Heat Pump Water Heaters

Continued from page “13” electric tank,” adds Holladay.

HPWHs can also provide homeowners with monthly savings as, “Compared to a conventional style water heater, where you’re paying for the fuel or electricity, the hybrid electric provides cost savings because it’s using air that’s already there around the water,” states Kirchner. She adds that homeowners can save hundreds of dollars annually using an HPWH compared to a standard electric water heater depending on a home’s usage.

Holladay also adds that when using an HPWH, “You get about $3 in hot water for every $1 spent because moving heat costs less than creating heat and HPWHs do both.” He also adds that a 240v HPWH has roughly the same rating in hot water provided and recovery as standard electric water heaters, with 65 to 67-gallon first-hour delivery (50 gallons), 77-gallon first-hour delivery (65 gallons), and 87-gallon first-hour delivery (80 gallons).

The benefit of using a tankless heat pump water heater, according to Deivasigamani, is that overall, it provides clean and healthy water. “Additionally, our tankless heat pump uses CO2 refrigeration, making the technology environmentally friendly. CO2 has a GWP of one, which gives it a superior heat transfer characteristic compared to synthetic refrigerants. Plus, it provides higher heat carrying capacity.”

Deivasigamani also mentions that Intellihot’s tankless heat pump water heaters “are three times more efficient than resistance tanks. Compared to paying around $100 per month, ours will be around $33.”

Installation

As with most installations, the best practice for installing a hybrid electric heat pump water heater or any water heater, “should always be installed with local codes in mind,” said Fernandes. Additionally, when working with water, thermal expansion is something that should always be considered. “We’ve focused on making the installation straightforward so that a standard regular plumber can easily put this product in. If you’re just swapping out electric for electric, it’s a simple switch out, and it’s mostly just properly sizing the tank. The contractor doesn’t have to touch any refrigerant or compressor, as that’s covered by warranty.”

To best utilize HPWH technology, “Install them in places that provide or have excess heat, for example, your basement furnace room, garage, or laundry room,” says Holladay.

Additionally, for installation jobs, the main difference when installing an HPWH compared to a standard electric is that “You have to adjust and account for the air space needed for the unit. An HPWH needs about 700 cubic feet or louvered door,” states Kirchner.

Holladay, Kirchner, and Fernandes all mentioned that installation costs for an HPWH system are typically on the higher end when you are fuel switching and running a 240v line, but “For this product, through the Greener Homes Federal Grant, there are incentives of $1,000,” adds Fernandes.

Regardless of which system a homeowner decides to use, the main thing any person should worry about is, “whether or not your HVAC or water heating system in a home or business is efficient and healthy. We spend most of our time indoors, breathing in air and drinking water. So, ask yourself whether you are making any compromises,” suggests Deivasigamani. :

Cold climate heat pump

SpacePak, Westfield, Massachusetts, announced the latest addition to its inverter series line of Solstice air-to-water heat pumps — the Solstice Inverter Extreme. The Solstice Inverter Extreme (ILAHP) is an inverter-driven cold climate air-to-water heat pump that provides hydronic heating, cooling, and DHW, without the use of fossil fuels. It features an inverter-driven compressor, inverter-driven fans and fan motors, and enhanced vapour injection technology. The heat pump can heat in outdoor temperatures as low as -30 C, while delivering water temperatures as high as 54 C. The unit comes equipped with a flexible control platform and outputs in all climates and conditions.

SpacePak www.spacepak.com

Tank protection technology

Bradford White, Halton Hills, Ont, announces its Vitraglas tank lining with Microban antimicrobial technology will now be a standard feature on nearly all tanktype water heaters. Vitraglas is an enamel tank lining that provides protection from corrosion, while the Microban technology provides additional product protection by helping to prevent the growth of bacteria, mould, and mildew on the surface of the tank lining. Vitraglas tank lining with Microban is formulated and applied to the water heater tank, head, base, and flue tube, and is then bonded to the steel surface by firing at a temperature of over 1,600 F.

Bradford White www.bradfordwhite.com

New and improved

Navien, Vaughan, Ont, introduces its NPE-2 series condensing tankless water heaters, which features an EZNav upgraded multiline control panel with Setup Wizard, up to 0.96 UEF, two-inch PVC venting up to 75-ft, cascade capability up to 32 units, and common vent capability up to 12 units. Like the original NPE, NPE-2 offers dual stainless-steel heat exchangers and a patented ComfortFlow recirculation system with a built-in pump and buffer tank on the NPE-A2.

