Geothermal heating and cooling is a well-established technology; it’s been around in simplistic forms for more than half a century and has developed at an impressive rate to become a technology that is providing real solutions for decarbonization and grid management. In its years of growth and innovative development, geothermal has taken on many different Read more
heating and cooling
Geothermal heating and cooling is a well-established technology; it’s been around in simplistic forms for more than half a century and has developed at an impressive rate to become a technology that is providing real solutions for decarbonization and grid management. In its years of growth and innovative development, geothermal has taken on many different forms and variations, all of which have their own unique benefits.
The Vanderbilt Breakers Mansion saves $36,000 a year with Direct Geothermal Exchange.
The first recorded closed-loop geothermal design installed was a water-free direct exchange geothermal system in 1945. Robert C. Webber (1911-1984) is acknowledged by most to be the inventor of the ground-coupled heat pump system. In fact, according to a September 1948 issue of “The Refrigeration Industry,” Webber was the first to heat his seven-room home in Indianapolis by reversing the cycle on his home freezer. The issue featured Webber as The Refrigeration Industry’s “Man of the Month.” Webber’s “freezer in reverse” was also featured in Ripley’s Believe it or Not in 1948.
Caption: Robert C. Webber (1911-1984)
Direct geothermal exchange (DGX) waterless geothermal systems, also known as direct exchange systems, offer an innovative and sustainable way to heat and cool your home without requiring water in the loop for heat exchange. Unlike many other types of systems, DX uses a closed-loop refrigerant circuit to release heat from under our feet, eliminating the need for water that other systems require. One of the most vital benefits of Direct Exchange Waterless Geothermal is how efficiently it produces year-round temperature control using safe, reliable refrigerants.
There are many pioneers within the sustainable and renewable energy field, one of which is Bill Buschur, President of Total Green Manufacturing. Bill is a recognizable figure within the geothermal industry, and within the niche of waterless geothermal, with a history in the development of the technology used today. For reference, back in 1980, EarthLinked Technologies (ETI) established itself as a research company in the geothermal industry, becoming the original direct exchange manufacturer. It continued to have great success over the years as it carved out a niche in the geothermal industry. ETI partnered with Total Green Mfg. for five years, and Total Green acquired the 38-year-old DGX Manufacturing company.
Total Green Crew installs a DGX system.
A little history
“At around 12 years old, I began to ride along with my father in the service truck and I would run back and forth from the truck to get him tools or the parts he needed to make the repairs,” Buschur shared with us, “As I got a little older, I began building geo ground loops. I remember we had two football practices a day, and I would come home and build loops for the rest of the day. Eventually, I began to go to the job site with other crew members and help with the installation process.”
Young Bill Buschur working on site.
One of the keys to innovation is passion, and Bill Buschur has no issue with showing his passion through actions and incredible results. Bill has grown his business from a hard-working crew of only four people to becoming the largest direct exchange geothermal contracting company in the U.S., installing over 100 DX systems on a yearly basis.
Establishing the Waterless® brand was no small feat for Bill, but after earning a degree in Business Management and a refrigeration certification, topped off by 30 years of experience in geothermal heat pump technology, he’s become the driving force behind the biggest name in Direct Geothermal Exchange nationwide.
Quality is vital in any field, but Bill has ensured that his geothermal direct exchange units are to the highest standard, stating, “Dad always taught us that ‘If you don’t do things right the first time, you’ll end up doing it again’”. So we made sure we didn’t cut any corners when it came to Designing and Installing a geothermal system.”. This has been a key factor in how effectively Total Green has kept up with the latest technology.
At the end of the day, the million-dollar question is, “Are direct exchange waterless geothermal systems as efficient as water-based geothermal systems?” The answer is yes. Past criticisms of DX systems have primarily revolved around the question of environmentally friendly refrigerants. Today modern DX systems use advanced refrigerants that are both environmentally friendly and efficient with heat transfer, which will enhance the performance of the system altogether.
Bill Buschur in his younger years learning the trade (right).
We’re fortunate to have so many diverse options when considering which geothermal system to choose from, accompanied by so many industry pioneers behind each system. As we continue to push for the world to embrace and prioritize sustainability and energy efficiency, minimizing negative environmental impact and using the natural resources given to us, we should make a conscious effort to do so as one piece of that ever-forming puzzle. Any and every geothermal system contributes to a brighter, greener, world-changing future for us and generations to come.
We are on the same team, we are in the same boat, and we are a part of the geothermal heat pump revolution, changing the world for the better.
