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Traditional electric air source heat pumps struggle to deliver comfort and efficiency in cold temperatures. When the electric heat pump can’t deliver the desired indoor temperature the unit’s backup system is engaged. Most traditional heat pumps depend on electric resistance heat to make up the difference. This increases the electric demand by three to four times, and still fails to provide consistent heat.
Recent advances in home heating equipment present an opportunity for builders to enhance the performance of electric heat pumps. An innovation in home heating technology is a hybrid heat pump solution, which utilizes hot water from the propane tankless water heater circulated through a hydronic coil mounted on the air handler to create hot air that is then blown through the ductwork to heat the home.
Hydronic heat pump solutions feature hybrid technology to bring the comfort of propane heating to newly installed or pre-existing heat pumps. Pairing a hydronic heat pump with a propane water heater, tankless water heater, or even a boiler, is an innovation that provides solutions for builders and homeowners.
John Borzoni, Director of Business Development at Bindus Manufacturing provides a bit of history regarding how hydronic heat pump solutions evolved in response to the HVAC industry’s demand for a product that would enable them to do hydronic heating applications while still selling their primary brand of forced air equipment. Borzoni notes, “The coil has been available for over 30 years. The water heaters, whether tankless, boiler, or tank, were already well established. But it’s the interface between the two that became the issue. The hydronic heating solution became a natural extension of trying to merge those two pieces together.”
How a Hydronic Heat Pump Solution Works
When the wall thermostat calls for heat, a circulating pump starts the flow of hot water through the hydronic heating coil, which is mounted on the air handler. The air is heated as the blower moves the air into the home, and water continues to circulate through the water heater in the hydronic heating coil as long as there is a call for heat. Water also flows to domestic hot water fixtures like the sink or the shower on demand. This means there is only one gas line, one vent, and one appliance doing two jobs. The propane water heater paired with a hydronic heat pump provides both hot water and space heating to the home.
Kevin Morgan, Director of Energy at Rinnai America, says, “We can heat the home with a water heater, and do the domestic and the heat through the coil. So, use the heat pump for what it’s designed for, and that’s the air and heat until it gets to about 40 degrees. And when that temperature turns to 40 degrees outside, you want some other option to actually heat your home more comfortably.”
A Bundle of Benefits
- Hybrid heat pump solutions are energy efficient, requiring less amperage while still improving heating performance.
- Compared to all-electric systems, hybrid heat pump solutions reduce operating costs by 35%.
- Hybrid heat pump solutions deliver fast and consistent comfort, warming a home with warmer air than from electric heat strips.
- For builders and homeowners considering future additions of solar- or wind-generated power, a hybrid heat pump solution can make installation more cost-effective due to the reduced electrical peak and running loads.
Project Highlight: Bindus Heat Pump Helper Installation
A short-term rental/second home in the foothills of Afton, VA was in need of a complete remodel. The home’s update included finishing out the basement. To meet the heating requirements of the new square footage, an upgrade to the HVAC system was proposed. Adding electric resistance heat to the heat pump was going to require an electrical system upgrade, including a larger panel, new service from the electric utility, and digging up the yard to run the new electrical lines. They avoided this $6,000 upgrade to the electrical system by replacing the existing electric water heater with a propane tankless and installing a Heat Pump Helper, Bindus’s hydronic heat pump solution. Together this equipment provides home heat and endless water heating, a key desire for residents and Airbnb guests.
Before the transition from the existing electric water heater and electric heat system to a propane tankless water heater and Heat Pump Helper, the home used on average 2.6 kW per heating degree day. After the installation, that consumption fell to 1.4 kW per heating degree day. This approximately 40% reduction per degree day supports the premise that when you need heat, it’s more efficient to use a heat pump solution versus backing up the heat pump with electric resistance heat.
Hydronic Heat Pumps: A Powerful Propane Solution
The benefits of this technology, paired with the ease of installation, make a propane-powered heat pump solution very powerful. There is one gas line able to serve two applications. The tools required are very simple. In fact, the whole installation process is substantially simple and allows installers across the country to be trained to successfully install the system. Using a hydronic heat pump solution allows builders to install HVAC systems that meet energy codes, save money, and deliver comfort for their customers.
