4 ms·

You can add components with high, desirable thermal mass to your heating/cooling system to time-shift that as well. You heat and cool your thermal mass when en

You can add components with high, desirable thermal mass to your heating/cooling system to time-shift that as well. You heat and cool your thermal mass when energy is cheap and then use your thermal mass to heat and cool your house much more efficiently during expensive energy periods.

toomuchtodo 9y ago
Indeed! In Florida, I use my 10k gallon pool to dump heat from the house into until its thermal capacity has been reached, at which point the heat exchanger switches back to using the condensor unit. Along with my solar panels, my only grid use is for charging an EV at night if it’s not home during the day.
- photojosh 9y ago
  > I use my 10k gallon pool to dump heat from the house into until its thermal capacity has been reached That sounds amazing. I can't seem to find any commercial solutions for that, only a DIY-ish toggle between a heat exchanger cooled by the pool pump and the usual condensor. Is that what you've done? Guessing this would also work for heating during winter; use the pool water when it's above ambient? While looking, I did come across a tangentially related problem I thought was interesting too: cooling your pool in summer. [1] [0]: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-heat-swimming-pool-air-conditioner https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-heat-swimming-poo... [1]: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-28/cold-pool-in-hot-heat-solved-darwin-man/9487984 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-28/cold-pool-in-hot-heat-...
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    I bought the below heat exchanger system, which dropped right in to my pool equipment and condenser redridgeant lines. It would work in the winter if the pool was above ambient temp, but that rarely happens so I primarily use the condenser unit in heat pump mode to heat the house on cold days. There is a controller that takes the pool temp as input, and switches the valves between the heat exchanger or the air condenser, while ensuring the pool pump is running. http://www.hotspotenergy.com/pool-heater/ http://www.hotspotenergy.com/pool-heater/
- sfifs 9y ago
  Every time I think I grasp the expansiveness and wealth of the US, something comes along and whacks my concepts. In the Asian cities where I live, the well off live in condos where a 100 houses share a pool and the area occupied by a 10k gallon pool would be as big as a third of the house. I'm not sure these solutions work for even the well off in most parts of the world, let alone common people.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
coryfklein 9y ago
In most cases adding a swimming-pool sized tank of water to your house complete with a heat-exchange system to save $40 a month on your electric bill isn't going to be very economical, let alone practical.
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  While correct, if you already have a pool, the heat exchanger equipment to use the pool as a thermal sink is eligible for a 30% federal tax credit (as long as you’re installing to heat/cool your house with it, not heat/cool your pool).
- fulafel 9y ago
  The tank need not be that big. Water has a very high heat capacity compared to air.

toomuchtodo 9y ago

Indeed! In Florida, I use my 10k gallon pool to dump heat from the house into until its thermal capacity has been reached, at which point the heat exchanger switches back to using the condensor unit. Along with my solar panels, my only grid use is for charging an EV at night if it’s not home during the day.

photojosh 9y ago
> I use my 10k gallon pool to dump heat from the house into until its thermal capacity has been reached That sounds amazing. I can't seem to find any commercial solutions for that, only a DIY-ish toggle between a heat exchanger cooled by the pool pump and the usual condensor. Is that what you've done? Guessing this would also work for heating during winter; use the pool water when it's above ambient? While looking, I did come across a tangentially related problem I thought was interesting too: cooling your pool in summer. [1] [0]: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-heat-swimming-pool-air-conditioner https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-heat-swimming-poo... [1]: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-28/cold-pool-in-hot-heat-solved-darwin-man/9487984 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-28/cold-pool-in-hot-heat-...
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  I bought the below heat exchanger system, which dropped right in to my pool equipment and condenser redridgeant lines. It would work in the winter if the pool was above ambient temp, but that rarely happens so I primarily use the condenser unit in heat pump mode to heat the house on cold days. There is a controller that takes the pool temp as input, and switches the valves between the heat exchanger or the air condenser, while ensuring the pool pump is running. http://www.hotspotenergy.com/pool-heater/ http://www.hotspotenergy.com/pool-heater/
sfifs 9y ago
Every time I think I grasp the expansiveness and wealth of the US, something comes along and whacks my concepts. In the Asian cities where I live, the well off live in condos where a 100 houses share a pool and the area occupied by a 10k gallon pool would be as big as a third of the house. I'm not sure these solutions work for even the well off in most parts of the world, let alone common people.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

coryfklein 9y ago

In most cases adding a swimming-pool sized tank of water to your house complete with a heat-exchange system to save $40 a month on your electric bill isn't going to be very economical, let alone practical.

toomuchtodo 9y ago
While correct, if you already have a pool, the heat exchanger equipment to use the pool as a thermal sink is eligible for a 30% federal tax credit (as long as you’re installing to heat/cool your house with it, not heat/cool your pool).
fulafel 9y ago
The tank need not be that big. Water has a very high heat capacity compared to air.