Mimi (Hannah) Egg is a Social Media Marketing Consultant with a passion for writing and researching. She has overseen the social media accounts for multiple private and corporate organizations and is constantly learning new ways to understand and optimize demographic outreach and form beneficial business connections through social networking for her clients. She can be reached at Mimieggshell@gmail.com
By joining forces with Uponor, GF is set to become a global leader in sustainable water and flow solutions. To support this ambition, complementary businesses will be grouped together under one roof: the new division GF Uponor will focus on Building Technology, whereas the infrastructure and utility business will move to GF Piping Systems. Michael Read more
By joining forces with Uponor, GF is set to become a global leader in sustainable water and flow solutions. To support this ambition, complementary businesses will be grouped together under one roof: the new division GF Uponor will focus on Building Technology, whereas the infrastructure and utility business will move to GF Piping Systems. Michael Rauterkus will join GF’s Executive Committee and will lead the new division together with his Uponor leadership team.
After all conditions of the tender offer have been fulfilled, GF closes the transaction as of 13 November 2023.
To accelerate the implementation of GF Piping Systems’ Strategy 2025 and to further benefit from global megatrends, GF will start an ambitious value creation program to unleash the full potential of this acquisition. GF Piping Systems will focus on the industrial and utility business, providing its customers with sustainable leak-free piping solutions for numerous end markets such as microelectronics, water treatment, energy, chemical processing, marine, data centers or water & gas utilities. Uponor’s infrastructure business will become part of GF Piping Systems and will further strengthen the division’s portfolio to provide customers with combined solutions.
In the new division, GF Uponor, the building technology businesses will be combined to offer a complementary portfolio for safe and clean water, as well as energy efficient heating and cooling. The consolidation of complementary businesses provides an ideal platform to develop markets with high potential for both divisions. As the brand Uponor stands for high quality and innovation, it will drive growth in intelligent Building Flow Solutions.
These organizational changes will be implemented during the course of 2024 while GF will ensure operational excellence and business continuity to customers.
“We will continue to implement our strategy, and leverage powerful global trends, such as the need for safe and clean water, or more efficient energy use,” GF CEO Andreas Müller said. “On behalf of all my colleagues, I am happy to welcome Uponor employees and start this new chapter together.”
The kitchen sink being attendees, that is. PHCC CONNECT, this past October 25-27, was set up for one of those “best-ever” shows. Beautiful downtown Cleveland was the backdrop to very a good week of meetings, connections, site visits and much more. Oh, and the weather didn’t hurt either, with temps lingering in the mid-70s. RIDGID Read more
The kitchen sink being attendees, that is. PHCC CONNECT, this past October 25-27, was set up for one of those “best-ever” shows. Beautiful downtown Cleveland was the backdrop to very a good week of meetings, connections, site visits and much more. Oh, and the weather didn’t hurt either, with temps lingering in the mid-70s.
Mechanical Hub’s John Mesenbrink and The Family Plumber owner, Mike Prencavage, Jr. take the RIDGID tour.
RIDGID, Oatey, Moen and Merit Brass all call the “City that Rocks” home, or close to it anyway, and they each offered a bus trip to visit their respective HQs. Contractors visited their location of choice and all benefitted from their site visits.
The opening keynote, “Growth Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone,” was presented by a compelling Ken Carter whose story blew up on the big screen as “Coach Carter,” played by none other than Samuel L. Jackson. The story of his 1999 season as coach at Richmond High School is the basis for the film. Throughout his life and tenure as a coach, he has inspired and guided numerous lives of young men to reach their highest potential. His “no non-sense” approach to getting things done is the force that has sustained him to have the tremendous positive influence that he currently possesses.
One of the contestants of the Plumbing Apprentice Contest.
One of our favorite annual events at PHCC CONNECT is the Plumbing and HVAC Apprentice Contest. A total of 21 plumbing and 11 HVAC apprentices from across the U.S. competed for top billing. The Plumbing Apprentice Contest winner was Cody McDonald of Van Contracting, Inc. in Columbia City, Ind. He was sponsored by the International Code Council.
The HVAC counterpart apprentice winner was Jacob Lee of P1 Service in Lenexa, Kan. He was sponsored by RIDGID.
The plumbing apprentices were required rough-in a bathroom system. The set-up includes a toilet, sink and shower, complete with supply, waste and vent lines, plus cleanouts and extra features designed to test the contestants’ knowledge and skills. The test set-up includes a variety of pipe materials—cast iron, copper and PVC and corresponding joining methods.
