_______________________________________________________________________________ | File Name : HOTWATER.ASC | Online Date : 08/17/94 | | Contributed by : Bert Pool | Dir Category : ENERGY | | From : KeelyNet BBS | DataLine : (214) 324-3501 | | KeelyNet * PO BOX 870716 * Mesquite, Texas * USA * 75187 | | A FREE Alternative Sciences BBS sponsored by Vanguard Sciences | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| Below is an article which appeared in the August 5th., 1994 edition of the Dallas Morning News on cooling your house FREE! . CUT YOUR UTILITY BILLS A WATER-HEATER ACCESSORY CAN HELP COOL YOUR HOUSE JAMES DULLY . Q: I have heard about a new super-efficient water-heater accessory that can cool and dehumidify my house for free. How do these work and can I attach one to my existing water heater? . A: You are referring to a small add-on heat-pump water heater (HPWH). The super-efficient ones can cut water-heating costs by 60 percent and save more than $200 per year. As they heat the water, they produce up to 7,000 BTU per hour of FREE cooling. Other models cool and dehumidify fresh outdoor air. . An add-on HPWH operates something like a small window air conditioner. You can locate it near your existing water heater or in another room. Some models mount directly on top of the water heater to save floor space. . A HPWH draws heat from the surrounding air. Instead of exhausting this heat outdoors and wasting it as an airconditioner does, it is used to heat water in your existing water heater. The electric heating element or gas burners in your water heater seldom have to come on. . A small add-on HPWH is about 18 inches wide and can be located anywhere in your home and plumbed to the water heater. Locate it in a room that you want to cool and dehumidify - a kitchen or laundry, for example. Some models allow you to duct the cool dry air to another room or to your central airconditioner ducts. . It is easy to install an add-on HPWH. Some do-it-yourself installation kits include a special coaxial water fitting that replaces the tank drain valve. This carries cold incoming water to the HPWH and hot water from it naturally follows back into the tank through the same fitting with no pumps. . Complete integral HPWH/tank systems are also available. Venting models draw heat and humidity from incoming outdoor air. This produces positive fresh and cool ventilation while heating your water for free. . For people with allergies or in-door-pollutant sensitivity, it is a cost- effective and efficient method of improving indoor air quality. . If you have central air, a hot-plate heat exchanger is effective for free hot water. The refrigerant lines from the air-conditioner unit run through a heat exchanger plate under your existing water heater. Using no pumps or electricity, it transfers heat to the water heater for free hot water. . For an inefficient old central air conditioner, installing a dehumidifying heat pipe can reduce the muggy feeling inside your home without using more electricity. This pre-cools the air over the coils so more moisture is condensed out. It is a simple add-on device with no wiring or motors. . Write to me for Utility Bills Update No. 781, which lists manufacturers of small add-on and fresh air HPWHs, dehumidifying heat pipes and hot plates for free cooling, dehumidfying and water heating. Please send your request, a self-addresssed envelope and $2 (cash or a check payable to James Dully) to James Dully, The Dallas Morning News, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinatti, Ohio 45244. . This seems to me to be a very good way to save a lot of money. I HATE pumping thousands of BTUs of heat into the outdoor air and then turn around and PAY TU electric even more money to heat my water??!! . I have sent in my two dollars, and I will post notes on what I receive in a later message. >> Bert