I got an ecotech hot water heater heat pump last year. It was made around 1999 and appeared to have barely been used when I got it. I got it going late last summer then put it in dry storage over the winter. This time I added an over sized filter and a duct to blow the cool air out of the hot water heater closest. The condensates are still collected into a 1 gallon milk jug, need to install an actual condensate pump since I have a drain and a 120v receptacle in the closet. The hot water heater heat pump kills 4 birds with one stone. It provides: hot water Intermittent air conditioning It eliminates a major 240v load Eliminates scale deposits that accumulate in the bottom of the hot water heater.
I have a pre heat system that preheats the hot water in the summer but in the winter the pre heat system shifts to the heat pump out put and then water is heated with 220. This allows cooler Freon for the AC since in the summer some of the heat is transferred to the hot water system before it is cooled by the AC system to be used in the "A" Coil in the air handler.
In the top picture it's the heat pump unit with 6 inch insulated duct coming out the top. The middle picture shows pressure, temperature gauges. The bottom shows the receptacle that the hot water heater plugs into, used a 8 gauge 40 amp range cord. The hot water heater has been modified by me to run both elements at the same time, drawing about 28 amps, when it's plugged in if both elements are needed.
The complete spec and pictures are here. http://www.trevormartin.com/documents/HRU_Spec_DS06.pdf HEAT RECOVERY UNIT FOR DOMESTIC HOT WATER FROM RESIDENTIAL HVAC SYSTEMS DESCRIPTION: The ECU Waste Heat Water Heater is connected to a water heater and an air conditioner, heat pump, or refrigeration compressor. A small pump circulates cool water from the bottom of the water heater tank through the heat exchanger. Hot refrigerant gas from the compressor is routed through the gas side of the heat exchanger. An adjustable heatactivated valve regulates the water flow rate to maintain the desired temperature at 120 or higher. The fully heated water is returned to the top of the water tank for immediate use. The ECU heat recovery unit also reduces the compressor load, which increases compressor efficiency and extends compressor life. Reclaiming waste heat from high compressor discharge temperatures is a proven principle of energy recycling that produces abundant hot water safely and economically. SPECIFICATION SHEETFEATURED HIGHLIGHTS• 230 volt wiring for easyconnection to compressor contactor • Factory wired and preset controls • Fully automatic operation • High-Efficiency Vented Double-Wall Heat Exchanger • SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION THESE SPECIFICATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.The temperature range is 120F to 160F. The function of thisvalve shall be to allow water to leave the heat exchanger at a temperature not less than the valve setting. Recommended setting is 120F. HEAT EXCHANGER: ECU Heat Recovery Units contain a corrosion resistant double wall heat exchanger of counterflow design for high thermal efficiency. Continuously vented along its entire length, the ECU Heat Exchanger meets strict IAPMO safety criteria, and exceeds UL requirements. CIRCULATOR PUMP: ECU Heat Recovery Units contain a low wattage direct drive single stage circulator. Standard Models use a Taco 006 seriescirculator. This pump is water lubricated, water cooled, 3250RPM, 1/40 HP, .38 amps, 230/60/1. UL listed impedance protected motor delivers flow to 12 GPM and head to 10 feet. Patented dirt barrier and replaceable cartridge. MOUNTING/LOCATION: ECU Heat Recovery Units may be mounted indoors or outdoors. They must be mounted vertically, at a height above the top of the Condenser. While normally located outdoors near the air conditioning equipment,they can be located in anyconvenient place, such as the garage or laundry room; but the refrigerant run should be kept to a minimum. CONTROLS:All ECU models contain a water high limit control. It is factory set to 140 F. Heat Pump equipped models also contain a refrigerant gas low limit. It is set to 125 F. Freeze-protected models are equipped with a water low limit. It is factory set to 50 F, and is designed to operate when water temperatures of 40F or less are detected, in the event of freezing ambients. DS06 models contain a factory mounted adjustable modulating temperature control valve. INSTALLATION KIT (IK5A): Makes water line installation of the Heat Recovery Unit simple and fast. It works with all residential units, sized 1 ½ ton to 5 ton condensers. REFRIGERANT LINE SIZING Nominal Cooling Capacity (BTU/H) 24,000 36,000 48,000 60,000 RefrigerantTube SizeO.D. R-22 ChargeAddition Per10 Ft. in Oz.
