A. O. Smith is making headway with their latest technology in heat transfer – Flat Microchannel Coils (patent ZL201020224011.5).
For heat pumps only
Flat micro channel coils are a heat pump specific technology. Heat pumps are currently the most energy efficient water heaters in Singapore. They work by absorbing heat in the air and transferring it to a refrigerant. The refrigerant flows through a coil wrapped around the heater tank to heat up the water inside.
The more efficient the heat transfer between the coil and the tank, the higher the heat pump efficiency.
Coils of the past
In the past, it was common to coil a copper tube around a tank but copper is a malleable material and its shape changes over time, especially under high temperatures. As its shape changes, the contact surface area reduces and heat transfer efficiency drops.
Patented flat microchannel coils
The A. O. Smith R&D team has specially designed a flat coil that adheres to the sides of the tank. A flat coil makes full use of the contact surface area for maximum efficiency heat transfer. The microchannel design allows the flat strip to withstand up to a whopping 110kg of liquid pressure so it never changes shape even after years of use!
AOS Ranked #1 in heat pump efficiency in USA and China
Because heat transfer is so much more efficient with flat coils, A. O. Smith heat pumps have the highest energy efficiency (measured by COP) in USA and China.
Shown on left, China’s highly competitive COP rating scale with AOS heat pumps in top place.
What is COP?
COP or Coefficient of Performance is a measure of how efficient a heat pump is. The higher the COP the better.
