than in combination with your outdoor unit.
- Water quality: It is becoming more clear that it is essential to have high water quality with any water you come into contact with, and not just the water you ingest. ASHP cylinders can be the first stage in high quality water.
Water QUALITY
Homes have two hot water systems. One for heating and one for your domestic water usage. The reason for this is the quality of the water you drink, bath in, and generally come into contact with, needs to be a higher quality then that of your heating water.
There is an increased awareness for the quality of your domestic water, and not just your drinking water. It is now even recommended to filter your shower and bath water. Our skin is very sensitive, and absorbs chemicals and substances it comes into contact with.
Having a high quality domestic hot water system is essential first stage in ensure high water quality with the water you come into contact with.
Our ASHP cylinders are fitted with smart devices which regularly clean and sterilize your water. We can also fit a filter which would further improve the your water quality.
DOMESTIC HOT WATER USAGE
The amount of water you use for your in home hot water is much less than you need for your heating system in the winter, and in the summer you often only need your domestic hot water heat pump to be running.
This means that having these two hot water systems working on different programs is a much more efficient way of operating:
- Priority heating: is the first advantage in a split demand system. In a traditional system, domestic hot water takes priority (so that you have a hot shower when you want it), this means that it is possible the heat pump can’t give enough heat to your heating if you are using the pump to heat your domestic hot water. In a split demand system you don’t have to worry about priority heating, as both pumps work independently to heat the water in their own system, meeting demand for both as and when needed.
- Operating Program: having your hot water and heating on separate programs makes a lot of sense. Heat pumps work best in low power modes, working slowly but very efficiently. During high demand periods (say bath time in the evening on a cold day) the pump won’t be able to stay in low power mode and still provide you with adequate heating. By splitting the system you reduce this risk significantly, allowing the hot water to heat separately and as needed, not at the same time as the heating system is working to heat your home.
- Efficiency: as mentioned, for the best savings and efficiency, heat pumps ought to run at minimum capacity, in their most efficient mode. As the heating requirements for domestic hot water are much less than heating, the power and capacity needed can be much less. The air source heat pump cylinder is therefore the perfect solution as it runs at a much lower frequency and thus more efficiently, to heat your hot water needs.
