Heat pumps

by Sally Bouorm | August 1, 2010 9:40 am

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By Tom Redman

If you were the last on your block to switch from VHS to DVD, just recently traded in your beeper for a cellphone or were taken by surprise by the evolution of ‘digital TV,’ don’t worry: your secret is safe. However, if you are still under the impression that gas heaters are the only game in town when it comes to heating swimming pools, then you will be surprised. Heat pumps do work—even in Canada!

Maximizing investments

Before discussing heat pump benefits and operation, it is important to understand why homeowners heat their pools in the first place and what choice they’ve made to achieve this goal.

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Homeowners heat their pools to extend the swimming season, thus maximizing their investment. However, those in the industry will find each family has a different definition for this phrase. Some families do not decide they will be swimming over the weekend until Friday afternoon, while others want to be in the pool as soon as they get home. Others are perfectly happy to wait longer before jumping in the pool, as long as it means they can avoid increasing their gas bill.

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When faced with the decision of how to heat the pool, most households will fall into one of two main categories—gas heater (in driving lingo, a muscle car) or heat pump (a hybrid vehicle). Drivers of both vehicle types all want to get to a particular speed; similarly, owners of both heater types want to heat pool water to a certain temperature—it’s just a question of how.

For example, those interested in muscle cars are usually more concerned about going fast and how quickly the vehicle can reach a certain speed. This is similar to gas heater owners, who are concerned with having heat on demand and are not worried about the costs involved in achieving what they want.

This is not to say those interested in hybrid vehicles are not concerned about speed. These owners also want to go fast; however, they do not mind attaining a certain speed at a more gradual pace in the effort to save fuel costs. The same can be said about heat pump owners. They are interested in swimming in warm water as well, but do not mind waiting before taking a dip.

One size does not fit all

By now the connection between muscle/hybrid vehicle owners and gas/heat pump heater owners should be clear; however, what many may not realize is, ‘one size does not fit all.’ When following up on a pool heating lead, get to know the customer first before sizing up the pool and quoting a price. What is the family hoping to achieve and what is their realistic budget?

If a heat pump is installed on a swimming pool at a household where a gas heater would be a better fit, it could be a mistake that comes back to haunt a dealer. In this case, dealers may be faced with customer complaints, such as “This thing is not working, I turned it on two hours ago!” or “But the party is tomorrow!” Conversely, when a family gets a gas heater for their pool when they should have received a heat pump, there is a good chance they may never turn the unit on again after receiving their first gas bill.

Neither pool heating method is perfect; however, matching the proper system to a particular family’s needs makes the dealer a hero in their customer’s eyes, which in turn can bring word-of-mouth referrals.

How do they work?

When selling swimming pool heaters, adding a heat pump to the product line is more about becoming the client’s one-stop shop, rather than being ‘green’ (eco-friendly) or ‘cutting edge,’ as the principles upon which a heat pump operates are not based on new technology.

Consumers may not realize this, but they have probably used heat pumps all their lives. The heat pump family includes air conditioners, refrigerators, icemakers and freezers. The world’s first heat pump, a steam-powered icemaker, was invented in 1830. The first air conditioner was up and running in 1911, followed by the first air-to-water system in the 1950s. While there have been constant improvements to the technology, the customer can be assured the concept itself is well established.

By definition, a heat pump is a machine that moves heat from a low-temperature reservoir to a higher-temperature reservoir via mechanical means. It relies on the second law of thermodynamics which, in layman’s terms, means hot always goes to cold.

A heat pump uses a powerful fan to draw air through its evaporator coil, which is located on the unit’s exterior and resembles a radiator. It comprises metallic fins and small tubes that have super cold refrigerant running through them. When air is drawn through the coil and passes over the tubes, heat from the air is transferred to the refrigerant based on energy conversion between heat and mechanical work. The warmer refrigerant heads into the compressor, which in addition to moving the refrigerant throughout the system, compresses it, making the refrigerant even warmer. Finally, the warm refrigerant travels through a heat exchanger where its heat is transferred to the cooler pool water without ever coming into direct contact with the water itself.

Concerned about losing the client halfway through that explanation? Consider describing the mechanics as if it were a radio for heat. A radio receives electromagnetic waves (signals) through its antenna, then amplifies the stronger signal, which we hear through the speakers. A heat pump receives heat from ambient air via its evaporator coil, the refrigerant is made warmer as it travels through the compressor and then delivers the heat to the pool water via the heat exchanger.

Breaking down barriers

A heat pump’s fuel source is the free heat present in the outside air, as opposed to a gas heater, which uses propane or natural gas. Although a heat pump does use electricity, it is only to power the unit’s internal components, which amplifies the heat it draws in before it is transferred to the swimming pool. In comparison, a gas heater transfers a larger amount of heat energy to the pool, but does so at a loss, due to the amount of energy spent.

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While the concept and reduced costs make heat pumps an attractive alternative heating method, dealers may face a barrier of disbelief from customers, as they may be skeptical that ‘free heat’ can actually be extracted from the air—especially in Canadian climates.

Although there may be less heat in the air amidst cooler temperatures, heat pumps are designed to find it. Even though Canada has a reputation for its cold weather, outside temperatures during the swimming season can get rather hot. Granted, the heat the unit will find in colder temperatures is certainly much less than if the outside temperature was 26.6 C (80 F), but most heat pumps can find heat when temperatures are as low as 7.2 C (45 F).

Keep in mind, homeowners decide to heat their swimming pools to maximize their investment by extending the swimming season; most Canadian families are not looking to swim in the dead of winter. A heat pump will simply add ‘bookends’ to a family’s swim season; it allows them to get in the pool earlier and keeps them there longer, at a lower cost than if they had purchased a gas heater.

Get in the know

Dealers should become as comfortable and familiar with heat pumps as they are with gas heaters to ensure everything goes smoothly when selling and installing these products. Many of the factors taken into consideration when sizing a heat pump are the same as a gas heater (e.g. outside temperature, desired water temperature, water features, pool exposure, etc.) Dealers should also utilize local manufacturer representatives and the company’s instructional materials to get a better understanding of how a particular product performs under different circumstances. This allows the dealer to teach a client what to expect when heating with this type of equipment.

Remember, heat pumps are not ‘voodoo,’ nor are they ‘newfangled.’ They are simply another option available to help attract and satisfy a different field of customers—including those in Canada.

Gas heaters	Heat pumps
·         Regarded more for their effectiveness;	·         Regarded more for their efficiency;
·         Typically called upon to heat pools and spas as rapidly as possible;	·         Typically used to maintain heat levels in pools and spas;
·         Residential units usually range between 200 to 400 British thermal units (Btus) in size; and	·         Residential units usually range between 95 to 130 Btus in size; and
·         Usually have an efficiency of approximately 78 to 84 per cent, which means for every $1 spent on gas, the unit puts out roughly 78 to 84 cents worth of energy.	·         Usually have a coefficient of performance (COP) between 4.0 to 6.0, which means for every $1 spent on electricity, the unit puts out approximately $4 to 6 worth of energy.

 

Tom ‘TJ’ Redman is a district sales manager and heat pump product specialist for Raypak/Rheem in Central and Northeast Florida. He has more than 20 years experience in retail, service/repair, construction/remodeling, and is currently involved in manufacturing. Redman has been working with Raypak/Rheem for almost eight years. He can be reached at tredman@raypak.com[5].

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/heat-pumps/

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