Rinnai Corp, a Japanese manufacturer of home heating appliances, has unveiled a new hot water heat pump for residential and small commercial applications.
Called HydraHeat, the new heat pump is manufactured by Rinnai in New Zealand and is specifically designed for climatic conditions with temperatures ranging from -10 C to 42 C, as well as coastal locations. The system is designed for outdoor installations and cannot be used as a swimming pool heater, or for hydronic applications.
It consists of a 1 kW top unit using heat pump technology that extracts thermal energy from ambient air and a 4.7 kW cylinder that can operate on electricity or in heat pump mode.
The system uses a circulation pump to draw water from the bottom of the storage cylinder, heat the water, and then return it to the cylinder at a higher temperature. The heat pump and the element in the tank are able to heat the water to a temperature of up to 70 C.
The new product reportedly operates in full heat pump mode down to -10 C without the need for electric boosting. It measures 1,750 mm x 510 mm x 1,240 mm and has a weight of 400 kg.
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The heat pump has a water storage capacity of 275 L and a coefficient of temperature of 4.7. The rated heat pump input/output is 802 W/3,725 W and the hot water recovery rate is 89 L/h.
The system also features built-in defrost and frost protection functions. It comes with a 5-year heat pump unit warranty and a 7-year cylinder warranty. “Using the efficiency of heat pump technology, HydraHeat will heat a home’s water while saving you up to 75% on your water heating costs,” the manufacturer said.
The new product will be available for sale in November.
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Does it have timers that are Solar friendly. Essentially would like varied options to heat water from my solar system in sun hours(adjustable of course) proceeding to heat pump activation in non sun hours if temps inside tank drop due to usage etc
So the tank are able to heat the water to a temperature of up to 70 C without the need of electric boosting. Very nice. We need them here in South Africa.
Are the heat pumps also manufactured in New Zealand, or are they Chinese made?
Hello Sash, the heat pump will only heat up water by the transfer of energy using a refrigerant, similar to a fridge or an air conditioner but on heating only. That said, it doesn’t utilise solar power directly though it can be done, but can be made to work to draw electrical energy only during sun hours, from your PV system. That way the Coefficient of Performance will dramatically increase.
I live in Southwest Victoria who do I contact about this unit and dies it qualify for gov rebates.
Thanks Anton. Basically looking for a hybrid heat pump solution. If the 8kw array solar provides all the k watts needed during sun hours it would be good if it had an resistive element capable of utilising it to heat water quicker. If it only uses the 1kw the entire time my solar is exported at a third of the price I buy it, so does make sense I buy a smarter hybrid system. I am confused why a Japanese company is behind in thought process.
They use a electrical heating element to boost to 70c