HOW DOES IT WORK?

SA-HPWHs are engineered to harness energy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The Smart Solar patented thermodynamic panel acts as a heat exchanger, utilizing air (day and night in all weather conditions) to evaporate circulating refrigerant from a liquid to a gaseous state. The unit is powered by a tiny, electric compressor (think of a common refrigerator). The process starts when water heating is called for (when the water temperature within the tank drops 10°F below the target set point temperature). Liquid refrigerant is then circulated through the exterior thermodynamic panel at a temperature that is colder than the ambient air temperature. This is possible even on the coldest winter night. As the liquid refrigerant is circulated through the thermodynamic panel, heat moves from the comparatively warmer ambient air, heating the refrigerant past its boiling point and evaporating the refrigerant to its gaseous form. The refrigerant is then returned to the condenser unit (usually mounted next to or above the storage tank) and compressed to increase it’s temperature up to 230F, before being circulated through a heat exchanger where it heats potable water that is stored in the tank. As it transfers its heat, the refrigerant cools and condenses back to a liquid state, ready to repeat the process.

A word on ‘Hybrid’ or ‘Air Source Heat Pump’ water heaters.

Hybrid water heaters are readily available from home improvement centers and boast good efficiency (‘COP’) numbers. But this efficiency comes with a hidden cost; if the household is using it’s space heating system in cold weather, the hybrid water heater is using that heated air to heat hot water. A hybrid water heater consumes heated air and expels cold air that needs to be reheated by the heating system. The net effect is similar to opening a window in winter in the home.

Hybrid water heaters can be a great choice in some southern climate applications where water heaters are sometimes located in unheated garages and cooling the space is desirable.