If you’re an Australian homeowner looking at heating up your water, you’ll likely be comparing a heat pump water heater and a propane water heater. Both are great options and will provide you with hot showers and baths, but they couldn’t be more different. Let’s take a look at how they compare.
The main difference between the two is how the hot water is generated. Propane heaters use gas to generate heat, while heat pumps use electricity to transfer energy from one place to another. This means that with a propane water heater, you’ll be using much more energy than with a heat pump. This makes it more expensive to run in the long run, as gas prices tend to fluctuate more than electricity prices.
When it comes to installation costs, a propane water heater is usually cheaper since it doesn’t require any additional wiring or equipment. However, the installation of a heat pump can be more expensive as additional wiring may need to be done for the blower motor and compressor. On top of this, propane tanks will need regular maintenance or replacing over time which adds extra costs to your bills.
When it comes to efficiency, again there’s no contest – heat pumps are far more efficient than propane units, while still providing hot water on demand. Heat pumps use a fraction of the energy that gas powered units do and can reduce your energy bills by up to 60%. On top of this, they are much better for the environment as they don’t emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere like gas powered units do.
Finally, we come on to noise – both types of systems will make some noise when running but on average heat pumps tend to be quieter than propane units due to their different mechanisms for generating hot water.
So there you have it – if you’re looking at heating up your home’s water supply then you’re probably looking at either a propane or a heat pump system. While propane units are cheaper upfront and easier to install, in terms of efficiency and running costs nothing beats a heat pump system which uses far less energy and emits fewer pollutants into the atmosphere. Plus it’s much quieter too!