Using a Heat Pump for a hot water cylinder
Assuming that it has been sized and installed correctly, a heat pump can supply more than enough heat for both space heating and hot water. However, there are a few things to be aware of if you’d like to use a heat pump for hot water and achieve high efficiency.
Combining Heat Pumps and cooler hot water reserves
One of the things that makes a heat pump so much more efficient than other types of heating is its reduced operating temperatures. Domestic heaters that are powered by oil, gas and electricity heat water up to around 70-80°C, whereas heat pumps used for hot water may only be efficient up to 55°C. Therefore, increasing the surface area of your emitter system (e.g. radiators or underfloor heating) and minimising the heat loss wherever possible with quality insulation makes such a difference.
Will the water in my bath and shower be colder?
Although the heat pump’s hot water temperature is roughly 20°C cooler than other domestic heaters, 30 seconds in a shower at 55°C would still leave you with severe burns, so for those who love their showers to be scalding hot, you won’t be disappointed. The only difference would be that you’d have to turn up the heat a little, as you’d need a greater volume of hot water than before.
Upsizing your hot water cylinder
As the name suggests, a hot water cylinder (or hot water tank) is a reserve of hot water that stands ready for immediate use i.e. when you run a tap, shower or bath. Typically, heat from a high-temperature boiler passes into the cylinder via heat exchanger coils. The problem arises when the boiler is replaced with a low temperature-efficient heat pump. The lower differential (the temperature difference between the flow and return) means that less heat will pass through the coils – the heat pump will think it’s doing its job without delivering enough heat, so the temperature in the cylinder won’t reach the desired level.
The solution to this is to replace your current cylinder with one that is designed for hot water from a heat pump. Just like with your emitter system, the main difference with heat pump-specific cylinders is that they have a much larger coil capacity, so there’s an increased surface area for the heat to transfer through the coils and warm the water in the cylinder.
Heat Pump hot water priority
If there’s a demand for both hot water and space heating at the same time, the heat pump will assume that the hot water is urgent, and leave your space heating until after the hot water cylinder reaches the desired temperature.
Want to find out how much your Heat Pump will cost?
Why not take our quick Home Survey and we’ll be able to let you know if your home is suitable for a heat pump, confirm your eligibility for the available government funding and also let you have a quote. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes. Click here to get started.