10. Compared with conventional solar energy, what are the advantages of air to water heat pump?
The advantages are obvious, mainly reflected in four aspects:
A. From the aspect of investment: If the same water supply effect is achieved, the investment of heat pump water heater unit is less then that of conventional solar energy products, and economic electric energy can be used to make hot water reserve when the power consumption is low.
B. From the aspect of use: Conventional solar energy products are obviously affected by the weather. They can not work on cloudy, rainy, snowy and night days. While heat pump water heaters can work as usual regardless of cloudy, rainy, snowy, night or sunshine, providing hot water all day.
C. From the aspect of operation cost: Conventional solar energy operates at almost zero cost under direct sunshine. Unfortunately, it can only rely on auxiliary system in rainy and snowy days or nights. Statistical data show that in normal use, the annual energy consumption of conventional solar energy auxiliary system is higher than that of heat pump units.
D. Other aspect: heat pump units can be placed anywhere without restriction, and occupy very small space, while conventional solar energy to achieve the same heating effect requies a lot of space, but also must be placed in the open air. Heat pump units can produce cold air while making hot water, which can be used for assistant functions such as dehumidification, cooling and air filtration.
11. Why heat pump water heaters are more effective than electric water heaters or natural gas water heaters?
The general heating mothod is to use energy directly to heat water. The energy efficienty of electric water heater is about 95% and that of natural gas is about 75%. The heat pump unit uses electricity to drive compressor instead of heating water directly. The heat energy actually comes from the environment.