Navien www.navieninc.ca

Self-learning tankless water heater

Noritz America, Fountain Valley, California, introduces its new NRCR residential condensing tankless water heater series. It uses a fully integrated pump to keep hot water close to all outlets in the home. The auto mode learns the household’s water usage and automatically triggers recirculation-loop activation in line with the expected usage. Available with inputs of 165,000 btu/h and 199,900 btu/h, the new HRCR series carries a uniform energy factor (UEF) of 0.97, while offering the durability of dual, stainless-steel heat exchangers.

Noritz America www.noritz.com

Electric tankless units

Bosch Thermotechnology, Watertown, Massachusetts, introduces two additions to its electric tankless water heater lineup. Bosch’s new Tronic 4000 C (pictured) is ideal for pointof-use, under-sink installations, while the Tronic 6100 C is ideal for whole-house applications. The Tronic 4000 C measures only 8.5-inches by 13-inches and weighs 4.4 pounds. It can be wall-mounted directly under the sink and requires no venting. The Tronic 4000 C comes in four model options: 3.5 kW, 6.5 kW, 8.5 kW and 10.5 kW. The Tronic 6100 C features a stainless-steel canister inside the unit, which heats up the water but doesn’t store water like a traditional tank water heater. It measures 13 1/4-inches by 20 1/4 -inches and comes with 3/4inch NPT fittings for both cold and hot water connections.

Bosch www.boschheatingandcooling.com

Advanced recirculation technology

Rinnai, Peachtree City, Georgia, launches its improved Sensei RSC condensing tankless water heater with intelligent recirculation, eventually replacing RUR models. Its RSC will deliver the same quality come to know with the RUR model, but features advanced Smart-Circ intelligent recirculation technology. With Smart-Circ, external controllers are no longer required to provide recirculation for customers and will learn user’s hot water patterns over seven days. It will then schedule pump and tankless recirculation patterns accordingly. Hot water usage must be greater than 20 seconds to be added to the system’s memory.

Rinnai www.rinnai.ca

By Leah Den Hartogh

Decarbonization has officially made its way into the water heater market. The Canadian federal government has changed the standards and regulations in recent years for water heating, pushing the minimum requirement for efficiency; and effectively, altering the path the technology was heading.

The big gold belt of domestic hot water remains with storage water heaters; Canadians looking in their basements will likely find themselves with some type of tank unit controlling their hot water system. “In North America, storage units are still very heavily used,” explains Andrew Tran, senior marketing manager at Noritz America. “I would say the tankless market is probably 15 per cent of the whole market. A lot of people ask me who my competitors are, and you’re inclined to talk about other tankless competitors. But really, our competitors are storage tanks because there’s so much more of the pie that everyone can take.” the product was largely designed using a European approach, which just wasn’t adaptable to the North American lifestyle, explains Larry Moores, manager of business development for Rinnai Canada.

That’s not to say that each type of technology doesn’t have its ideal application or installation. For instance, tank-type water heaters typically work in a larger home with greater demands. “You have to make sure your consumer understands in some situations, tankless is not the right option.

“If you’re a contractor and you experienced the first wave of tankless water perspective, have changed a lot as well.”

So, when is it the correct time to choose tankless or tank? Well, it comes down to the homeowner’s lifestyle, explains Euverman. “There’s a lot of factors that go into it all because if you’re going to run back-to-backto-back showers, tankless could be perfect for you. But if you’re going to run three showers at the same time, you’re going to want a tank unit.”

A good rule of thumb to follow, as a contractor, is to count the number of bathrooms within the building. Anywhere close to five, and a tank might be the more ideal option. Another way is to look at the occupancy of the living space. If it’s just a single person or a couple of empty nesters, then installing a storage tank would work just fine.

Myth #2

As previously mentioned, the first wave of tankless water heaters in North America had its problems, which resulted in a slower adoption. Back then, there was quite a difference in the overall cost of a tankless water heater compared to a storage product.

In a huge house with a few rentals, you need atank.Butastandardhousewithacoupleof showers, here and there, tankless is perfect,” shares Chad Euverman, president at Eco King Heating Products.

Myth #1

When tankless was first brought over to North America, sometime during the 90s, heaters… there’s a lot of new information for you since then.” Moores was a contractor in 1986 and his experience was not-so-positive. “When I first put in a tankless water heater, it wasn’t a positive thing. But since the mid-90s, everything has changed and the products themselves are so much better. Our products that are installed in our homes, from a fixture

Nowadays, the cost between tank and tankless is extremely close. And with governments pushing Canadian towards energy-efficient lifestyles, there are more incentives for homeowners to choose those types of products.

