Why a heat battery makes sense with your heat pump

If you have a heat pump, you may already have noticed one of the biggest differences between a heat pump and a traditional combi boiler: you need somewhere to store your hot water. For many homeowners, this means installing a large hot water cylinder, but there is another option.

A Sunamp Thermino heat battery can provide the hot water storage your heat pump needs, while taking up significantly less space than a conventional cylinder. It can also work alongside solar PV and time-of-use electricity tariffs, making it a particularly intriguing option for homeowners looking to get more from their heat pump and reduce their reliance on grid electricity.

For plumbers and heating engineers, a Sunamp Thermino also provides another solution when a traditional cylinder simply does not fit the job.

Why does a heat pump need hot water storage?

A heat pump works differently from a traditional combi boiler. A combi boiler can heat water almost instantly as you turn on a tap. An air source heat pump, however, is primarily designed to provide low temperature heating efficiently. Domestic hot water needs to be handled separately, and traditionally, this has been a hot water cylinder.

A hot water cylinder can work well in a home with plenty of space, but not every property has a convenient airing cupboard or utility room large enough for a sizeable cylinder. This is particularly common in homes that previously had a combi boiler. The homeowner may have enjoyed having hot water without a cylinder at all, only to discover that installing a heat pump now requires a large tank to be added somewhere in the property. This is where a heat battery can make a huge difference.

What is a Sunamp heat battery?

A Sunamp Thermino is a heat battery designed to store thermal energy for hot water. Rather than storing a large volume of hot water in a tank, Thermino stores energy in Sunamp’s phase change material, known as Plentigrade.

When the heat battery is charged, energy is stored within the phase change material. When hot water is required, that stored energy is released through a heat exchanger to provide mains pressure hot water. The result? A compact system capable of storing a significant amount of usable thermal energy, without needing a large cylinder full of hot water.

Why choose a Sunamp instead of a hot water cylinder?

For a homeowner with a heat pump, the biggest advantage may simply be space. A conventional hot water cylinder can be a surprisingly large addition to a home. In many properties, finding a suitable location will mean losing an airing cupboard, reducing storage space, or carrying out additional building and carpentry work.

Opting for a Sunamp instead can dramatically reduce the amount of space required for hot water storage. This could mean keeping the cupboard you already have, using space underneath a worktop, or finding a suitable location where a conventional cylinder would not fit. Sunamp’s compact design is one of the reasons the technology is particularly useful when installing heat pumps into existing homes.

Already have a heat pump? You can still switch to a Sunamp

You do not have to be installing a brand new heat pump to benefit from a Sunamp. If you already have an air source heat pump and a conventional hot water cylinder, it may be possible to replace the cylinder with a Thermino heat battery.

For homeowners, this can be an attractive upgrade if your existing cylinder is taking up valuable space, if you are planning other work in the room, or if you want to make better use of solar PV or cheaper electricity periods.

A heat pump and heat battery can work together very effectively, because the heat pump can charge the thermal store and the stored energy can then be used when hot water is needed. It is essentially the same principle as an electrical home battery, but instead of storing electricity for your lights and appliances, the Sunamp stores energy specifically for hot water.

A heat battery can make your heat pump installation easier

The advantages are not only for homeowners. For plumbers and heating engineers, hot water storage can be one of the more awkward parts of a heat pump installation. You need to consider where the cylinder will go, how it will be transported into position, how the pipework will be routed, and whether there is sufficient room for all of the associated components. A large cylinder can also create problems in properties where space is already limited.

A Sunamp Thermino provides another option. The current Thermino range is designed to be compact and easy to install, with models available for different applications including direct and indirect hot water systems. For installers, that means you can offer your customer a genuine alternative rather than having to tell them that a large cylinder is the only option.

What about hot water performance?

Compact does not mean that you have to compromise on the hot water experience. Thermino is designed to provide high flow rate, mains pressure hot water when required. Homeowners are often used to turning on a shower or tap and having hot water delivered at mains pressure, a heat battery can provide that same familiar style of hot water delivery without needing to keep a large volume of hot water stored in a conventional cylinder.

A better use of solar energy

Solar PV often generates its highest output during the middle of the day, when the household may not be using very much electricity. Without energy storage, excess electricity will be exported to the grid. With A Sunamp, surplus solar generation can instead be used to charge the heat battery and store that energy for hot water. This means your solar panels can help provide hot water later in the day, even when the sun is no longer shining.

Sunamp Thermino can also work alongside electrical home battery storage. A system such as a Tesla Powerwall stores electricity for use throughout the home, while the Sunamp stores thermal energy specifically for hot water. The two technologies therefore complement each other, rather than doing the same job.

What about cheaper electricity tariffs?

A Sunamp can also be useful if you have a time-of-use electricity tariff. Electricity prices can vary considerably throughout the day. If you have access to cheaper periods, you may be able to charge the heat battery during those periods and use the stored heat when you actually need hot water. This is particularly relevant for heat pump owners because hot water demand does not necessarily happen at the same time as the cheapest electricity. The heat battery effectively allows you to separate when you buy or generate the energy from when you use the hot water.

Of course, whether a time of use tariff will save you money depends on your individual electricity usage, tariff, and ability to make use of the cheaper periods.

Is a Sunamp better than a cylinder?

A conventional hot water cylinder is a perfectly valid solution, and might be the right choice where there is plenty of space and the existing system is suitable. If you have a heat pump and are unhappy about losing a large amount of storage space to a cylinder, a Sunamp is certainly worth considering.

A Sunamp is particularly attractive where space is limited, where a cylinder would require significant changes to the property, or where the homeowner wants to combine their hot water system with solar PV and flexible electricity tariffs. The fact that Thermino can be up to four times smaller than an equivalent hot water cylinder is a major advantage in many UK homes.

What are the benefits for plumbers and heating engineers?

For heating engineers, Thermino is another tool in your toolbox. You may already be installing heat pumps and be looking for a better hot water solution for properties where a conventional cylinder is difficult to accommodate. Or, perhaps you are a plumber who does not install heat pumps but regularly comes across customers asking about low carbon heating and hot water.

Sunamp does not require any mandatory installer, and qualified plumbers and electricians can install Thermino in accordance with the relevant installation requirements. Offering a heat battery can also help you overcome one of the common objections to heat pump installations: “I don’t have anywhere to put a cylinder.”

Instead of losing the job because the property cannot accommodate a conventional cylinder, you may have another solution to offer.

Buy Sunamp Thermino for your next project

Whether you are a homeowner looking to improve an existing heat pump installation, or a plumber specifying hot water storage for a new project, a Sunamp Thermino is worth considering. For homeowners, it can provide a compact, high performance hot water solution that works particularly well with heat pumps, solar PV, and flexible electricity tariffs.

For heating engineers and plumbers, it offers another way to solve difficult hot water installations while giving your customers a product that can free up valuable space in their homes.

Looking for a Sunamp for your home?

If you already have a heat pump and are considering replacing your hot water cylinder, or you are planning a new heat pump installation, take a look at the Sunamp Thermino range available from sunamp.shop.

If you are unsure which model is right for your property, get in touch and we can help you choose the appropriate system.

Are you a plumber or heating engineer?

If you are buying Sunamp for installation into a customer’s property, get in touch with us directly to discuss trade pricing. We supply Sunamp products to trade customers, and can help you with product selection, ancillary components, and the requirements for your particular installation.

Whether you are installing your first Sunamp or already specify heat batteries regularly, speak to us before placing your order to discuss your requirements and trade account options.