The Homemade Heat Pump Manifesto - Page 130

Vlad · 08-22-12, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatted82

wow ! homemade heat pump? that's really cool.

It is cool and warm. Just switch reversing valve .....

kbonk · 08-22-12, 04:35 PM

Just found these nice units very compact
Self Contained Marine Air Conditioning Systems - Prices & Specifications

AC_Hacker · 08-22-12, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbonk

Just found these nice units very compact
Self Contained Marine Air Conditioning Systems - Prices & Specifications

You can do a lot of hacking for 1300 bucks...

Let us know how it turns out.

-AC

lyndenjh · 08-26-12, 02:43 PM

I have been looking at this forum for a while now and have decided to join up and ask this question:

Short of me reading all 1300 posts, is there a post that details how someone may have taken a used whole house size A/C unit and converted it to a water to air furnace and A/C unit.

Why shouldn't I be able to put the correct valving into a used unit so that it can be used to both heat and cool from a closed loop water system by putting the correct coils into a reservoir of water that is circulated through a horizontal loop. I know that this would bring everything into the house, but I have a big basement to use and have access to used A/C units from the guy who hauls my scrap metal from my business.

Thanks, Lynden

randen · 08-26-12, 09:50 PM

Lyndenjn Wrote:

Short of me reading all 1300 posts, is there a post that details how someone may have taken a used whole house size A/C unit and converted it to a water to air furnace and A/C unit.

Short answere: Yes, I did it. You can do it as well and all the information you need to have to be successful is here, but you still have to study. Building your own from junk is not like buying a kit to assemble.
The ultimate goal is to reduce the cost to stay warm and cool. To do this the correct size or BTU rating must be met for both the heat-pump and loop field.

The first order of business is to insulate and seal the house like crazy. If the wind blows through your home your GSHP creation will need to be large, run often and no savings will be seen. The home improvments alone increase the value of the home. So this is money and time well spent. New windows doors etc. any approaching 25 yrs old could use an up-grade. Insulation, there are so many nice products avalible now. Maybe the exterior of the house could be updated. Dated siding can be replaced and complete sheets of rigid foam be used beneth to completely blanket and seal the structure. All this can be DIY.

Next is the loop field large enough or just a little larger but don't go crazy here because again it could get expensive unless you have escavating equipment or a friend of a friend that does . Too small and you will not get enough heat to do the job. A good loop field is very nessisary and not cheap.

Horror stories here are loop fields buried only 2 ft deep and being too small having a heat-pump run continuously and the house getting really cold and the electric bill being huge.

Lets face it. You what is to access the greatest amount of heat, expend the lest amount of energy to move it into your home and keep it there. Simple.

My shop where I had built my own GSHP unit is from a 3.5ton AC recycled unit. with a 4 ton loop field. I'm very pleased with the performance. It both heats and cools the shop. I think this past winter I heated it with about $350.00 worth of electricity compared to $2800.00 of furnace oil. There are still some improvements to make. Additional insulation to the ceiling a better insulated entrance door and the icing on the cake would be to replace the original un-insulated concrete floor with an insulated heated concrete floor.

Yes building your own system can be done and relitively inexpensive. But best results is the culmination of good systems.

Randen

lyndenjh · 09-01-12, 06:58 PM

Understand all the stuff you mentioned. Most all that is up to snuff as far as the house is concerned. Also understand the theory of the system as my bro in law has had one of the first systems put in here in NE WI for about 20 some years.

It's getting time for me to think about this upgrade since my Lennox hi ef furnace is also about 20 years old.

Plan is to build a GSHP system and retain the Lennox for the really cold weather.

lyndenjh · 09-01-12, 07:03 PM

My goal is to build a correct size system using a A/C unit and not have to "reinvent the wheel" to do it, as it seems alot of the posts on this forum tend to lean towards. Having looked at this technology and asking questions of knowledgable people in this area (i.e. guys who sell these systems) I can and have gathered enough info to correctly size the loop and the unit.

Vlad · 09-01-12, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lyndenjh

My goal is to build a correct size system using a A/C unit and not have to "reinvent the wheel" to do it, as it seems alot of the posts on this forum tend to lean towards. Having looked at this technology and asking questions of knowledgable people in this area (i.e. guys who sell these systems) I can and have gathered enough info to correctly size the loop and the unit.

So, let's see your project running......

AC_Hacker · 09-02-12, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lyndenjh

...I can and have gathered enough info to correctly size the loop and the unit.

I'm interested in the method you're using to size the loop & the unit.

