Where Should A Heat Pump Be Placed In A House?

There is not much use in investing in a system that provides hot water if the place in which it will be stored is not given sufficient thought beforehand. The location of a hot water system should ideally be within proximity to the hot water faucets. If the water only needs to go a small distance, your system will have a higher degree of responsiveness than one that requires the water to travel further. You won’t have to make the base temperature higher to make up for the time it takes for the water to travel through your pipes because you won’t need to make that adjustment. As a consequence, there will be a consequent reduction in the amount of energy frittered away.

Having said that, if you consider the layout of your property, there is no way to guarantee this will be the case. If you have to choose which tap you want closest to the hot water unit, it is usually best to put it nearer to the fixtures with the highest demand, which are most often those in the shower or bathroom. Suppose you have to choose which tap you want closest to the hot water unit. In that case, it is usually best to put it nearer to the fixtures. Suppose you have to pick which tap you want closest to the hot water unit. In that case, it is generally advisable to locate it more closely to the institutions with the most considerable demand for hot water. If you have to choose which tap you want closest to the hot water unit, click here.

What Are The Different Sizes And Styles Of Heat Pumps?

There are several aspects to consider while shopping for a heat pump for your home. The following are some general rules of thumb. Still, please remember that our staff is always available to discuss your requirements over the phone or visit your home in person to assess its characteristics.

Whether or not a Ducted Air Circulation(TM) System has been installed, or whether or not installation of such a system is planned for the future. If ducting is going to be done, it is recommended to use a larger heat pump. Depending on the size of the room (3 kW for a small to medium bedroom, up to 9 KW+ for ample living space, with 8.1 KW being the norm for most homes with three bedrooms), the required amount of electricity can vary.
Heaters already in place If there is a substantial existing heater in one area of the home, it is possible that a second heat pump will not be needed. In most cases, the cost of ducting the air from an existing wood/gas/radiant heater or heat pump is the same as the cost of the ducting itself, but the operating costs are significantly lower.
The amount of air that is contained within the home. A larger heat pump is required when the mood to be conditioned is more remarkable, as is the case when the home’s floor space is increased. The architecture of the home. Construction elements such as expansive windows, cathedral or skillion ceilings, insulation levels and the house’s orientation all impact what design and strength of the heat pump may be required.

It would be best if you went with the larger size. This is because you can turn down a larger heater but not turn up a minor system. Although it might initially set you back a few hundred dollars extra, you will enjoy the investment for at least ten years, if not longer. There are a few primary categories of heat pumps, which are as follows:

Heat pumps for wall-mounted split systems. The term “split” refers to the existence of both an externally and internally unit (connected via refrigerant and cabling tubing). Because of economies of scale, this type of heat pump is the most common one used in Tasmania and can frequently be purchased for less money than other types.
Different fashions. A few more specialised alternative heat pumps, such as “bulkhead” and ceiling-mounted heat pumps, are employed in particular circumstances. These heat pumps have their unique advantages and disadvantages.
Cassette Heat Pumps are heat pumps that are installed so that they are flush with the ceiling. These are wonderful for aesthetic and functional reasons; they don’t require any floor or wall space, can be put amid a considerable area, and are typically unobtrusive because they are suspended from the ceiling.
Heat Pumps Installed on the Floor in Consoles Although this design is widely acknowledged as the most effective heat pump almost entirely used for heating, most manufacturers only offer systems with a maximum heating capacity of 6 KW. Although there are few exceptions with particular brands (and certain manufacturers suggest that more significant variants may be released), floor consoles are typical $500 to $800 more expensive than wall-mounted counterparts. If you are fortunate enough to have already or plan to create a Ducted Air Circulation System, the warm (or cool) air is continuously circulated, regardless of whether the unit is mounted on the wall or the floor.
Heat Pumps With Ductwork Systems. These are useful for larger houses requiring zoning control, which means controlling the temperature in specific home regions. They can be distributed through floor registers or ceiling vents, and both distribution methods are available. They usually have a much more excellent KW rating than wall splits (between 10 and 18 kW), but they provide even heating throughout the home.
Multi-Split Systems. A bigger exterior unit, typically the compressor or inverter, can have many interior heat pump consoles or units attached to it in various house parts. This configuration is an alternative to installing several separate heat pumps.

What Are The Heat Pump Configuration And Installation?

Indoor Tank Systems

When putting in a hot water system, you may need to do it inside or under cover. Under these circumstances, you should take the necessary steps to keep them safe from children and put them in a place where they won’t get into other activities or be damaged by anything else. A small cupboard is often used for this purpose.

