Have you ever wondered how a pool heat pump works?
Pool heat pumps are exactly the same as any aircon unit but in reverse. This means that they extract heat from the air surrounding it, permitting it to heat the refrigerant gas which it is then compressed causing it to get even hotter.
This is then run through a heat exchanger in which the water is heated. The refrigerant can then expand again, thus cooling it down and the same process repeats itself again and again.
A pool heat pump absorbs heat from the surrounding air and sun so very little electricity is used to run the fan and compressor, especially the newer inverter technology models.
Pool heat pumps are very efficient water heating devices which use a small amount of electricity to drive a compressor which forms the heart of the heat pump. The heat energy produced can be more than five times the electrical energy used to drive the compressor on standard on/off models and more than ten times for inverter technology units. This means that your electricity consumption for pool heating can be divided by up to ten when compared with normal electrical elements which heat such as microwaves, kettles and stoves.
Heat pumps do not rely on sunshine or direct radiation but rather extract heat energy from the air at any time of the day or night and so it is effectively a solar heater in a different form. Even in extremely cold conditions (-5°C and lower) the heat pump can still provide a saving of more than 60%. In most cases in South Africa, where our daytime temperatures are relatively high, the efficiency is going to be at least 5 x that of an element heated water system. A heat pump looks similar to an air conditioner and can be installed either on the ground or on brackets on a wall. It is quiet and compact with a user friendly controller, has no greenhouse gas emissions and requires very little maintenance.
It can also be controlled via a smart phone app but this is only available on the newer inverter heat pumps which come with the wifi adaptor. Heat pumps operate by extracting heat energy from the surrounding air, regardless of the time of day or amount of direct sunlight available. This makes them a highly efficient alternative to traditional solar heaters. Even in extremely cold conditions, heat pumps can still provide energy savings of over 60%. In South Africa, where daytime temperatures are generally high, a heat pump’s efficiency is at least 5 times greater than that of an element heated water system.
These pumps are compact, quiet, and environmentally friendly, requiring minimal maintenance. They can even be controlled via a smartphone app on newer models equipped with a wifi adaptor.