I have a Lenox air source heat pump forced air system (15kW emergency heat) in my new home because of the cooling needs (NE summers), no natural gas (rural), and didn't want to mess with propane since I have an endless wood supply. My next best option would have been closed loop geothermal system (~$25,000) but the EKO/Lenox route should cost me a little less (I hope) plus give me a nice heated pole barn to work in during the winter with only 1 fire to tend. The Lennox should give me a decent backup setup like the oil boilers most of the others here on the forum have. I actually put a decent fireplace (Heatilator) in the new house too mostly for ambience but could keep us warm should we lose electricity AND something fail miserably with the EKO or the piping to the house. My generator would be able to run the EKO, lights, fridge, freezer, etc. and I plan to have a couple batteries with a small inverter for the EKO and circs should I lose power with a full load of wood burning.
I have asked a couple of the heating techs from the company that installed the Lenox as well as a ex-plumber friend of mine and all seemed to be against putting a water to air HX in the existing furnace although I'm pretty sure most of those here with forced air were doing exactly that. They were worried that it make restrict the flow too much or mess with the balance throughout the house. If I place it in the cold air return just before the filters that should NOT hurt the balancing should it? Is there a concern that the blower motor would be subject to hotter air? At worst would I just need to up the speed on the blower. The last tech out here noticed it was wired for LOW and he changed it to MED and I believe there are still 2 more higher speeds. I didn't ask the tech but my ex-plumber buddy at work thought most are wired to run 1 speed faster in cool mode vs. heat mode. If I plumb it with PEX I could even pull out the HX during the summer months if the restriction really made that much difference. Any thoughts? I read the thread about the "custom made HXs" here in USA and Chinese made ones on Ebay. How low of water to the better ones work with? How much did it cost you? Is everyone using a second thermostat to activate just the blower and circ? Keeping the main system set for a lower temp as a backup when the water temp is insufficient. They were suggesting I use a separate air handler and maybe even separate ducting but that seems like a ton of extra work. Down the road I would like to add some radiant floor heat to the tiled areas and maybe the whole house but I think I still need the HX first. DHW and future hot tub are also planned down the road. The 350' (each way) loop of 1.5" foamed in PEX will probably be my primary loop and run continously, with separate circs for the boiler, storage, air HX, DHW, and eventual hot tub.
I have asked a couple of the heating techs from the company that installed the Lenox as well as a ex-plumber friend of mine and all seemed to be against putting a water to air HX in the existing furnace although I'm pretty sure most of those here with forced air were doing exactly that. They were worried that it make restrict the flow too much or mess with the balance throughout the house. If I place it in the cold air return just before the filters that should NOT hurt the balancing should it? Is there a concern that the blower motor would be subject to hotter air? At worst would I just need to up the speed on the blower. The last tech out here noticed it was wired for LOW and he changed it to MED and I believe there are still 2 more higher speeds. I didn't ask the tech but my ex-plumber buddy at work thought most are wired to run 1 speed faster in cool mode vs. heat mode. If I plumb it with PEX I could even pull out the HX during the summer months if the restriction really made that much difference. Any thoughts? I read the thread about the "custom made HXs" here in USA and Chinese made ones on Ebay. How low of water to the better ones work with? How much did it cost you? Is everyone using a second thermostat to activate just the blower and circ? Keeping the main system set for a lower temp as a backup when the water temp is insufficient. They were suggesting I use a separate air handler and maybe even separate ducting but that seems like a ton of extra work. Down the road I would like to add some radiant floor heat to the tiled areas and maybe the whole house but I think I still need the HX first. DHW and future hot tub are also planned down the road. The 350' (each way) loop of 1.5" foamed in PEX will probably be my primary loop and run continously, with separate circs for the boiler, storage, air HX, DHW, and eventual hot tub.