Radiant floor heat source using GeoSpring hybrid water heater ...anyone doing this?

0107

Currently using a standard water heater for a radiant floor heat source, ~100F set point.



Thinking of moving to GeoSpring.



Anyone see an issue with this?

HDE

I see a lot of problems

It's a hybrid heater using a 550 watt heat pump with 2 -4500 elements.

If you leave the elements active they will be on most the time. If that's the case a standard electric water heaters 1/4 the cost.

The heat pump compressor is only 550 watts so it will only produce about 1,900 BTU's. while in operation it will produce cool air that may need to be reconditioned cutting into your net output.



In most cases 1,900 BTU's would barely heat 50 square feet and less.



Leave the elements on and you may have a total of 17,000 to 19,000 BTU's total which isn't much more than a plain electric.



In the end 1/2 the BTU's of a standard gas tank, not much more than a electric, expensive probably to operate to receive less than 20,000 BTU's.



A condensing boiler hands down for efficiency would be better, especially against the cost of a hybrid tank.

Jamie Hall

Heat pumps

don't add up power in quite the way resistance heating does.  The 550 watts used to power the compressor does not equate to 1900 BTU but to considerably more (as much as 3 to 4 times more, in some situations).  The exact amount more, unfortunately, depends on such details as the temperature of the air available to the evaporator section.



I would recommend a thorough evaluation of the demands and operating modes of the unit before stating whether or not it would be a good fit.  It might be.  Then again, it might be necessary to run the resistance elements, which would send up the operating cost.

Zman

The heat comes from the house.

The geospring pulls energy from the air around the heater and puts it in the tank.

I don't see what you would be accomplishing.

Carl

HDE

Can't believe I said that

Posted before coffee



But with a COP of 2-4? What the heater worth about 5-6 KW ?

kcopp

really...

the room that the heater was in would be freezing.

Zman

Yes

The heatspring does not have anything mounted on the outside of the building, Yes?

That leaves 2 options;

It is pulling the heat from the air in the house.

It is running on magic.

It is a heat pump. Where is the heat coming from?

Carl

SWEI

pulling heat

Works really well in Hawaii and Florida - the HPWH provides a free space cooling enhancement.  For the rest of us, I've always wondered if someone made one with air duct fittings so we could install a summer/winter switch (damper.)