As required by the manufacturer and the Australian Standard Heated Water Services, carefully plan for and leave enough space around the water heater for maintenance and ventilation (with various exceptions). In the same way, gas units used inside must have an exhaust flue built so that the gases made by combustion can go outside. Be very careful not to store corrosive chemicals near your water heater. These substances can give off vapours that could get sucked into the water heater and cause it to rust from the inside out. It would not be practical to construct a storage tank system in smaller homes and apartments; instead, you could need to instal a continuous flow system. The interior unit typically includes a coil, fan, air filter, air vanes, and condensate pipe that heats or cools, dries, and circulates the air in the space. The indoor apparatus may be:

Cassette- Mounted within the ceiling panels, this directs air out from each of its four edges at ceiling level.
Wall or high wall – mounted high on the wall, this leads air downward or horizontally into a room while bringing perspective in from above or below.
Ceiling – mounted on the underside of the roof, close to a wall; this brings air in from below or the wall side and directs air across the room at ceiling level.
Ceiling Floor- Mounted on or just above the floor and against a wall, this draws air in from below or floor level and directs air up the wall.

Around the unit, there should be nothing that could get in the way of the air circulating freely. Near the ceiling is the ideal placement for a heat pump that utilises the reverse cycle. At floor level is the perfect arrangement for a heat pump whose primary function is to provide heating. (It is essential to remember that various units are incompatible; for example, those intended to be mounted high on a wall should not be mounted low on the wall.) The optimal location for a ducted system is in the ceiling area, with the supply and return air ducts located as far apart as possible. The efficient flow of air is significant:

When installed too close to the ceiling, a unit risks experiencing a short cycle and turning off too soon.
Only a portion of the room may be heated or cooled if the unit is situated in a corner.
The team’s performance may be impacted if the site is exposed to draughts.

As a result, the precise location of the indoor unit is something that ought to be given a lot of careful thought. One of the most disappointing findings from research conducted by BRANZ on families that own heat pumps was that more than a fifth of the households with heat pumps said that their heat pump had not been built in the ideal location. To avoid making people uncomfortable due to draughts caused by airflow, the site should take into account the room’s entry and departure points and the expected arrangement of furniture.

Outdoor Unit

Only highly trained and knowledgeable technicians should instal heat pumps. To achieve the highest possible levels of heat transmission and heat pump capacity:

The air input channel of the outside unit must be clear of any obstructions.

It is necessary to divert the air from the outlet away from the coil and the air intake.

It is critical to ensure that air can circulate freely around the coil. The distance between the outdoor unit and any impediment must be 500 millimetres on the air input and outlet faces. It must be 100 millimetres on all other fronts.

Consider the heat pump’s primary function while placing the exterior unit. Place the outside unit facing north or west for maximum heating performance (and vice versa for cooling). Heat pumps are most efficient when the internal and exterior temperatures are close.

Because the unit’s compressor and fans will produce noise, it is essential to situate the team in such a way that it causes the least amount of disturbance to the inhabitants and the neighbours:

Neoprene isolation mounts or pads should support the heat pump chassis (to absorb any vibration).
Wall-mounted outdoor fans are likely to transfer vibrations. Therefore you should stay away from using them.
Please put it in a place that isn’t too loud, away from areas like bedrooms.
Retrofit installations demand exceptional care and attention to ensure that sound and vibration insulation is adequate.
Routine maintenance on the device will prevent worn bearings and other components from becoming noisy.
You can block noise from the neighbours by erecting a fence or utilising another type of barrier, but a black mass in direct line of sight of the unit is the most effective.

For maximum efficacy, position the outside and interior units as closely as possible. If there is a requirement for a pipe run that is significantly longer, a trained professional installer may add another pump to the line. Be sure that the recommended pipe run lengths provided by the pipe manufacturer are not exceeded. BRANZ’s analyses of installed heat pumps have uncovered a few typical mistakes that should be avoided. In particular:

Ensure outdoor units are fitted with at least 100 millimetres of ground clearance.
Verify that the devices are stable. The frames should be firmly fastened to something that will not move when the device is attached to brackets that keep it off the floor.
Any hoses that remove moisture from the interior unit must be directed into drains or gardens, not onto walkways.
Please use caulk to seal off the areas around the lines that emerge from the ducting.

When installing a heat pump in a location with geothermal or coastal conditions, you must ensure that the exterior unit has special anti-corrosive coatings.

Configuration Options

Design choices for air-to-air heat pumps include the following:

A split system is one in which the outdoor unit provides power to a separate indoor unit situated within the room that needs to be heated or cooled.
Ducted: one indoor unit located in a building void space (such as above the ceiling) has many supply ducts to several rooms, each of which is separately controlled by air flow rate multi-split: one outdoor unit supplies several indoor units ducted: one indoor unit located in a building void space (such as above the ceiling)

Heat pumps are capable of functioning as:

An inverter system uses a variable speed compressor motor to keep a consistent temperature setting while allowing for some variation.
A system with a fixed speed is one in which the outside unit contains a single-speed compressor that runs at a constant speed and is either turned on or turned off.