Take a look at the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) website and search “water

Continued on page “21”

Which

DO YOU NEED?

BEST FOR:

Cast Iron Or Condensing Floor Retrofits

BEST FOR: New Construction Or Condensing Wall Retrofits

PAIRS GREAT WITH OUR SMART TANKS

Continued from page “19” heater” in the “directory of energy efficiency programs for home” section. You’ll find over a dozen rebate programs currently operating across the country. Money that would be going directly back into your customer’s pockets. This goes for both tankless and tankstyle water heaters.

With climate change being such a big topic of discussion around the world, this is also shifting the fuel sources for our water heaters. “If you look at the general political climate and if you look at all the talk out in the industry, a lot of the legislation is pushing away from gas," explains Euverman. “That’s why we started to sell electric hot water tanks. We wanted to be in the market where that demand is going to increase.”

And for those who haven’t made the switch to fully electric, it’s coming, “Electrification is pushing us to find other ways as well to present an electric tankless on the market,” said Tran. “This affects us too in some districts of the U.S.; they are banning natural gas products, but that’s pushing us.”

Maintenance checklist

With the ramifications of the pandemic in the forced-air heating sphere, there has been a spotlight pointed directly at indoor air quality. Like the space heating world, water quality is just as important when it comes to domestic hot water heating. Tank units could need to be replaced faster than wanted when poor water quality is pushed into the system, “It is very essential to have water quality that falls within the parameters or the specifications of any manufacturer,” says Euverman.

Scale can build up over time on tankless and regular maintenance is needed just as with a tank unit. As such, it is important to make sure customers keep up with regular maintenance. Tankless water heaters should have its heat exchanger cleaned regularly. “It’s really unusual for people to clean tanks, although it’s recommended to look at the maintenance guidelines,” explains Moores. To clean a heat exchanger, all that’s needed is table vinegar. It typically takes anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes. “Most contractors are set up with all the things they need to do service and maintenance on tankless water heaters. They carry it around in their truck and can do several in a day.”

With electric storage tank water heaters in particular, the anode rod needs to be a part of the maintenance checklist. “Every couple of years, the installer technician should be coming back for a service call to look at the tank and make sure that the anode rod is still intact and if it isn’t, you’ll need to replace it,” explains Euverman. Maintenance should occur every year or two on both types of water heaters.

Regular maintenance is important to ensure the lifespan and efficiency of a storage tank water heater reaches its full potential.

Making life simpler

New builds are typically easier to install any type of equipment, with equipment typically built around each other. Retrofits on the other hand tend to be a bit more challenging. Tankless manufacturers have come up with innovative solutions to make installation a bit easier on the technician. Some units now have a top-mounted connection, which reduces installation time. “We’re starting to see that kind of trend in the tankless market, where they’re starting to make top-mounted connections or connections that are both top and bottom mounted,” explains Tran. “That is sort of a trend now because I think installation time has been a big barrier for plumbers. Some plumbers are just used to throwing in another storage tank. Now with these options, it’s becoming a little more accessible for everyone.”

The most difficult part of any type of retrofit, whether tankless or tank, would be if the home was switching fuel sources. If it’s going from gas to electric, the breakers need to be tested to make sure it can handle the power draw from the new piece of equipment.

If a homeowner is going to a gas-fired unit, then the venting would need to be changed a little bit and the gas lines need to be tested to ensure that they are also the correct size.

“There are definitely some more steps involved with a tankless. That being said, for most installs, people can replace it quite fast from a tank to a tankless,” says Euverman. :

By Michael Ridler

There is an artistry when it comes to hydronics. Every component of the system is placed together, creating a masterpiece. That isn’t to say that there aren’t any miscalculations or misapplications. In the previous issue, we highlighted some of the most common “party fouls” that I have seen over the years. We are going to cover a few more in this issue.

Not using balancing manifolds

I am still seeing applications where copper stock manifolds are used for hydronic heating systems. When I was still doing installations, I used them because I frankly didn’t know better.

Let’s assume we have a bungalow with four rooms — two rooms need 10,000 btu/h and two of them need 30,000 btu/h. How are you going to make sure the flows are right with a copper stock manifold? You can’t.

CSA B214 14.3.4 clearly states that when we do these installations, we need to ensure proper design flow rates are achieved. That is a tough task with every room needing a different flow rate and no manifold balancing valves. Just about every manufacturer makes balancing manifolds, so there are lots to choose from.