I'm already plumbed into the hot water heater for cool bottom water. This little 6,000 btu per hour unit is kind of slow, it raises the temperature by one F per 4 minutes on my 50 gallon water heater.
The co-op provided it for free if I purchased the Hi Ef 50 gallon hot water heater. But they are in the $200 range and they last. Mine is going on 20 years old. That's right, an electric company that wants you to save money and us less energy.
I was building the home and it was self installed. Pictures later. Just a matter of finding a good location and then copper pipe and fittings and a bit of wire and breaker. Silver Soldered. I had planned on closets for the Air Handler and Hot Water tank. The Heat assist was a secondary so I had to remove the Water Heater to be able to pipe it in and then reinstall the Hot Water tank. Not a lot to see there but some pipe in the back behind the Water Tank and the Heat unit is in the AH Closet. I do not regret the extra work although the Hot Water closet is a bit small now but the AH Closet is about a perfect size.
AH and the heat recovery unit in the upper left. Top of water heater and piping. Most piping is behind the Plywood walls which are screwed in place. Top of water heater with supply and discharge lines. AH A Coil and the bottom drain for the A Coil Upper left is the Heat Recovery AH Door Hot water heater door on the left, AH door on the right. Hot water heater door on the left, AH door on the right.
I replaced all the galvanized steel with brass on mine. The galvanized steel was so ate up I don't know how it wasn't leaking.
I put a magnesium anode in last year. the steel was probably eaten up from having a mix of brass and steel fittings in contact with each other.
HK, that's a unique install. You ran the hot gas line from the compressor into the house and back out? I have the same ECU on my package unit outside.
I designed the slab to enable me to NOT have any insect access. To do that I had to have the count of what I planned to include for slab penetrations to not only include the ECU circuit but the AH Condensate Drain and the A coils supply.and as away to enable a way to seal the path. And knowing what is going to break later is the reason I built the closets and put the equipment on platforms and used poured in place pathway. I did this with PVC pipe for a conduit of the copper tubing so I could repair or replace what ever might need repair later. (Which required a smooth path for the copper to be added after the slab was poured) I do understand that I exceeded some design suggestions by the ECU Mfg and may have "lost" some efficiency but the sand fill for the slab and insulation along with my climate suggest that for summer cooling I have a cooler input refrigerant temp to the A coil with the length and capacity as the copper is cool to the touch. And this way the ECU and its Power is inside the house and easy to access and do maintenance on if needed. I'm glad to see others using a way to do real Eco engineering. When I plan such things around here I get a 1000 yard stare. Things I am sure of. 1. Homes are built wrong. 2. We stay warm and cool with a total electric bill that is 20% of the norm here. 3. Solar and wind install would never pay out in less than 25 years. Which would exceed the life of most equipment thus a no win deal.
Nice job of thinking out of the box! I hung mine on the outside of the package unit, then added a second reversing valve to switch over to a water coil during extreme temps like we have now. I have a water source heat pump in the other side of the house, also with an ECU. If people only knew how much free hot water is to be had....
I would prefer to put the ECU inside too. Most winters it gets down to 0F here and I wouldn't want the water lines freezing. If I did ground mount solar panels, bought used panels, got a used higher end inverter, did all the work my self, used wire rolls from the scrap yard and structural materials from the tractor auction, took no credits or government money, got paid generation rate of 3 cents a kwh my pay back time would be 9 or 10 years. Covering my own consumption should have a pay back of 5 to 6 years with roof top mounts. Because my base rate for consumption is 7 cents per kwh, add the monthly surcharge of $25 it averages out to around 10 cents per kwh. I could do it in as little as 4 years with cheap ground ground mount racking if I were replacing my own consumption. To completely 0 out my bill would average a generation rate plus consumption rate average of around 4 to 4.5 cents per kwh, that's eliminating my consumption at 7 cents per kwh and getting paid at 3 cents per kwh to 0 out the $25 surcharge.
This install and set up is on line. http://www.webrepshvac.com/assets/pdfs/ECU INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS.pdf I used the AH Fan Terminal Strip as a source of power for the ECU pump and added a switch to turn it off in the winter.