Our Top 5 Tips for Choosing the Best Heat Pump

Author: May

Sep. 09, 2024

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Our Top 5 Tips for Choosing the Best Heat Pump

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Choosing the right heat pump for your home is a decision that can make or break its sustainability rating - not to mention the nature of your monthly electricity bills.

At G Store, we operate on the understanding that it&#;s rarely worth installing a sub-quality heat pump. Why? Because when your unit will be in need of consistent replacement, repair or otherwise, you&#;ll ultimately defeat the purpose of obtaining a more efficient method of heating/cooling in the first place.

In this article, we take a look at some of the key considerations in making the right decision regarding the integration of heat pumps into your home. To do this, we&#;ll tackle some of the most frequently asked questions relating to your options.

Ready? We can&#;t wait to help!

But firstly:

Tip 1: Understand what a heat pump is and how it works

A heat pump is a device that can heat a building, water source/storage unit or otherwise by transferring thermal energy from outside air into a space or body of water that needs heating or cooling.

As a marvel of contemporary engineering and design, its premise is surprisingly simple (and elegant): a heat pump &#;pumps&#; heat either into your home (when you want it warmer) or out of your home (when you want it cooler).

Air source heat pumps work by:

Either extracting heat from the cold, outside air, then using a compressor within the device to increase the temperature of the extracted heat using electricity, or
Extracting warm air from the inside of a home, then pumping this air to the external boundary of the building

That&#;s the simplified version. Let&#;s look at this process in more detail.

Most commonly used for heating, the heat pump absorbs heat from ambient air.

This heat is then absorbed by a refrigerant. While premium systems (like those supplied by G Store) will use CO2 due to its low Global Warming Potential, there is a wide variety of refrigerants currently in use across the market. The warm gas then passes through a compressor, which increases its pressure and temperature, making the heating of your home a real breeze.

Tip 2: Understand the main types of heat pumps

There are two main types of air source heat pumps:

Air to heat pumps - these absorb heat from the outside air, transferring it into your home via a fan system
Air to water heat pumps -these absorb heat from the outside air and then transfer it inside your home to provide hot water heating, underfloor heating, or otherwise

Put simply, there is a high-quality heat pump to suit your exact needs and specifications - just call our friendly G Store team on 766 940 to run through your options!

Tip 3: Understand which heat pumps are best for cold climates

Well, when the word &#;heat&#; is in the name of the product, it&#;s a great question to ask!

Firstly, do heat pumps actually work in environments that experience consistently low temperatures overall?

It helps to first understand that there are a number of factors that will determine the longevity and performance of your heat pump, including:

Quality
Model
Operating temperature

Let&#;s be real: some days get so cold that a heat pump can&#;t work at all &#; that means there&#;s just not enough heat in the air to heat your water or home. However, this is far less likely to happen if the quality of your heat pump is sufficient.

To begin with, the minimum temperature at which your heat pump can operate depends on the quality and model of your heat pump. The very best units are able to function at up to -10°C (that&#;s the temperature of the outside, ambient air) - which, luckily, means almost every Victorian home will be able to have reliable hot water and heating all-year-round.

However, it&#;s important to understand that lower-quality heat pumps won&#;t operate as efficiently in those cooler temperatures - like in winter, when you need your heating the most!

The low-end operational temperatures of these units tend to range from -7° to 5°C. Therefore, it becomes incredibly important to make sure you&#;re buying one that&#;s suited for your specific climate-related needs. Imagine waking up and finding no heating or hot water because the overnight temperature was too low for your heat pump to work!

Here&#;s an important thing to remember. To compensate for the fact they can&#;t operate at lower temperatures, some heat pumps will include an electric booster. That works much the same as an electric heater, using resistive heating.

While the good news is you&#;ll be able to get hot water and heating overnight, the bad news is that, given it involves using additional electricity, it&#;s likely to cost you a lot more to do so.

When purchasing a heat pump for the first time, this makes it important to pay close attention to two key factors:

Your heat pump&#;s minimum operating temperature
Whether or not it uses an electric booster

G-Store stocks all the leading names in heat pumps including Reclaim, Sanden, Evo-Heat and Stiebel Eltron for the benefit of optimum performance and peace of mind.

