Back Up Heat Source and Boosting Loop Temps

wewantutopia · 01-28-14, 09:02 AM

Hello All,

My long term plans for our home is to swap our nat. gas forced air furnace for a ground source heat pump. These recent cold snaps (it is currently -16*F here and -35*F windchill) has got me thinking about peak load and the backup heat source.

I'd like to eventually no longer use natural gas for anything so it seams electric resistance heat would be the way to go for back up. This seems like a lot of extra electric use. This got me thinking...

Would it be feasible to use a small tankless water heater to raise the temperature of the water from the ground loop before it enters the heat pump? Say raise it only 5-10*F. Since the high SEER/COP of the heat pump it seems like you'd get the most bang for your buck/watt. It would use less electricity then a bunch of resistance heaters and it would be a single device instead of heaters all around the house.

To sum up. Instead of using a back up heat source when it is REALLY cold is it possible to not install a back up but rather boost the ground loop water temps and continue using the heat pump as the only source of heat.

Any thoughts?

01-28-14, 09:02 AM	#1
wewantutopia Lurking Renovator Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Woodstock, IL Posts: 22 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Back Up Heat Source and Boosting Loop Temps Hello All, My long term plans for our home is to swap our nat. gas forced air furnace for a ground source heat pump. These recent cold snaps (it is currently -16F here and -35F windchill) has got me thinking about peak load and the backup heat source. I'd like to eventually no longer use natural gas for anything so it seams electric resistance heat would be the way to go for back up. This seems like a lot of extra electric use. This got me thinking... Would it be feasible to use a small tankless water heater to raise the temperature of the water from the ground loop before it enters the heat pump? Say raise it only 5-10*F. Since the high SEER/COP of the heat pump it seems like you'd get the most bang for your buck/watt. It would use less electricity then a bunch of resistance heaters and it would be a single device instead of heaters all around the house. To sum up. Instead of using a back up heat source when it is REALLY cold is it possible to not install a back up but rather boost the ground loop water temps and continue using the heat pump as the only source of heat. Any thoughts?