ᐅ Underfloor heating with a "pool" heat pump: is it feasible?
Created on: 19 Jan 2023 13:51
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laul.laulsenL
laul.laulsen19 Jan 2023 13:51Hello, I am currently converting a basement room into an "aquarium room."
Since I want to avoid high ongoing costs, I plan to insulate the room well to heat it as efficiently as possible. However, completely avoiding heating isn’t possible. That’s why I thought about trying underfloor heating combined with an air heat pump. With my required heating demand of less than 2500 kWh and my budget, I came across pool heat pumps, which may not be as efficient as “standard” ones but would still keep electricity consumption lower than, for example, an electric tankless water heater. In my case, the air would be drawn from an adjacent room, which naturally (due to being underground and next to the aquarium room) might drop to about 5°C (41°F) in extreme cases, which I believe would make operation even more attractive.
Unfortunately, I am a complete beginner in this field, and despite the research I've done, I have not identified the one specific issue that might cause the plan to fail, although I have often read that people generally advise against this kind of setup. Another important detail is that the room should reach temperatures of 26–28°C (79–82°F).
Since I want to avoid high ongoing costs, I plan to insulate the room well to heat it as efficiently as possible. However, completely avoiding heating isn’t possible. That’s why I thought about trying underfloor heating combined with an air heat pump. With my required heating demand of less than 2500 kWh and my budget, I came across pool heat pumps, which may not be as efficient as “standard” ones but would still keep electricity consumption lower than, for example, an electric tankless water heater. In my case, the air would be drawn from an adjacent room, which naturally (due to being underground and next to the aquarium room) might drop to about 5°C (41°F) in extreme cases, which I believe would make operation even more attractive.
Unfortunately, I am a complete beginner in this field, and despite the research I've done, I have not identified the one specific issue that might cause the plan to fail, although I have often read that people generally advise against this kind of setup. Another important detail is that the room should reach temperatures of 26–28°C (79–82°F).
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KarstenausNRW19 Jan 2023 14:17- Heat pump performance
- How efficient is it at low temperatures (pool heat pumps are not designed for this, antifreeze may be necessary)
- A dedicated circulation pump is required. Pool heat pumps are designed for 4 cubic meters per hour (about 105 gallons per hour) or more, whereas a standard heat pump operates at 0.6-1 cubic meters per hour (about 16-26 gallons per hour).
- Air intake must strictly come from outside! Alternatively, install the unit outdoors.
- Do you have enough money in your account to cover the electricity costs? Pool heat pumps are designed for clearly positive temperatures and may not work efficiently at subzero temperatures. Also, the pump that moves 4,000 liters per hour (about 1,057 gallons per hour) consumes a significant amount of electricity (not to mention that proper piping is needed to handle such water volume) — it will probably require 4-6 kWh of power per day, in addition to the heat pump’s electricity consumption.
- Pool heat pumps generally lack sophisticated controls or heating curves.
- I don’t want to list any more reasons why this idea isn’t feasible...
- How efficient is it at low temperatures (pool heat pumps are not designed for this, antifreeze may be necessary)
- A dedicated circulation pump is required. Pool heat pumps are designed for 4 cubic meters per hour (about 105 gallons per hour) or more, whereas a standard heat pump operates at 0.6-1 cubic meters per hour (about 16-26 gallons per hour).
- Air intake must strictly come from outside! Alternatively, install the unit outdoors.
- Do you have enough money in your account to cover the electricity costs? Pool heat pumps are designed for clearly positive temperatures and may not work efficiently at subzero temperatures. Also, the pump that moves 4,000 liters per hour (about 1,057 gallons per hour) consumes a significant amount of electricity (not to mention that proper piping is needed to handle such water volume) — it will probably require 4-6 kWh of power per day, in addition to the heat pump’s electricity consumption.
- Pool heat pumps generally lack sophisticated controls or heating curves.
- I don’t want to list any more reasons why this idea isn’t feasible...
L
laul.laulsen19 Jan 2023 14:53Ok, I see that the idea is not good... It would have been too good to be true, but there are some things I could have realized myself. Are there alternative heat pumps that would be suitable for the whole system and maybe not cost a fortune? Or would it perhaps be more sensible to use a tankless water heater or something similar?
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