- heat accumulators, more precisely the heat pump accumulators, are devices used for the production of sanitary water, i.e. that used for personal hygiene and cooking. Since these are devices that are becoming more and more common, let's try to understand how they work and what benefits they can bring.
How do heat pump accumulators work?
Visually the heat accumulators they closely resemble the classic electric water heaters, now almost out of use; the similarity, however, is only visual because the operating mechanism is very different, just as the energy consumption is very different, decidedly higher in the case of electric water heaters (otherwise called boilers).
In the latter, electricity powers a coil which develops considerable heat which is then transferred to the water in the tank which progressively heats up; in heat pump accumulators, however, the water is heated thanks to a heat exchange resulting from the splitting of the refrigerant gas present inside the compressor with which the appliance is equipped.
In this case electricity consumption is significantly reduced, even in the case of higher volumes of water. For example, if the accumulator is set at a temperature of 40°C, a deposit of 300 liters of water allows you to take three showers in the winter (on average a shower requires a water consumption of 100-120 litres).
Within about an hour the water inside the accumulator can be used again.
What is a heat pump?
Heat pumps are devices that extract thermal energy from sources such as water and air and then distribute it inside a home or any other building. Their operation is similar to that of refrigerators, but is reversed. In fact, the latter extract heat from the inside and then expel it externally; in a heat pump the mechanism works in the opposite way.
Although there are different versions of heat pumps, the most common is the air-water one; that is, the thermal energy is extracted from the air and transferred to the water in the domestic system.
Interesting features of heat pumps is that they are economic and eco-sustainable systems; in fact, they are relatively energy-intensive devices and since they use renewable energy sources they fall into the category of so-called "green solutions".
An interesting solution from an economic point of view is that of associate a heat pump accumulator with a photovoltaic system; the latter, in fact, is a system that allows you to self-produce electricity and this allows you to benefit from further economic savings; Furthermore, tax bonuses are foreseen for photovoltaic systems (il photovoltaic bonus provides for the deduction of 50% of the costs incurred for the installation of the system).
Installation of the heat pump accumulator
Installing a heat pump accumulator is quite simple; It can be placed in any place where there is a hot water and cold water connection. Two air ducts will also be needed; these serve to cool the compressor and allow the heat exchange of the refrigerated gas for its condensation. For this purpose it is necessary to drill two holes in the masonry; one will be used for the suction pipe, while the other for the expulsion pipe. The ducts must be closed by an insect-repellent net.
