Home Heating
1 October 2020
Fascinating Facts About Heat Pumps
If you’re anything like us, you’re curious to find out more about these little wonders of the heating and cooling world. After all, Heat Pumps are some of the most versatile pieces of HVAC equipment, making them pretty cool… no pun intended.
Heat Pumps are amazing pieces of technology. In the middle of winter when most of us are complaining about the cold, Heat Pumps are looking outside for heat. That’s because even when it’s below freezing outside, heat energy is still present and your Heat Pump will hunt it out, transfer it into heat and deliver it into your home.
Heat Pumps are also eco-warriors. Your Heat Pump is a great lover of the environment and knows how to reduce, reuse and recycle. Instead of generating new heat, your heatpump will move heat that was already there to warm your home - resulting in your Heat Pump’s ability to reduce the amount of energy you use to heat or cool your home by as much as 40%. Reduced energy usage means reduced power bills. And we all like the sound of that!
Heat Pumps hate to sweat too. In the summer when your Heat Pump is working in cooling mode, it will remove excess moisture and reduce indoor humidity levels. In heating mode the Heat Pump removes moisture from your room as warm air is circulated around it.
Here are some other fascinating Heat Pump facts:
- A New York based inventor by the name of Willis Carrier invented air conditioning and patented it in 1906. He called it ‘apparatus for treating air’. He invented it to help ink dry in a steamy Brooklyn printing press. He used an industrial fan to blow air over steam coils filled with cold water; the excess humidity would then condense on the coils and produce cooled air.
- 1931 H. H. Schultz and J. Q. Sherman invented an individual room air conditioner that sat on a window ledge — a design that's been ubiquitous in apartment buildings ever since. The units were available for purchase a year later and were only able to be enjoyed by the wealthiest of people. (The large cooling systems cost between $10,000 and $50,000. That's equivalent to around $120,000 to $600,000 today.)
- In 1939 the automobile manufacturer Packard invented the coolest ride in town - the first air-conditioned car. Dashboard controls for the A/C, however, came later. Should the Packard's passengers get chilly, the driver had to stop the engine, pop open the hood, and disconnect a compressor belt.
- Even though the first air conditioning in cars was introduced in 1939 in the US, it wasn’t until the 1970s that Japanese cars with air conditioning made their way to New Zealand.
- Back in the 1930’s most homes didn’t have air conditioning - but movie theatres did. So naturally, customers flocked to the movies in hot weather. Studios began releasing their biggest films during summer, a trend that continues to this day.
- Air conditioning units similar to what’s on the market today began appearing across the globe in the 1950’s
- Well over 50 percent of home heating products sold in New Zealand are Heat Pumps.
- 10% of the world’s energy use is spent on air conditioning.
- 70% of Saudi Arabia’s energy use is on air conditioning.
- It is estimated that there are 1.6 billion air conditioning units across the globe. This is expected to rise to 5 billion by 2050.
- China has the most air conditioning units in the world, followed by the USA.
- For each kW of electricity consumed by a Heat Pump, about 4kW of thermal energy is generated… this corresponds to around 300% efficiency!
When the weather turns, turn to someone you can trust.
Rinnai – Your Experts in Total Home Living.
