Air to Water Heat Pump?

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FrankL

New Member
Mar 5, 2023
6
Upstate NY
Hi & still a newbie here. Just wondering. Does anyone know of a decent installer of air to water heat pumps in the Mohawk Valley/Capital district of NY State? I know the technology is new to the U.S. (we're kinda slow in the uptake on energy saving technologies,) but was hoping there are a few installers who have a clue how to do it. We already have hydronic heat in our house (oil/wood boiler) but are hoping to add heat pump capability.... (Gettin' too old to handle firewood any more, and don't like mortgaging the house just to fill the oil tank! Thanks for your help, folks!
 
What do you have for emitters? To the best of my knowledge A-W heat pumps need low temp emitters. They are still young but I don't think they output any or much more than 120°.
 
What do you have for emitters? To the best of my knowledge A-W heat pumps need low temp emitters. They are still young but I don't think they output any or much more than 120°.
No new emitters yet. Existing modern baseboards, set for max efficiency @ 180 F. (They do the job pretty well when using the oil / wood boiler @ 120-140 F. ) Still in the planning stages, so looking for a mid-NY State installer. Lord willin,' I can do the emitter changeover as necessary, myself. From what I've read, will need to upgrade baseboards to high output emitters, at least in the main living areas, for the new system to work well... Thanks for your reply!
 


Not necessarily saying you should do this, but you could potentially save money by doing it.

The warranty on the mini split would be void if you modified it like that.

Either way, it's a very interesting video.
 


Not necessarily saying you should do this, but you could potentially save money by doing it.

The warranty on the mini split would be void if you modified it like that.

Either way, it's a very interesting video.

I’m not sold that this is a good way. Heatpump water heaters exist. Free AC in the summer. Run that LG to heat the house and thus the water in the winter. Sure your summer AC efficiency will be higher than the heating efficiency but not having to cut open a tank and run long lines that could leak refrigerant is worth something.

Better yet use wood to heat during winter. Run the HPWH using the wood heat. That’s what I do. Could one use the HPWH for low temp emitters. Probably not. You probably only have 6-8k btus per hour of heating capacity from the stock water heater.

If you really want air to water heatpump for whole house just wait it out a couple more years. There will be more options soon enough.
 
We’ve been waiting for many years. Patiently.
 
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Have to admit I've been tempted by the Chinese monoblock heat pumps on Alibaba. It does seem a bit of a risky investment and would have to be a full diy job since no installers I've talked to would touch it. Still, tempted...
 


Not necessarily saying you should do this, but you could potentially save money by doing it.

The warranty on the mini split would be void if you modified it like that.

Either way, it's a very interesting video.

He could have gotten a Fre heater, than he wouldn’t have had to cut the tank apart. He could just have hooked up the Freon lines.
 
I’m not sold that this is a good way. Heatpump water heaters exist. Free AC in the summer. Run that LG to heat the house and thus the water in the winter. Sure your summer AC efficiency will be higher than the heating efficiency but not having to cut open a tank and run long lines that could leak refrigerant is worth something.

Better yet use wood to heat during winter. Run the HPWH using the wood heat. That’s what I do. Could one use the HPWH for low temp emitters. Probably not. You probably only have 6-8k btus per hour of heating capacity from the stock water heater.

If you really want air to water heatpump for whole house just wait it out a couple more years. There will be more options soon enough.
I have been shopping around for air to water heat pump and there is nothing residential here in ME. Seems like the US is always behind the curve like on air-to-air which was around a long time in Europe and elsewhere before catching on here. Got wonder if it’s in the HVAC companies internet over consumer as air to water is not that complex to install.
 
I have been shopping around for air to water heat pump and there is nothing residential here in ME. Seems like the US is always behind the curve like on air-to-air which was around a long time in Europe and elsewhere before catching on here. Got wonder if it’s in the HVAC companies internet over consumer as air to water is not that complex to install.
Have you seen this?