New Water Heater

[jdrock]

Hey all, I come here once in a while to get some tips, but for the first time I may have something to contribute!

I was in the market for a new water heater, when I came across this company: www.beyondpollution.com

I haven't really explored it yet, but it looks promising. Product info is a bit lacking, but I emailed them and they were pretty helpful. I'll be holding off on replacing my system until I can get my hands on one of their units.

[master plumber mark]

you would probably be wise to just get another heater...


but that is a good idea......probably in int infancy....


getting it repaired might be a chore.....



I wonder how many gallons per minute it will heat,


or wil it continousely heat water and then constantly keep
storeing it in a 50 gallon tank???


i would like to get more inforamtion too.

[jadnashua]

As they indicate, it is basically an ac unit. You will be pulling heat out of the room where it is sitting and instead of blowing it outside in a typical compressor unit, running the heat into a storage tank similar to an indirect tank on a boiler. This would be more efficient if you live somewhere where there isn't a really cold winter. It will also act like an ac unit and cool the room where it is sitting - the heat has to come from somewhere, so depending on how your house is set up, you may increase your heating requirements.

[master plumber mark]

I sounds like it would have possibilities for the

handy guy that could tinker with it to make it

more efficient.....



if it works like an ac unit in reverse,

sounds like the best place to have the unit

would be the hottest room or area the house...


I would like to see the specs on one just for kicks...


and of course I wonder what the cost is too......


maybe I could get a free one and do

some r+ d for them.. in my own house

of course....

[jimbo]

I would like to see specs on how hot they can heat the water, and how many gallons per hour of hot water they can produce. I am skeptical if the numbers are what most of us would consider practical, but I am always open to being proved wrong. ( Wouldn't be the first time!)

[hj]

It is not a new idea. I installed a few heat pump water heaters decades ago. They were normally in commercial installations and only a secondary source of heating because the building did not always need the cooling input, and the water heating recovery was fairly limited. At the time Grainger sold them but they dropped the line. Probably because of limited demand and subpar performance.

[Mikey]

When I see my AC and WH both drawing serious amps and working hard to hasten the heat death of the universe, I wonder why there are so few heat-pump water heaters installed here in Florida. Neither the plumbing nor the airconditioning crowd is much interested in talking about them.

[Bob NH]

You can buy refrigeration or AC units that use a water heat exchanger for condensing. You need a compressor that will take the temperature up to the level you need to heat water.

They work best while producing water up to shower temperature (maybe 110 F). On a summer day, you might cut your power costs to 1/3 or 1/4 using outside air. The performance will be much poorer when averaged over the year in a northern climate. The most effective solution would be where the unit is conected as a second stage to the AC or heat pump condenser.

The compressor, evaporator, and condenser must be matched to the conditions.

[Gary Swart]

There's an old saying that goes something like this. "Never be the first to try something new, and never be the last."

[master plumber mark]

I remember back in the 80s when you could
get a tax credit to instlal solar water heaters

and it was about the only way they actually were
feasable ....with tax credits to break even.....


but everyone seems to be enticed by new and newer
technologies, even when they are not truely feasable....


I wonder how long these fellows will be in business
efore they go the way of the solar panels...
and how many peole will get suckered into buying them...





I would rather install passive air solar panels on
the west side of my house

it would seem to be the better answer for my needs..

oops....found my next project...

[jimbo]

"and it was about the only way they actually were
feasable ....with tax credits to break even....."

I see the same issue with the tankless water heaters. The price of the unit and the significant install cost....I don't see how they save enough energy to pay that off/