Piping boilers like it’s still 1984

One of my original mentors used to always tell me, “This is how we have always done it; nobody has ever complained.” The reality is repeatedly doing it wrong doesn’t make it right. Just because they never called me back to fix it doesn’t mean it worked. My competitor very likely went in and fixed it, which is why I never heard about our system’s problems. Don’t let this be you.

Take advantage of technology, like PP-RCT piping that is taking Canada by storm and has been used extensively across North America. Typically, you weld PPR pipe using socket fusion or butt fusion but now, with the advent of electrofusion, you can fuse pipe up to 12-inches in quite literally minutes with ease and no previous knowledge outside of a quick training session. Always look to see what new innovations are on the market. I recently had the pleasure of visiting a manufacturer who is making preassembled primary/secondary headers in stainless steel. Not only does it look stunning, but it is also surprisingly costeffective and much faster than piping a primary/secondary yourself.

As for the topic of closely spaced tees, if you can decipher the problem.

The last load return water is coming back at 115.8F. What would happen if we had installed a hydronic heat pump only capable of producing 130F water? The complaint will be that the emitter on the far right of my drawing will have water temperatures that are too low to heat the space and the end user will be cold.

Imposing our own budgets

they have been used for longer than I have been alive. They can be harmless in the right application, but technology has evolved, and it does require some thought and at times can be a problem. Look at the example below and see

During the winter, the system worked perfectly, but the building owner complained that all summer long the front lobby radiators were smoking hot. Look at the way that the indirect is piped in. It works great in the wintertime, but all summer long, we are pumping heat all through the secondary piping and can end up with heat going out into the building if thermal traps and check valves are not being used. This is exacerbated by an external control that was bringing pumps on; although the boiler was off due to reset heating, the heat from the indirect was getting pumped around the building.

The other thing I want to note is the potential temperature drop across the loads.

This is a topic I discuss frequently while doing training. When it comes to hydronics, we sometimes instinctively rule out more expensive options because we think we won’t get the work or the homeowner won’t want it. Let the customer decide. Sometimes paying more upfront will result in paying less each month for the life of the home.

Don’t imply your own budget constraints on the consumer; give them options so they can choose. I know that I myself am quite guilty of this and actively work to not put my own budget limitations or design preferences on consumers/contractors/engineers that I have just met.

Air & dirt elimination

Air vents and high-efficiency air separators are not the same. When I started working at Eden Energy Equipment and met Bob ‘Hot Rod’ Rohr, it was my first introduction to a

Continued on page “25”

Continued from page “23” high-efficiency air separator, and I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I learned more in an hour talking to Bob then in five years of working in the field.

We sometimes wrongly assume that when we commission a system and purge out the obvious air, our job is done. The reality is that as the water heats up, we are going to be squeezing out the entrained air in the system.

Often, I will hear that dirt separators are not getting used because the contractor has never had a boiler heat exchanger fail or they are putting in potable water.

Scale will coat your heat exchanger and cause blisters and failure. Before that happens, it is also negatively impacting your boiler's efficiency because that sludge gets baked right into the heat exchanger impeding heat transfer. I’d suggest paying for the dirt separator, which protects your boiler from not only failure but a drop in fuel efficiency or paying for more fuel for the life of your new boiler and crossing your fingers it does not fail.

Boiler plant strategy

Often, we see designs done where a building needs 500,000 btu/h and the designer will spec a single boiler to cover the load. In many scenarios, two smaller boilers are better than

Table provided by one. Immediately out of the gate, two boilers give you redundancy and no fear of leaving a building completely without heat.

A few years ago, I worked on an apartment facility project. The boiler we took out was an old 500,000 btu/h boiler. We replaced it with two boilers that could meet the required capacity. By doing this, we not only gave them redundancy but we also increased the turndown ratio. Now in the shoulder seasons, we can lower our firing rate to as low as 10,000 btu/h. While in the dead of winter, we utilise the full power of both boilers.

We also do this exact same thing using a hydronic heat pump with a backup electric or gas boiler to cover the domestic hot water and the coldest years of the day. :

Hybrid systems provide backup heat on the coldest days of the year when a heat pump can’t quite meet the homeowners needs.

Photo provided by Kevin Schmitt

Michael Ridler is a technical services manager at Eden Energy Equipment. He started out working for a Ont-based HVAC company and now focuses on providing field support and technical training to contractors, engineers, and builders on heat pumps, boilers, and all things hydronics. He can be reached at edenenergymike@gmail.com