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Why buy a large and expensive PV array at 15% efficiency to run a complex heat pump when you could instead use the sun’s thermal energy directly in a solar wate
by throwaway402739 3y ago
Why buy a large and expensive PV array at 15% efficiency to run a complex heat pump when you could instead use the sun’s thermal energy directly in a solar water heater at 70% efficiency?
- lm28469 3y agoThat's what I was going to comment (although it's closer to 30% than 15% these days), It's low tech and a fraction of the cost, for a swimming pool all you need is a pump and some black pipes really
- sokoloff 3y agoThat probably flips the balance from "use solar thermal" to "use PV and heat pumps", especially in any environment where indoor cooling is simultaneously needed (which is a common case). If solar PV is 25% efficient and the heat pump CoP is then 4.0, you get a gross efficiency of 100% (plus "pre-paid" air conditioning).
- jansan 3y agoIt depends on what you want to do with the heat pump. That solar water heater will not help you much when you want to cool your house in summer. BTW, I am not sure why exverbody is exited about "heat pumps", which are just air conditionings that have been in use in Asia for decades and probably been installed a billion times