Because they are around thirty per cent more efficient than fixed-speed systems, inverter systems are becoming more widespread in their installation. They are quicker at reaching the desired temperature than systems with a constant speed, and the speed adjustment results in a much quieter operation.

FAQs

Can A Heat Pump Be Inside The House?

Don’t bring your air-source heat pump inside! You are not permitted to instal an air-source heat pump inside the house because doing so will have the same effect as placing a refrigerator in the space. It will continue to cool the surrounding air until it cannot extract any more heat from the air.

Where Should A Heat Pump Be Located?

If you want the outdoor unit to have the best performance for heating, place it in the warmest location possible, such as on a wall that faces north or west (and vice versa for cooling). When there is a relatively small difference in temperature between the indoors and the outdoors, heat pumps operate at their maximum level of efficiency.

Can You Install A Heat Pump In A Hallway?

During the winter, if the rooms in the back of your house, including the bedrooms and hallway, tend to be chilly, we can instal ducts specifically to heat those spaces. The heat pump in your living room continues to do an excellent job, and with the touch of a button, you can distribute pleasant, even heat to the other areas of your home.

Should A Heat Pump Be In The Sun?

They can avoid the need for a remotely mounted air sensor by merely placing a sensor on the back of the unit by the coil and spinning the fans for a few seconds. This solution is not only simple and cost-effective, but it is also efficient. Should we then mount the unit where it will receive the most sunlight? Put another way, and the answer is that you can put it wherever you like.

How Much Is Wall Space Needed For A Heat Pump?

When installing a heat pump, you need an average of 12 to 24 inches (one to two feet) in all directions, but you can place it as far away as 100 feet from the house. Several things should influence the final position of a heat pump from home.

What Is The Reason For System Efficiency?

Losses Of Heat

All storage systems experience some heat loss through the cylinder’s walls, or “standing losses,” and heat pump water heaters are no exception. This indicates that they use energy even when no hot water is used. The amount of heat loss increases with cylinder size. Heat losses account for a significant amount of the total energy used to heat water in tiny houses. Turn off the heat-pump water heater at the switchboard if you’re leaving your home for a long time to save electricity.

Electricity Rate Off-Peak

The system must be appropriately sized if you want to utilise the heat pump water heater on the cheaper off-peak energy tariff when it predominantly heats water overnight. You can run out of hot water if it is too tiny. When requesting a quote from your supplier, bring up this topic.

Rate of reheating

If you live in an area with a lot of cold weather and use a lot of hot water, the reheat or recovery rate (in litres per hour) will be very significant to you. This is impacted by the following:

Configuration of the system’s temperature and humidity and the surrounding air temperature of your cold water supply.

When the temperature of the air around you is lower, the rate at which you reheat food will slow down. Some systems use an electric boost element, activated if the air temperature is low. As a result, the time required to bring the water in the storage cylinder up to temperature will be cut down. However, this will also increase the monthly maintenance costs.

Make use of the timer.

A built-in timer is now standard on many heat pump systems, and this timer allows users to set the amount of time they want the system to run to heat water. If you already have a solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed on your roof to generate electricity, this may come in handy. Suppose you operate the heat pump water on a peak electricity tariff. In that case, you may programme the timer to operate the system during the middle of the day to use the electricity generated by the sun. This can be done by setting the timer to run the system during the middle hours of the day.

Costs Of Operation

A heat-pump hot water system consumes a significantly lower amount of electricity than an electric storage hot water system. This is because it just uses electricity to run the compressor and the fan, rather than using electricity to heat the water directly with an electric element. This results in significantly lower energy consumption overall.

If the cylinder is large enough, these systems can be operated during the overnight hours using the more affordable off-peak electricity tariff. However, it is essential to make sure that the system is of adequate size for your requirements. These systems are also capable of operating on a peak electricity tariff, indicating that they will heat water throughout the day per your consumption of it.

If you have a photovoltaic (PV) system installed on your roof to generate power, it may be advantageous to operate a heat pump water heater on a peak electricity tariff. Additionally, it would be best if you used a timer to restrict the time the water is heated to the middle of the day. Because of this, the photovoltaic system will be able to make more efficient use of the electricity it generates, resulting in a lower overall amount of electricity being sent back into the grid.

Conclusion

The location of a hot water system should ideally be within proximity to the hot water faucets. If the water only needs to go a small distance, your system will have a higher degree of responsiveness than one that requires the water to travel further.

