Maybe this is for another thread . . .
What is the difference between a heater and a heat pump? And what does a heat pump run on?
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Maybe this is for another thread . . .
What is the difference between a heater and a heat pump? And what does a heat pump run on?
A heat pump is a type of heater. It runs on electricity, but wait. For each unit of energy you put in you get around 5 units of heat out. Thus, it is much more energy efficient than a gas or propane heater. They are typically sized smaller than a gas heater, so you don't get rapid temperature rise with them - but once you raise the temperature they will maintain it very well. The only heater that is less costly to run is solar.
Might be (is) a dumb question, but how do heat pumps raise the water temp higher than the outside air temp? And I would assume that they heat better the hotter it is outside?
Yes the hotter it is outside the better they work. But think of it this way, how does an airconditioner make the inside air colder than the outside air? The answer is the same for a heat pump, which is an airconditioner that works in reverse. Normally you run an airconditioner to extract heat from your room and dump it outside. Your pool heatpump works by extracting heat from the outside (making it cooler) and dumps heat into your pool (inside).