A Bradford White AeroTherm heat pump water heater was on display during the Product & Technology Showcase.
The HVAC competitors were required to complete a written test, demonstrate proper brazing techniques and perform a hands-on diagnostic on an HVAC package unit, with system errors created by the Foundation’s contractor volunteers for the competition. The competitors also had to perform a pressure and leak test, demonstrate proper refrigerant recovery procedures and the ability to accurately take a variety of instrument readings.
Adjacent to these apprentices diligently working on their assignment, a Product & Technology Showcase buzzed with activity surrounding the lates in tool technology, kitchen and bath, and water heating and heat pump tech.
The kitchen sink.
Seminars and breakout sessions included a Government Affairs Update, Private Equity’s Interest in Plumbing Industries, DOE Standards for Water Heating Products and an Open Roundtable with Union Affiliated Contractors.
A strong session on Women in Industry: “Unlocking Potential and Breaking Barriers: Fostering Success for Women in the Trades through Gender-Inclusive Practices in Recruitment, Retention, and Engagement,” featured some of our personal friends, including Linda Hudek, LH Plumbing Services, Fairfield, Ohio; Ashley Martin, Executive Vice President, NIBCO; and Cassie Pound, co-owner of Quality Heating, Cooling & Plumbing in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Linda Hudek addresses a question from moderator Susan Frew.
In today’s ever-changing business landscape, strengthening the contractor/wholesaler channel is critical to survival. A recent general session at PHCC CONNECT drilled deep into the conversation. This session, “Collaborative Connections: Strengthening Supplier-Contractor Relationships for Success,” featured RobertGrim, Senior Vice President, Global Sales, InSinkErator, Mount Pleasant, Wis.; Scott Robertson, President, Robertson Heating Supply Co., Alliance, Ohio; Dan Callies, President, Oak Creek Plumbing, Inc., Oak Creek, Wis.; Kathryn Poehling-Seymour, President and CEO, First Supply LLC, Madison, Wis.; and JasonPritchard, Co-Founder, PriCor Technologies, Seattle.
From l to r: Robert Grim, Scott Robertson, Dan Callies, Kathryn Poehling-Seymour, and Scott Pritchard.
And many, many more worthwhile seminars were offered. In fact, PHCCCONNECT2023 education sessions had been approved by OCILB (Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board) for 19 CEUs.
A RIDGID afterparty at a brewery on the river in downtown Cleveland with some American Plumber Story stickers? Yes, Please! Here with RIDGID’s Becky Brotherton, the Hub’s John Mesenbrink (l) and Tim Ward (r) from the Appetite for Construction podcast, recorded a series of podcasts from the event.
So, mix in some fun nights out with Oatey, RIDGID and PHCC’s receptions “Ohio Night House of Blues” and its closing event at the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, and, of course, connecting with industry peers, and you had the recipe for one kick-ass event.
Next year’s PHCC CONNECT will be held in Birmingham, Ala. Of all places, I sure hope that words gets around about the event. It’s worth the time, but more people need to come experience it, Birmingham or not.
Vetter Plumbing, that is. If you’re ever in the Pacific Northwest, look up Doug Vetter, owner of Vetter Plumbing, Longview, Wash., and successful plumbing and heating contractor who has worked with the tools almost nonstop since graduating from high school in 1990. We recently rain into Doug at the pipe-cutting ceremony for Uponor’s Experience Center Read more
Vetter Plumbing, that is. If you’re ever in the Pacific Northwest, look up Doug Vetter, owner of Vetter Plumbing, Longview, Wash., and successful plumbing and heating contractor who has worked with the tools almost nonstop since graduating from high school in 1990. We recently rain into Doug at the pipe-cutting ceremony for Uponor’s Experience Center, and his passion for the trades is palpable.
Doug Vetter, right, has an infectious attitude, and enjoys living life like no one else.
In fact, you might say that young people searching for their true passion won’t likely encounter a more inspiring ambassador than Doug to a life in plumbing and heating.
There are, of course, a great many proud, highly accomplished professionals in this industry. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a tradesperson with a more robust and, at times, fearless outlook on life than Doug. He readily insists that much of this bring-it-on attitude derives from the sheer thrill of working as a service technician. “I just love my job,” he says over and over again.
For a small sampling of the sunny-side-up attitude Vetter brings to work each day, consider his morning routine of delivering doughnuts to the counter and warehouse staff at his favorite local supply house. Whoever heard of a plumber bringing free food to a wholesaler? “They have done lots of special stuff for me,” he cheerily reasons, “and, besides, it doesn’t cost that much.”
