Quote:
Originally Posted by Xringer
What if the owner of a Sanyo mini-split were pump 48 degree water
out of a well and pipe that water into a large water-to-air heat
exchanger coil, that was sitting directly in front of the Sanyo air-input??
In the summer time, pre-cooling the air going into the AC is going to help..
In the winter time when it's 20 degrees, pre-warming the air to 48 F
should help too..
What do you think?? Could gizmo like this pre-heater/pre-cooler cut power usage by 10% ??
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Rich,
You are so right about those units being badly positioned.
And your idea about the ground-source to air-source air-coupled heat pump is one that I'm considering testing out, now that I have the loop field...
I think it would help, but with all those heat exchangers (ground-to-water, water-to-air, air-to-refrigerant, refrigerant-to-air) there are inefficiencies.
Also, keep in mind that if your ground water is 48 degrees, the air coming out of the fan will not really be 48, but yes it will help.
Hugh Jim Bissell suggested hacking an inverter-type mini-split air source heat pump, to bypass the air input and use water from the loop field.
The inverter technology has helped the mini-split units achieve much higher levels of efficiency, but I don't know if it is being used in water source units anywhere. I know that in Europe there is a big push to use inverter technology even in central air circulation fans.
I tell you, if a smallish R-22 mini-split with inverter technology falls within my evil grasp, it will most surely find itself hacked to within an inch of it's life... Water loop in and water loop out.
Hee, hee, hee, hee, heeeee...... (to be read with full volume Halloween-style reverb)
Best regards,
-AC_Hacker
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