Commercial market expands
In the past year, the heat pump industry has also seen increased focus on the commercial market with heavy-duty product lines and features. With this in mind, the latest heat pump products offered by Rheem Canada Ltd., which manufactures the new Raypak Professional Series and Rheem Compact Series in Brampton, Ont., cater to this market segment.
The Professional Series is designed for use in most commercial applications such as hotels and resorts, in addition to high-end residential pools, while the Compact Series offers the same features as the company’s Classic Series residential heat pump line; however, geared more towards the Canadian market.
“Professional Series units come with a flow switch (instead of a simple pressure switch), commercial-grade refrigerant components and our new low-noise, swept-wing fan blade assembly,” says Tom ‘TJ’ Redman II, Rheem’s heat pump product specialist. “These units come encased in our new stainless steel cabinet and are currently available in 170,000 Btus, with more sizes to be available soon.
“The Classic Series is available in 48,000, 67,000 and 85,000 Btu models. Regardless of the size selected, these units are packaged in our new compact shell, where even the largest model measures less than 800 mm (31.5 in.) wide and 900 mm (35.4 in.) tall.”
All Rheem and Raypak heat pumps are equipped with plumbing and electrical connections designed with quick and convenient connection in mind, along with component access and refrigerant ports with the service technician in mind.
Heat pump selling features
When selling heat pumps it is important for consumers to understand they must operate continuously to maintain the desired water temperature. Therefore, they cannot be operated like a gas heater to raise water temperature on demand.
With this in mind, heat pumps should be sold based on performance, reliability and low-operating costs. Their ease of automation should also be emphasized, as today’s heat pumps offer sophisticated control systems, which makes maintaining a heated pool easier.
For instance, Jandy’s heat pumps by Zodiac Pool Systems Canada Inc., in Oakville, Ont., allow pool owners to monitor heat pump functions from wherever is most convenient.
Further, the line’s advanced control options offer programmable features for both pools and spas, self-diagnostics and multilingual capability, while its ‘auto-heat’ feature maintains the water temperature automatically and efficiently, 24-7.
