Why Copper Hot Water Cylinders Are Best For Heat Pumps

By Author: Guadalupe Richard
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Regardless of whether it is an Air or Ground source heat pump, Copper hot water cylinders have been widely recognised as the best and most cost effective solution to use in conjunction with the system.

Heat pumps work by extracting heat from an outside source using liquids that boil at low temperatures. When the liquids boil, they vaporise and this vapour is then compressed into a small space.

By compressing the vapour, its temperature increases and it is at this point that the hot vapour will pass through a heat exchanger. Due to Copper having superior heat transferring properties, it makes it the most efficient material for doing this and by using a finned copper coil, the surface area can be greatly increased to boost the transfer process even further.

Copper has a thermal conductivity of 401W/mK, which, when compared to Stainless Steel with a rating of 14W/mK, makes it easy to see why copper is the material of choice

One of the other main advantages of using Copper Cylinders with Heat Pump Systems is that it has natural antibacterial properties.

Due to the way Heat Pumps work, they ...
... typically heat water to a temperature of between 45-55 degrees, which can provide a breeding ground for bacteria such as Ecoli and Legionella.

Copper will eradicate MRSA, E-coli and Avian Bird Flu in under 5 Hours (1). In tests it took 34 days for E-coli 0157 to die on Stainless Steel, 4 days on brass and just 4 hours on copper (2) 99% of the bacterial population introduced into a copper plumbing system, will disappear in under five hours. Copper is recommended to combat Legionellae.

Add in the fact that copper offers a far greater degree of manufacturing versatility for the sizing of the cylinder and the fact that copper has an exceptional resistance to corrosion to ensure that the hot water cylinder continues to perform for years to come.

And if that wasn't enough, over 90% of all copper is re-used over and over again, making it the ultimate choice as well as environmental and economic sense.

McDonald Engineers are a specialist hot water cylinder manufacturer, with a range of products including heat pump cylinders, thermal stores, domestic vented and unvented cylinders as well as Commercial and Industrial Calorifiers.