M-Tech Industrial (Pty) Ltd, was commissioned by Eskom to investigate the use of heat pumps as a means of heating water as a more energy efficient alternative to household geysers.

Two detailed case studies were undertaken, one in the residential sector and the other in the commercial sector.  The residential study compared three heating methods; conventional geyser, heat pump and solar heating, while the commercial study only compared heat pumps to geysers.  The study was conducted on a computer simulation program.

The conclusions drawn from the study were:

• Heat pumps achieve at least 80% of the savings possible with a comparable solar water heating system, but at far lower installation cost.

• Heat pumps are a cost effective technology for heating water in commercial applications.