“My customers are always asking me, ‘Why are you in such a good mood today?’” he continues. “Well, when you contact me, we both know it’s not a social call. You have problems and fixing them may not be a ‘fun’ time for either of us. Why dump more stress on your situation by carrying a chip on my shoulder because I need to, let’s say, squeeze into your crawl space? Believe me, I hate crawl spaces. But being a plumber was my choice, and squeezing into crawl spaces is my job. That’s why you pay me.”
Doug willingly, happily, eagerly does his job 10 hours a day, seven days a week. But these are mere average—the actual totals could be much more in any given week. He would not have it any other way in a business that seldom lets him even slow down, let alone rest.
“I’ve never had a down time, even during the recent recession,” he says. “I just can’t say ‘no’ to people. That’s one of my downfalls and an issue with my significant other. But I love working.”
Back to the Uponor visit, Doug tells us that he is particularly proud of his tattoos, even the jaw-droppingly large U-P-O-N-O-R logo. Its six block letters span the full width of his back, left shoulder to right. Just as amazing: Every last ink mark strictly adhered to corporate style guidelines, right down to the correct shade of blue.
“I had a large blue Uponor sticker of the sort I put on my two trucks. I told my tattoo guy to put this exact thing on my back. He said, ‘Really?’ and I said, ‘Absolutely!’” Three grueling sessions over eight hours later, the tattoo was exquisitely in place and ready for show time whenever Doug decides to remove his shirt.
Why would he do something so “out there”? Why not? he shrugs. How better to express his unwavering loyalty to a brand he has supported nearly his entire career? “Uponor is the only brand I will put on my skin,” insists Doug, offering what is for him the ultimate compliment.
He fondly remembers his very first encounter with PEX more than 20 years ago, working for a Seattle plumbing wholesaler in the mid-1990s. Mark Walther — then a sales agent for the Portland-, Ore.-based Hollabaugh Brothers & Associates (still Uponor’s rep in the Pacific Northwest); and later a mentor for Doug when both worked at Merit Mechanical in Seattle—demonstrated the thermal memory of PEX with the familiar heat-gun demonstration that thousands have witnessed at countless trade shows over the decades.
Vetter’s work truck is radiantly heated.
“Mark said to me, ‘Watch this, Doug!’ After kinking the pipe in his hand, he used a simple heat gun to make that kink vanish in minutes. I will never forget that moment—it was the coolest thing, just incredible. Every chance I get, I love showing people the same demo with the heat gun.”
Doug readily embraces the problem-solving aspect of service work: “I love going into someone’s house, learning what’s wrong, explaining the situation in ways the customer can understand and appreciate, and then fixing the problem—and fixing it in the right way.
“I can’t just throw something together for a customer. I do my plumbing a certain way—the way I was taught all those years ago at Merit Mechanical, where I earned my journeyman’s license.”
As noted earlier, those young people you’re trying to steer toward a trade career won’t likely snag a first job with Doug, who has happily—defiantly even—worked solo for the vast majority of his professional life since starting his own business. Although, his wife, Liz, is going through her apprenticeship to join him as a licensed plumber in the business.
Vetter has a certain way of running his business. “I want my cords wrapped in a one-foot circle and put away in a particular spot. My truck, a big-box van, is spotless and organized a certain way, and I want to keep it that way. That one employee I had just couldn’t do it.”
Same thing for working with the tools, if not more so: “I’m not a hard ass, but my No. 1 job is to protect the health of my customers. If I fail to create a sewer-line joint properly, the customer will have a disaster. If I expand a pipe incorrectly, I’m flooding someone’s house. I do it right because my reputation depends on it, and my reputation is all I have.”
Another, equally critical facet of “Doug’s Way” is treating every customer the same—fairly and nicely. “Nobody, it seems at times, does customer service any more. For example: promptly calling someone back who has called you. I feel badly if a day goes by before my returning a call. Many don’t do it at all and think nothing of it.
“I was taught to treat people with the utmost respect, regardless of what they look like, where they’re from, or how much money’s in their pockets. I want to fix their plumbing, of course, but I also want to give them the best service they can get anywhere.”
Currently in his 50s now, Doug plans to work “until I just can’t do it any more”—before retiring to Puerto Rico, where he says the people are warm, the weather’s warmer, and the water’s warmest of all. Until then, he will stick to his 70-hour work week as a highly motivated service plumber who gladly shoulders more work than any one man should handle, despite doing no advertising or promotion other than word-of-mouth.