Please share your method, as others might benefit from it also.

-AC

charlesfl · 09-04-12, 11:44 AM

I found a free computer program that can be run in windows by Lawrence Berkley National Lab called THERM.
It can be use to find heat loss of house through different materials. Can be downloaded from

LBNL Windows & Daylighting Software -- THERM

08-26-12, 02:43 PM	#1294
lyndenjh Welder, tinkerer Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NE Wisconsin Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	New question? I have been looking at this forum for a while now and have decided to join up and ask this question: Short of me reading all 1300 posts, is there a post that details how someone may have taken a used whole house size A/C unit and converted it to a water to air furnace and A/C unit. Why shouldn't I be able to put the correct valving into a used unit so that it can be used to both heat and cool from a closed loop water system by putting the correct coils into a reservoir of water that is circulated through a horizontal loop. I know that this would bring everything into the house, but I have a big basement to use and have access to used A/C units from the guy who hauls my scrap metal from my business. Thanks, Lynden

08-22-12, 04:35 PM	#1292
kbonk Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 44 Thanks: 10 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts	Just found these nice units very compact Self Contained Marine Air Conditioning Systems - Prices & Specifications

08-26-12, 09:50 PM	#1295
randen Uber EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Strathroy Ontario Canada Posts: 658 Thanks: 9 Thanked 193 Times in 131 Posts	Lyndenjn Wrote: Short of me reading all 1300 posts, is there a post that details how someone may have taken a used whole house size A/C unit and converted it to a water to air furnace and A/C unit. Short answere: Yes, I did it. You can do it as well and all the information you need to have to be successful is here, but you still have to study. Building your own from junk is not like buying a kit to assemble. The ultimate goal is to reduce the cost to stay warm and cool. To do this the correct size or BTU rating must be met for both the heat-pump and loop field. The first order of business is to insulate and seal the house like crazy. If the wind blows through your home your GSHP creation will need to be large, run often and no savings will be seen. The home improvments alone increase the value of the home. So this is money and time well spent. New windows doors etc. any approaching 25 yrs old could use an up-grade. Insulation, there are so many nice products avalible now. Maybe the exterior of the house could be updated. Dated siding can be replaced and complete sheets of rigid foam be used beneth to completely blanket and seal the structure. All this can be DIY. Next is the loop field large enough or just a little larger but don't go crazy here because again it could get expensive unless you have escavating equipment or a friend of a friend that does . Too small and you will not get enough heat to do the job. A good loop field is very nessisary and not cheap. Horror stories here are loop fields buried only 2 ft deep and being too small having a heat-pump run continuously and the house getting really cold and the electric bill being huge. Lets face it. You what is to access the greatest amount of heat, expend the lest amount of energy to move it into your home and keep it there. Simple. My shop where I had built my own GSHP unit is from a 3.5ton AC recycled unit. with a 4 ton loop field. I'm very pleased with the performance. It both heats and cools the shop. I think this past winter I heated it with about $350.00 worth of electricity compared to $2800.00 of furnace oil. There are still some improvements to make. Additional insulation to the ceiling a better insulated entrance door and the icing on the cake would be to replace the original un-insulated concrete floor with an insulated heated concrete floor. Yes building your own system can be done and relitively inexpensive. But best results is the culmination of good systems. Randen

09-01-12, 06:58 PM	#1296
lyndenjh Welder, tinkerer Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NE Wisconsin Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Understand all the stuff you mentioned. Most all that is up to snuff as far as the house is concerned. Also understand the theory of the system as my bro in law has had one of the first systems put in here in NE WI for about 20 some years. It's getting time for me to think about this upgrade since my Lennox hi ef furnace is also about 20 years old. Plan is to build a GSHP system and retain the Lennox for the really cold weather.

09-01-12, 07:03 PM	#1297
lyndenjh Welder, tinkerer Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NE Wisconsin Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	My goal is to build a correct size system using a A/C unit and not have to "reinvent the wheel" to do it, as it seems alot of the posts on this forum tend to lean towards. Having looked at this technology and asking questions of knowledgable people in this area (i.e. guys who sell these systems) I can and have gathered enough info to correctly size the loop and the unit.

09-04-12, 11:44 AM	#1300
charlesfl Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Pensacola Florida Posts: 38 Thanks: 17 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts	I found a free computer program that can be run in windows by Lawrence Berkley National Lab called THERM. It can be use to find heat loss of house through different materials. Can be downloaded from LBNL Windows & Daylighting Software -- THERM