You won’t have to raise the base temperature to compensate for the time it takes for the water to travel through your pipes because you won’t need to make that adjustment. This will additionally result in a decrease in the amount of wasted energy.

When looking for a heat pump for your home, there are several factors that you should take into consideration.

The following are some guidelines to follow as a general rule. Please remember that our team is always available to discuss your requirements over the phone or visit your home in person to evaluate its qualities. They can do either of these things at your convenience.

Whether or not a Ducted Air Circulation(TM) System has been installed, as well as whether or not the installation of such a system is planned for the foreseeable future.

When the amount of space that needs to be conditioned is significantly higher, as is the case when the amount of floor space in residence is increased, a considerably larger heat pump is required. It is possible that a second heat pump will not be necessary for the home if there is already a big heater installed in one of the rooms of the house.

There are a few different heat pumps that are more specialised, such as “bulkhead” heat pumps and ceiling-mounted heat pumps. Each of these heat pumps has its own set of benefits and drawbacks.

Content Summary

In a perfect world, a hot water system’s storage location would be close to the fixtures that dispense hot water.
If you have to choose which tap you want closest to the hot water unit, it is generally best to put it nearer to the fixtures with the highest demand, which are most often those in the shower or bathroom. If you have to choose which tap you want closest to the hot water unit, it is usually best to put it nearer to the fixtures with the highest demand.
When looking for a heat pump for your home, there are several factors that you should take into consideration.
It is strongly suggested that a larger heat pump be utilised whenever ducting is installed.
There are heaters already installed. It is possible that a second heat pump will not be required for the home if there is already a powerful heater installed in one of the rooms of the house.
The layout and construction of the house.
Consoles have heat pumps installed on their floors of them. Most manufacturers only offer systems with a maximum heating capacity of 6 KW, even though this layout is widely recognised as the most effective heat pump almost entirely used for heating. This is because almost all heat pumps are used for heating.
If you are fortunate enough to have already or plan to create a Ducted Air Circulation System, the warm (or cool) air will be continuously circulated, regardless of whether the unit is mounted on the wall or the floor. This is true irrespective of where the team is located in the room.
It is possible for a larger exterior unit, typically the compressor or inverter, to have multiple interior heat pump consoles or units attached to it in various parts of the house.
It is possible that installing a hot water system will require you to do the work inside or under cover.
Be sure to carefully plan for and leave enough space around the water heater for maintenance and ventilation, following the recommendations of the water heater’s manufacturer and the Australian Standard for Heated Water Services (with various exceptions).
Take extreme caution to avoid storing corrosive chemicals close to your water heater.
A reverse cycle heat pump should ideally be positioned close to the ceiling.
If the appliance is placed in the corner of the room, it will only be able to heat or cool a portion of the overall space.
When deciding where to place the exterior unit of the heat pump, keep in mind its primary function.
For optimum heating performance, position the outdoor unit to face either the north or the west (and vice versa for cooling).
Position the exterior and interior units as closely as practicable to achieve the highest efficiency.
If you are going to install a heat pump in an area with geothermal or coastal conditions, you will need to ensure that the exterior unit has special coatings that protect it from corrosion.
The greater the diameter of the cylinder, the greater the lost heat.
To save money on your electric bill, you should turn off the heat-pump water heater at the switchboard if you are going to be gone for an extended period.
Suppose you want to use the heat pump water heater on the less expensive off-peak energy tariff when it primarily heats the water overnight. In that case, the system must be sized so that the volume of water heated overnight is sufficient to fulfil your day’s demands. This is because the system will primarily heat the water overnight.
Because of this, the amount of time needed to bring the temperature of the water in the storage cylinder up to the desired level will be reduced.
Many modern heat pump systems come equipped as standard with a built-in timer. With this timer, users can set the amount of time they want the system to run to heat water to the desired temperature.
Suppose you operate the heat pump water on a peak electricity tariff. In that case, you may programme the timer to operate the system during the middle of the day to use the electricity generated by the sun. This allows you to save money on your electricity bill.
This can be accomplished by adjusting the settings on the timer so that the system is active during the middle of the day.
The electricity required to power a heat pump hot water system is noticeably lower than that needed for an electric storage hot water system.
Nevertheless, it is of the utmost importance to check and see whether or not the system is of a size that is suitable for your needs.
Suppose you have a photovoltaic (PV) system installed on your roof to generate power. In that case, it is possible that it would be to your benefit to operate a heat pump water heater on a peak electricity tariff. This would allow you to take advantage of the power generated by your PV system.
In addition, it is recommended that you use a timer to limit the total amount of time that the water is heated to the middle of the day.