Take a hot shower with your air conditioner! I don’t mean this literally of course. That would be weird, might electrocute you, and ruin your air conditioner besides. I’m talking about free hot water via a heat recovery system that taps into your air conditioner’s heat energy to heat your shower, dishwasher and washer water. Is this real technology, or some mythical marketing hype? Read on and we’ll explore residential heat recovery and who it might work for.
Heat Recovery Saves 70%
HotSpot Energy offers a line of alternative energy products and product development services. One of the products they not only developed, but also manufacture is a residential, low cost, hassle-free heat recovery unit (HRU) that recovers heat energy to heat water for free. According to the company, users can save up to 70% on their water heating costs during the coolings months using their product. Users in warm climates, such as Florida, will get free hot water throughout the year according to HotSpot Energy.
Residential Heat Recovery with Two Connections
The HotSpot uses two pairs of inlet/outlet connections (one for the condenser side and one for the hot water side) to recover concentrated high temperature heat from your compressors’ condenser discharge circuit. It then pumps recovered heat directly into your hot water tank. The company claims users can get enough BTU’s per day to heat 100 gallons of water. The unit must be installed by a fully licensed technician to comply with local codes. It’s probably worth checking if your local codes allow it at all before heading too far down this path.
Heat Recovery- A Billion Dollar Industry
According to Hotspot Energy, waste heat recovery is a billion dollar business. Big industry has been utilizing industrial heat recovery systems for decades to cut costs, however the technology had not been adapted to benefit residential users until recently. The company offers a wide range of both industrial and residential solutions. HotSpot offers a range of residential heat recovery solutions as well as solar powered air conditioners for on grid and off grid users.
BEWARE the CX34. I have had this machine for six years and on every neighborhood power failure the CX34 dies. I have had to replace the power unit 4 times, today being the 5th. Hotspot’s Tech Support didn’t care that I had to go 8 days with a 36* house and no hot water… so no showers. NO SHOWERS FOR 8 DAYS! And no clean clothes. I finally escalated to their CEO and he actually told me, “I don’t want to hear about your dirty laundry.”
I had a heat recovery unit installed in my restaurant. My electric bill dropped $50. a month, and my natural gas bill dropped $20 a month.
Our 1983 built home had a General Electric heat recovery unit piped as described above, which we took out after it developed leaks, upon replacing the old general electric heat pump with a trane unit. Not new.