Air-Source Heat Pump Water Heater
Hydron-Aire EVI Air-to-Water Heat Pumps
The Hydron-Aire EVI Air to Water Heat Pump is the most efficient air source solution on the market today. It has approximately 3 to 4 times greater thermal energy efficiency than natural gas and uses innovative hydronic distribution technology to supply energy to your home, including:
• Both efficient heating and cooling modes; no need for a separate air conditioning unit
• Radiant floor heating and cooling modes
• Domestic hot water
| Commercial Spaces ✔ | Residential Heat Pump ✔ |
| New builds ✔ | Retrofits ✔ |
| Monoblock Heat Pumps ✔ | Split System Heat Pumps |
| Big ✔ | Small |
| Cooling Mode ✔ | Heating Mode✔ |
| Cold Climate ✔ | Hot Climate ✔ |
How air-to-water heat pump systems work?
An air-to-water heat pump is a piece of mechanical equipment that extracts thermal energy from the air and uses it to heat or cool water.
Air-source heat pump systems work by concentrating and transferring thermal energy between the outside air and indoor space (indoor unit). For example, when providing hot air to the indoor space, a fan draws air through the pump’s evaporator, which is situated in the outdoor unit. The thermal energy in the air is transferred to a liquid refrigerant, which changes its physical state and evaporates even at low temperatures, absorbing the energy. The pump compressor increases the pressure of that liquid refrigerant and then feeds this now energy-dense liquid refrigerant into the condenser, which heat pump transfers the thermal energy into a water and glycol mixture. This hot fluid is pumped through pipes into the indoor space (indoor unit) and used to heat radiant floors, warm air, or domestic water.
Air-source heat pumps are a proven technology
Cold climate heat pumps are a proven technology that has been used for decades, both in North America, including Canadian market, and globally, to efficiently provide space heating, cooling, and hot water production to buildings.
EVI Air-to-Water Heat Pumps are the most efficient air source solution on the market today, with approximately 3 to 4 times greater thermal efficiency than natural gas. Additionally, EVI’s record-breaking low operating ambient temperature range (down to -30 degrees C) means less reliance on all electric and gas backup sources.
PLUS, Wi-Fi-enabled controls and programmable thermostats allow you to monitor and adjust the system from anywhere.
Enhanced Vapour Injection (EVI) and Air-to-Water Heat Pump Benefits
Discover the benefits of EVI water source heat pump technology. EVI is a technology used on our cold-climate air heat pumps to achieve higher performance at lower temperatures. An EVI pump uses a third, smaller internal plate water heat exchanger called an “Economizer” within the refrigeration cycle to provide optimal liquid refrigerant pressures and temperatures to a twin-inlet compressor design. These features allow the heat pump water heater to efficiently and reliably extract energy from much colder air than standard air-source heat pumps.
With the right control system, multiple comfort zones can be serviced within a home or building.
Air-source heat pumps are a proven, environmentally friendly technology that saves energy and money. However, traditional air-to-air and air-to-water heat pumps cannot efficiently extract energy from winter air conditions. When you need the most radiant heating, they give you the least and at their worst efficiency. That’s where Hydron-Aire EVI steps in!
EVI technology allows our air-to-water heat pumps to maintain high efficiency and capacity down to -30 °C air temperatures.
Can this type of heat pump heat air and water?
In addition, one of air-to-water heat pump benefits is to heat domestic water. A dedicated heat exchanger or hot water tank with a built-in heat exchanger is used as a heat transfer from the air-source heat pump system to heat domestic hot water. We even offer specific models for pools and hot tubs.
How Does EVI Work?
The EVI technology, known for its benefits, allows for efficient operation at much lower outdoor temperatures than standard air-source heat pumps. To do this, it utilizes a refrigeration compressor with two suction inlets instead of one. In low temperatures, a portion of hot refrigerant gas is reinjected into the second compressor connection to lower the total pressure difference the compressor must work against. The compressor is then sped up to do the same total work, thus maintaining heat pump capacity.
These graphs illustrate the heat pump energy use at a cold temperature and the efficiency it achieves:
To illustrate the benefits, we can compare an air-to-water heat pump to a vehicle. For example, a truck may be used to pull a load of material up a hill. The heavier the load you want to move up the hill, the more powerful the engine you need. But the more powerful engine will take more energy to operate, even when the extra power is not needed. Ideally, when the hill is steep, you simply reduce the amount you pull but make more trips to get the job done. Then you can drive a truck with a smaller and more efficient engine year-round, saving you money.
An air-to-water heat pump does the same thing by moving heat energy from a low-temperature location to a higher-temperature location. The pump compressor has to be sized to operate efficiently during low-load conditions. But when the difference between the outdoor and indoor temperatures is high, traditional air-source heat pump compressors will have insufficient power to get the job done. EVI technology allows the compressor to pull less energy up the hill per heating cycle and work faster, thus maintaining heat output.
Hydron-Aire EVI air-to-water heat pump advantages and benefits
Hydron-Aire EVI Air-to-Water Heat Pumps are the ideal solution to:
- RISING ENERGY COSTS: EVI captures energy from the air, saving up to 40% when compared with traditional heating and cooling air-source heat pump systems.
- RELIANCE ON FOSSIL FUELS: EVI eliminates the need for fossil fuels.
- UNSTABLE TEMPERATURES: With variable-speed technology, EVI pumps run at more consistent intervals, eliminating uneven temperatures throughout the space while also providing increased air filtration.
GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES: Check with your local provincial and municipal government as well as energy providers to see what incentives may be available in your area. We cover provincial rebates in our news section as well!
ELECTRIC BACKUP AVAILABLE: You can choose to have an electric form of backup heat, depending on what type of system you have. For example, our thermal storage tank comes with 12kw of backup electric resistance heating elements to keep the water hot in case the air-water heat pump stops operating. If you have an air handling unit for air distribution, you may also add in an electric backup heater to keep the air hot.
QUIET OPERATION: The outdoor unit of the air-water heat pump can range from approximately 43 dB to 48 dB, depending on the size of the pump.
DEMAND-DEFROST CONTROL: A defrost mode removes the frost from the outdoor coil. Frost conditions will occur when the coil temperature is lower than the dew point of the outdoor ambient conditions. The defrost cycle should be long enough to melt the ice but short enough to be energy efficient. The defrost mode on our air-water heat pumps lasts only a few minutes because we can use the stored heated water in the storage tank to accelerate the process. Because of this stored energy, the system’s efficiency is improved compared to traditional outdoor air-source heat pumps.
PROUDLY TÜV RHEINLAND CERTIFIED: We are certified by TÜV Rheinland, which stands for safety and quality in virtually all areas of business and life. Founded almost 150 years ago, the company is one of the world’s leading testing service providers.
5-YEAR WARRANTY: Our air-to-water heat pump comes with a 5- year parts warranty.
Hydronic Components
There are a few different air-water heat pump system configurations a homeowner could choose from, but typically you would expect to have the outdoor air-to-water heat pump, heated water circulation pumps, storage tanks, and a control system or programmable thermostat. If there is a forced air component to the system, then an air handler would be required as well. Basic heating and cooling applications can make use of a simple onboard control or remote mounted thermostat, while multizone systems use a central zone controller with remote thermostats in each zone.