If you&#;re ready to find an option that&#;s best-fit for your needs, give our award-winning team a call today on 766 940.

Tip 4: Understand which heat pumps are best for hot water systems

For more information, please visit mini heat pump for pool China.

If you&#;re looking at purchasing a heat pump for hot water, we want to congratulate you on your decision.

Firstly, heat pumps are roughly up to three times more efficient than a conventional electric water heater, saving you precious resources, money and greenhouse gas emissions - a win for both the environment and your back pocket!

Of course, the problem you&#;re most likely to encounter when choosing the best heat pump for hot water is exactly that: facing the prospect of a lack of hot water.

Heat pumps are seriously impressive pieces of technology &#; but they&#;re not magic. Like any bit of machinery, there can be problems and faults to deal with.

Let&#;s head back to the issue of operating temperature again. If, for example, your chosen heat pump can&#;t function below 5°C and you go through a night that&#;s consistently colder than that, one thing&#;s for certain: it&#;ll be a cold morning shower for you and yours. The only way around that is to ensure you get a system with a lower minimum temperature, or to get one with an electric booster (accepting the additional running costs that come with it).

The thing you&#;ll need to consider is the components that come with your hot water system. Firstly, the rate at which your hot water system refills (as well as your tank&#;s storage capacity) will have a big impact on the perceived efficiency and quality of your heat pump.

Hot water systems are one of the hardest-working pieces of infrastructure in a home. Therefore, to avoid issues with your hot water heat pump, you should also have your pump regularly serviced by a professional. Your installer - such as our friendly G Store team - can advise you on the optimum service schedule for your chosen unit.

Tip 5: Yes, you can use a heat pump for your pool!

Ah, the question that all you pool-owners out there have been waiting for.

Yes, you can! And the best thing is that there&#;s a heat pump out there to suit a wide range of pool-heating needs, regardless of whether or not your pool is new.

Case study: Reclaim CO2 Heat Pump Hot Water System

When it comes to choosing the best heat pump for your circumstances, your award-winning team at G Store offers you a number of great-fit options.

Stocking only the best in quality, efficient and beautifully designed heat pump units, G-Store stocks all top names in heat pumps including Reclaim, Sanden, Evo-Heat and Stiebel Eltron.

Let&#;s look at the Reclaim Energy CO2 Heat Pump Hot Water System as an example.

The Reclaim heat pump in this system has an average COP (Coefficient of Performance) of 5, meaning for every 1 kW of electric input, it generates about 5 kW thermal output.

This is about 80% less energy when compared to traditional electric element hot water systems. What&#;s more, this particular CO2 heat pump has excellent cold weather performance characteristics, negating the need for a boosting element to supplement heating for the unit.

Benefits of the Reclaim CO2 heat pump unit include:

Minimise cost of energy used to produce hot water
Environmentally-friendly
Eligible for Small-scale Technology Certificate (STCs)
Easy to install
Quieter operation

Wrapping up

Are you ready to find a heat pump that&#;s best-suited to your specific interests and needs? Check out our Learning Centre for further info, or give our friendly sales team a call today on 766 940 for your obligation-free consultation.

We can&#;t wait to meet you.

The Pool Heater Buying Guide for

Cooler weather doesn&#;t stop us Floridians from enjoying a swim. But it doesn&#;t mean we love taking a polar plunge, either! It&#;s great to live in a place where you can swim outdoors year-round, but that can&#;t happen without a pool heater to warm up cold water in cooler weather.

If you&#;re looking to take your pool to four-season functionality, a good pool heater will do the trick. But which one should you choose? We&#;ve got you covered with our handy guide to this year&#;s pool heater market.

You can find these pool heaters (and more!) in our Miami showroom. We&#;ll install it, too!

What to Know Before Buying a Pool Heater

How much space does a pool heater need?

Before you start, you should know whether you have enough room for new pool gear. A pool heater is most often installed after your filtration system. That means there needs to be at least 3&#;4 feet of room for the heater to fit into your rig. Otherwise you may need to invest in some rearrangement renovations.

What type of pool heater should I get?

There are other types of heaters we&#;re not going to cover here &#; such as solar and electrical resistance heaters &#; because heat pumps and gas are really your best bets.

