The service life of an electric heat pump/gas water heater is about 5 years, the service life of an air source heat pump is 2~4 times that of it, and the general service life is 10-20 years. What are the factors that affect the service life of an air source heat pump?
Product Quality
The service life of the heat pump unit is affected by the quality of the units. The better the material and manufacturing technology, the longer the service life, this is a prerequisite.
Equipment Operating Time
Under normal circumstances, the daily operation time of the unit does not exceed 12 hours (continuously working). After this time, the probability of failure of the unit will increase, and the service life of the unit will also be affected. Therefore, it is necessary to reasonably select the unit equipment, or compared with the on/off heat pump, you can choose the inverter type because the inverter heat pump can automatically adjust the operating frequency and operating time of the unit according to the ambient temperature and the set target temperature, avoiding the compressor restarting and stopping process continuously and reduce the service life of the unit.
Outside Ambient Temperature
For the unit, the ambient temperature is also a major factor that directly affects its service life. When the ambient temperature is lower or higher, a special type of heat pump unit should be selected to ensure that the unit can still start and operate normally at low/ high temperatures. What ambient temperature is not suitable for heat pump unit operation? It depends on the working conditions of the heat pump you purchased. Different brands of heat pumps have different ambient temperatures. Such as a heat pump's ambient temps range is 5℃~40℃, which means this heat pump can not operate at ambient temps lower than 5℃ or higher than 40℃, otherwise, it will cause the unit to fail and shut down and reduce the service life, and if it runs in this condition for a long time, it will reduce the life of the unit. In addition, it is very important whether the unit has a defrosting function in a low-temperature environment.
Number of Compressor Starts and Stops
The compressor plays a decisive role in the longest life of the unit because if the unit is started and stopped frequently, the compressor will be impacted by excessive current, which will reduce the life of the unit.
External Factors
External factors mainly refer to human factors, which are reflected in whether the unit is installed and debugged by professional and technical personnel. During the use process, attention should be paid to avoid working under high water temperatures and high-pressure conditions, and attention should be paid to the installation location of the unit away from oily smoke and smoke. The place where there are fallen leaves, so as not to affect the wind blades and endanger the life of the unit.
Maintenance
Poor and lack of maintenance can lead to accelerated component wear and significantly reduced service life. Heat pumps in coastal areas can also have significantly shorter lifespans as salt corrodes condenser units. If with a preventive maintenance program, the service life of your HVAC /heat pump system will last longer because small problems are fixed before they require expensive repair. Some of the most important maintenance tasks a heat pump needs to do include:
Inspect and clean pipes, filters, blowers, and coils
Verify adequate airflow
Check for refrigerant leaks and verify refrigerant charge
Lubricate the motor
Reduce plant growth around outdoor components
