Heat Pump Hot Water System that Dehumidifies: What Does it Imply?

March 10, 2019

A heat pump hot water system does a nice job of providing reverse-refrigeration action. Warm air is pulled in to the equipment through a vent, it’s dumped into a storage tank, and an energy-efficient source of warm water prospers. The fan, compressor and evaporator coil behind the intake vent even treat the air while pulling out its thermal energy. Check out the air outlet to see what’s happening.

It’s a Capable Air Dehumidifier

Is this a side effect? If so, it really favours the installation site, particularly when that installation area is damp. Let’s say this is a humid basement. Maybe there’s a leaking pipe or a surface that produces a sudden temperature difference. Whatever the reason, it’s musty down here, and the walls are developing a mildewy coating. Anyway, that heat pump hot water system is sucking in the damp air, plus it’s having a supplementary effect on the air as it passes through the evaporator coil.

The Reverse-Refrigeration Condensate Effect

As hot but muggy air passes through the fins of the evaporator coil, the laws of thermodynamics have their way. The refrigerant warms inside the coil, then it vapourises. A little compressor now takes care of the rest of the heating work, but we’re not going to look at this equipment stage. No, back at the evaporator fins, heat exchange mechanics is producing an interesting energy exchange byproduct. Simply this, as the refrigerant warms, the water trapped in the air passing over those coils cools. It then condenses on the coil fins, where it’s drained. In effect, the airflow is dried while it cools.

Dual-Role Water Heating and Air Drying

It gets damp in homes. In the winter, the humidity gets worse, then darkened growths spread. A car maybe enters a garage while covered in a slick coating of rain. Maybe a wet laundry room is nearby, and it’s undermining the integrity of a structure’s woodwork. Frankly speaking, that humidity shouldn’t be there, shouldn’t be allowed to float or soak into a surface. To stop this moisture, and the mould it supports, a heat pump hot water system will serve as a dampness removal mechanism. Again, its primary purpose is to provide warm water, but the equipment does also incorporate that secondary function, which it’ll perform as a natural consequence of its water warming operations.

As a system byproduct, it’s nice to know that heat pump hot water systems are naturally talented dehumidifiers. Consider this feature when installing a storage tank in a dank and musty location, for it really will dry the air while simultaneously warming a home’s hot water supply.

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