Heat pumps are the most common and efficient type of swimming pool heaters to use in Florida. A heat pump takes the heat from the outdoor air, then transfers it to the pool water via a compressor and a heat exchanger.

Heat pumps are generally more expensive than gas heaters, but use much less energy and last longer. However, heat pumps start to lose efficiency when it&#;s below 50 degrees outside, and they&#;re practically useless in freezing temperatures. Luckily for Floridians, this isn&#;t too much of a concern.

Gas heaters can heat a pool very quickly, but do so at the expense of either natural gas or propane. They&#;re not as efficient as heat pumps, but the startup cost is much less. Gas heaters are particularly great if:

Your house already has a natural gas line
Your pool is very small and quick to heat
You don&#;t plan on keeping your pool heated constantly throughout the winter months

Heating? Cooling? Or Both

Some heat pump models don&#;t just heat water, but can also lower the water temperature in hot weather. So if your water is too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer, you might want to consider one of these options! Just look for a model notated as a &#;Heat and Cool&#; or &#;H&C&#; unit.

What size pool heater do I need?

Here&#;s a quick formula: For every 10,000 gallons of water, you need about 100,000 BTUs to heat your pool properly and in a reasonable amount of time.

But what about if your pool is somewhere close to the edge? When it comes to pool heaters, it&#;s always better to size up than down. Not only will this heat your pool faster, but it puts less strain on your new gadget.

Do you plan to keep the pool warm year-round, or just in the winter months? Are you using your pool every day in December, or just once in an ice-blue moon? Is the heater dedicated to a backyard pool, or is it also providing auxiliary heat to your hot tub?

These questions can determine the size and function of your pool heater. Be sure to bring these factors up with your pool professional when you&#;re thinking of purchasing the right heater.

How much does it cost to heat a pool?

Aside from the initial purchase and installation, you&#;re going to find most of your pool heating expenses wind up on your energy bill. The energy cost to heat your pool depends a lot on:

The size of your pool
The type of heater you use
Your local climate

If you&#;re using a heat pump, you can expect to pay about $2,000 a year in Miami. Since gas heaters are usually less energy-efficient, it could cost nearly double if you were to heat your pool year-round.

How long does it take to heat a pool?

The time it takes to heat your pool also depends on its size, the weather, and how much heat you use.

On average, it takes about one hour per degree for a 100,000-BTU heater to heat a small backyard pool. In cooler months, expect this to take 12 to 24 hours to get to a comfortable temperature.

Our Top Pool Heater Picks for This Year

Best Overall Pool Heater

Gulfstream HE-2 Series

Pros:

Great value
Plastic cabinet withstands corrosion
Energy efficient
Ultra-resistant titanium heat exchanger

Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, we love Gulfstream&#;s quality and value. They&#;re heat pumps made by Floridians, for Floridians, designed specifically to withstand the Florida elements. The plastic cabinet holds up over time against the salty ocean air.

Speaking of corrosion, Gulfstream knows a thing or two about it. That&#;s why they use titanium heat exchangers to create a more durable, consistent heating experience. If you&#;re looking for a great heater at an even better cost, this is it.

Best for On-And-Off Usage

Raypak Gas Heaters

Pros:

Affordable startup cost
Heat when you want it
Functional in frigid temperatures

Maybe you&#;re using your pool for a few quick swims after making a New Year&#;s resolution, or you&#;re entertaining a wild pack of bored children. Raypak is the standard in gas pool heating. It&#;s a fantastic draw for anyone who isn&#;t using their pool 365 days a year, or just wants to save some cash upfront. You also have the dual benefit of quickly heating your pool for a short period of time &#; perfect for, say, a weekend holiday pool party?

Most Durable

AquaCal HeatWave SuperQuiet Series

Pros:

Durable, long-lasting
Smartphone controls
Seriously efficient

For those looking to go the extra mile and put in a serious investment, AquaCal has you covered for longer. Like Gulfstream, AquaCal heat pumps boast a super-durable titanium heat exchanger, but they don&#;t stop there. That&#;s because the SuperQuiet also delivers some of the best energy efficiency on the market, unit-to-unit. Also, it really is just that &#; super quiet, which is a nice feature if your equipment pad is situated outside a bedroom.