Heat Pump Performance Comparison

The “Metran” Heat Pump operates with the use of electricity.   The electricity is used only, to drive the compressor, and fan in the “Heat Pump” section of the system.   The metran Heat Pump systems electrical draw is approximately 3 to 4 times less than the heating output capability therefore providing a saving in energy costs of between 75% and 80% when compared to a traditional electric water heater. 

The advantage of a “Metran” Heat Pump is that it “collects” free energy from the ambient air, and the efficiency of the system is improved even further, in regions of the world that have high ambient temperatures, and high humidity.    Typically, in tropical regions such as S.E. Asia, South Asia, tropical regions of Africa, and the Pacific Islands areas, the Solitaire Heat Pump can achieve a “system” Coefficient of Performance (COP) of around 4 or even higher.     This means that for every Kw. of energy that is consumed by the Metran Heat Pump, it will deliver around 4 Kw. of energy (in the form of hot water) at the outlet.    As a comparison, a conventional electric hot water system has a COP of around 0.80 meaning that for every 1 Kw. consumed, or supplied to the hot water system, the delivery is approximately 0.80 Kw.    This “negative” COP occurs because the electric system has only one energy source, ie. the electric element.     In addition, every hot water storage vessel, experiences a certain level of radiated heat loss (even through the tank insulation) over each 24 hour period, and in the case of electric hot water systems, this “energy” loss is “energy” that has to be delivered into the hot water system initially by the electricity supply.    This results in less useable energy (in the form of hot water) at the outlet.    From these results, it can be easily seen that the Metran Heat Pump is capable of producing substantial energy savings, (up to 75% or more) when compared to a conventional electric hot water systems.    

The term "COP" is the abbreviation for "Coefficient of Performance".    This simply means the relationship between the amount of conventional energy (electricity) that the system consumes, compared to the amount of energy that is actually delivered from the system, in the form of hot water.   In reality, hot water is just "cold" water that has had "energy" added to it, and the more energy that is added, the higher the temperature will be.

As a general rule, Heat Pumps are assessed on performance (COP) when operated in an average temperature environment of 20°C and this is what is usually chosen for a general assessment.    However, the performance can be actually better in areas where the average ambient temperature is higher than 20°C such as S.E. Asia, Pacific Islands, Sth. Asia, and other tropical areas of the world.  

The “instantaneous” COP is the "momentary" efficiency under a specific ambient temperature condition, but does not allow for any radiated (standing) heat loss that will occur from the storage tank.   The "actual" COP that is achieved from any heat pump under all circumstances of temperature conditions, as well as heat loss considerations, is referred to as the "system" COP.    This is the real figure that should be considered when deciding on which system will give the most efficient performance.   The only way that this can be assessed properly is by fitting monitoring equipment such as a water meter to the inlet of the system inlet & outlet water temperature gauges, as well as an electrical meter to monitor the electrical consumption.   These figures can then be used to calculate mathematically, the "system" COP by using standard Engineering formulas.

Because the “Metran” Heat Pumps can “collect” free energy (from the ambient air) for the whole period of each 24 hour day, it becomes particularly suited to Commercial / Industrial applications such as Hotels, Hospitals, large garment manufacturing factories, restaurants etc.     Due to the requirement of these facilities to deliver large amounts of hot water over long periods of each day, a solar option, quite often has an uneconomical “payback” period.     This is caused by the need for extra storage capacity, and additional collector numbers, to enable sufficient “free energy” to be collected from the sun (during the day time) to cover the evening usage.    However, with the “Metran” Heat Pumps the storage capacity can in fact be “reduced” because of the Metran system’s ability to collect “free energy” 24 hours per day.    This in turn reduces the Capital Cost outlay, and coupled with the high energy efficiency of the Metran Heat Pump, it can provide an economically viable hot water system alternative with a very attractive ROI.

  

The (0.63 Kw.) low energy draw of the Solitaire Heat Pump is also very beneficial, particularly for installations in remote areas where the electricity grid supply is not available, and the use of generators are required.    The conventional electric hot water systems, and even Solar hot water systems are usually fitted with a minium 2.4 Kw. heating/booster elements, and therefore would require the generator capacity to be considerably higher than what would be required if the Solitaire Heat Pumps were used.    Further Capital cost savings can be enjoyed as a result of this.

Metran International Pty. Ltd. also have a range of Commercial sized Heat Pumps which come in larger capacities up to 94 kW and larger if required.    These can be connected to either new or existing large volume storage tanks, to produce hot water very efficiently, throughout each 24 hours day.