“I thrive on service work. I love the instant gratification of solving problems. I get up in the morning, hit the road to meet new people, and figure out how to help. Every job is different, and the days just fly by.”
Greetings everyone out there in Radio-land, and welcome to our show, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Air-To-Water Heat Pumps* (*but were afraid to ask). Our hosts John Barba, Director, Sales Training NA, Taco, and Dave Holdorf, Product & Application Instructor – East, Taco, both of whom have a face for radio, are here Read more
Greetings everyone out there in Radio-land, and welcome to our show, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Air-To-Water Heat Pumps* (*but were afraid to ask).
Our hosts John Barba, Director, Sales Training NA, Taco, and Dave Holdorf, Product & Application Instructor – East, Taco, both of whom have a face for radio, are here to take your questions and, if a miracle occurs, provide you with coherent answers.
And now, here are your hosts, direct via satellite from Cranston, Rhode Island – John and Dave!
John: Thank you everybody, and welcome to our show. I’m John and on the other microphone is Dave. Say hello, Dave.
Dave: Hello Dave.
John: Yep, those 11 semesters at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting are really paying off, aren’t they? Let’s get right to your calls and tackle some questions on Air to Water Heat Pumps. Dave, who’s our first caller?
Dave: First up JB, we have Elliot from Kansas City. Elliot, you’re up. What’s your question?
Caller: Hi, this is Elliot from Kansas City. Am I on?
John: Hi Elliot, you’re live, coast to coast. There are literally tens of people waiting on your question.
Caller: Wow. Tens, huh?
Dave: Okay, maybe dozens. So . . . what’s cookin’ Elliot?
Caller: Well, it’s pretty basic, but – how many BTU’s? What size house can I do with an air to water heat pump?
John: That’s a great question, Elliot. We get more calls about that than anything else. First, understand that any air-based heat pump extracts heat from the air using a refrigeration cycle. And it stands to reason that the colder it gets outside, the less heat there is in the air to, you know, extract.
Dave: That’s correct, JB. So as it gets colder out, the actual output of an air-to-air or an air-to-water heat pump goes down. So when you need more heat, the heat pump is actually producing less heat.
System M output chart:
Taco System M, air to water heat pump, heat pumps, heat pump technology, electrification, heating and cooling, plumbing HVAC
John: As you can see from this output chart for the Taco System M, as the outdoor temperature drops, so does the heat pump’s ability to produce BTUs for heating…
Dave: Uhhh, boss . . .
John: It drops off pretty sharply, as you can clearly see from this chart I’m showing you. When you hit 0o F, the output of the heat pump unit itself is about 21,000 BTUH . . .
Dave: Boss . . .
John: And when it hits its low limit of -7o F, its output is only around 17,000. It’s right there, plain as day.
Dave: Boss . . .
John: WHAT?!
Dave: It’s radio, they can’t see the chart.
John: Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, that’s the case with any air-source heat pump. That’s why System M also includes a 6kW immersion heater in the buffer tank in its companion indoor unit, the HydroBox. That heater adds another 20,478 worth of potential output to the unit, for a total of just under 38,000 at -7o F.
And don’t fret about the immersion heater coming on willy-nilly. It’s intelligently controlled.
Dave: Willy-nilly?
John: It’s an industry term. Who’s our next caller?
Dave: We have Kyle on the line from the alliterative metropolis of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Caller: Greetings, eh? It can get pretty frosty up here in Saskatoon. Can we hook up some backup heat for when it hits 40 below?
John: Gotta tell ya, my favorite Guess Who song ever is “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon.” I love how it mentions all those great Saskatchewan towns, like Red Deer, Hanna and Medicine Hat.
John Barba
Caller: Uh, those towns’re in Alberta. Maybe I could talk to Dave instead?
Dave: I got ya, Kyle. It’s very easy to incorporate a backup or auxiliary heat source with an air-to-water heat pump. If the heat produced by the 37,000-plus BTUH System M at -7o F isn’t enough to heat the home, you can have the auxiliary heat come on at -8. Or, let’s say the heat pump/immersion heater combo comfortably heats a home at 10oF above with a total output of 46,000 BTUH, but it can’t take care of the load once it gets colder than 10oF. Then you can set up an auxiliary heat source – like a gas-fired mod-con – or, if the area isn’t allowing any new fossil fuel burning equipment, an electric boiler could meet that need. It’s actually a simple, single pole-double throw switch activated by outdoor temperature. It turns the heat pump off and turns the boiler on.
