Solar hot Water V's Heat Pump Systems.
At Hot Water Now we sell & install both heat pump & solar hot water systems throughout South Australia. Below is some specific information about both products.
Heat Pump
We normally install heat pumps in the following applications;
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Where consumers don't want panels on their roof
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Where there is significant shading of the roof
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Where there is little interest in ongoing energy prices. (ie investment properties)
Solar Hot Water
Typically we install solar hot water systems in the following situations;
What is the difference between the 2 options?
Heat pumps save you 'energy' by using the heat from the air to heat your water, as such they only use 1.2kw/hr of electricity versus a standard electric system that uses 3.6kw/hr.
Solar Hot Water Systems use the sun to do 80% of year round heating & rely on gas or electric back up for the remaining 20% of the year.
Heat Pumps require connection to peak electricity, which can add up to 200% to the cost of each KW used heating water, versus an electric hot water system on off peak - although it may take 4hrs to heat water either way, if you are saving 60% on energy consumption but paying 200% more for the energy tariff, essentially you won't save any money versus an electric hot water system.
Solar hot water systems still use a 3.6KW element 20% of the time, & if the tank is sized correctly to your winter requirements, you will be able to remain on off peak, meaning that you will make a direct 80% saving on your electricity bill for hot water.
Due to the recent reduction in available rebates for Heat Pump as a general rule heat pumps will cost you more to install than solar hot water systems & heat pumps will cost significantly more to run each year than a solar hot water system.
We commonly hear of companies expressing that a Heat Pump is better than solar, we find that this would be plausable in some states other than South Australia, specifically places such as Northern Territory where 1. there is no off peak tariff, 2. there is high humidity, high ambient air temerature year round & high ground water temperature year round.
Typically it is easier to install a heat pump than a solar & you don't generally require multiple people & an electrical tradesman to complete the job. This can sometimes sway the views of specifically '1 man band plumbers' who in realism simply aren't capable of installing a solar hot water system.
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