John: Great answer Dave. That’s exactly what I was going to say.
Dave: Yeah, but you were still runnin’ back to Saskatoon like the McKenzie Brothers. Let’s go to our next caller, Eric in Minnesota. Go ahead Eric:
Caller: (silence)
John: Eric, what’s your question?
Caller: (silence)
Dave: Welp, Eric’s not here. Let’s move on to Pete from Colorado. What’s up, Pete?
Caller: Hi guys. Long time listener, first time caller. Simple question: how does an air-to-water heat pump switch from heating to cooling?
John: Excellent question Pete. There are lots of ways to do it, ranging from a manual switch combined with turning a bunch of valves on and off, to a simpler, control-based solution.
Dave: That’s right, Boss. An integrated control, like the one with the Taco’s System M, uses an outdoor sensor. Based on the type of home, the climate and the level of insulation in the house, you can program an outdoor temperature at which the system goes into heating mode. Let’s say it’s 53 degrees. You can also program in the temperature at which the system goes into cooling mode. Let’s say that’s 63 degrees.
John: Remember gang, these are just examples. But Dave, if you go into heating mode at 53 oF and cooling mode at 63 oF, wouldn’t that leave a sizable dead band between the two?
Dave: Right you are, Sunshine. In that dead band, System M doesn’t do anything except maybe make domestic hot water if you need it to. If you need cooling and it’s 62 or 63 degrees, you can cool with the reserve of chilled water in the buffer tank. By the same token, if you need heating when it’s 54 or 55 degrees, you’ll have heated water in the buffer tank.
And if you have a houseful of people over for a spring holiday and you’re in the dead band, you can go into a forced cooling mode if you want to.
John: Awesomeness! We have two callers on the line now Dave, and both have the same question. Drake from Idaho and Tom from New Hampshire both want to know how an air-to-water heat pump can make domestic hot water when the heat pump itself is in cooling mode.
Caller: Yeah, this is Drake. I’m with that Tom guy. It doesn’t make sense that an air-to-water heat pump can make heated water for the indirect hot water tank and chilled water for cooling at the same time.
Dave: Great observations guys, and you’re correct. An air-to-water heat pump can’t make heated and chilled water at the same time.
Caller: Yeah, this is Tom. That Drake fellah is wicked smaht to ask that question. How can you make the watah hawtt when the freakin’ heat pump is making cold?
Dave: That’s where a buffer tank becomes really important. Let’s say the heat pump is in cooling made. With System M you’ll have a 30 gallon buffer tank filled with chilled water. When the indirect domestic water heater calls to make more hot water, the heat pump immediately jumps into heating mode.
Since you want to make hot water as quickly as you can, you can’t really wait for the 30 gallons of chilled water to be used up. And we don’t want the heat pump to turn all that chilled water into hot water. It would take forever and it’s not exactly what you’d call “green.”
John: Right you are, Dave. That’s where the piping in the System M indoor unit – what we lovingly refer to as the “HydroBox” – comes in. The piping arrangement in the HydroBox is called – are you ready? – a dual differential pressureless manifold. Its job is to hydraulically separate the heating and cooling piping circuits from the buffer tank-heat pump piping circuits. In addition, it also isolates the indirect DHW tank piping from both the heating and cooling circuits.
Dave: Exactamundo, my man. So when the indirect calls to make DHW, the heat pump itself goes right into heating mode, and the hot water from the heat pump bypasses the buffer tank altogether and goes direct to the indirect. The cooling circuit, meanwhile, can still run using the 30 gallons of chilled water that’s still in the buffer tank.
Caller: But won’t that water heat up quickly?
John: It’ll heat up over time, which means two things. First, the best applications for air-to-water heat pumps are very well insulated homes (think steroidal insulation) that don’t heat up or cool down quickly. That buys you time.
Dave: Additionally, you can program the unit to regenerate the hot water tank at specific times. Maybe the best time to do it during cooling season is at night when you’re asleep. You’ll be less likely to notice any temperature creep.
John: Wow, will you look at that. The old clock on the wall says time is up for this week’s edition of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Heat Pumps* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). Thanks for being with us.
Dave: And if you enjoyed this show, make sure to join John and myself online during the spring and summer on Taco After Dark, our weekly nighttime program dedicated to all things hydronic, plumbing and heat pumps.
The fun starts once the sun goes down!