Comments on: Unexpected Heating Solutions from Sears

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:09:28 +0000

No we haven’t considered a drain water heat recovery unit – because we hadn’t heard of it before. We will check it out; thanks for the good info, Jamie!

By: Jamie

Jamie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:34:59 +0000

Have you considered a drain water heat recovery unit? They save energy by using the hot water running down your drain (ie. from the shower) to pre-heat the cold water running back into your hot water tank (and your ‘cold’ faucet in the shower) so you use less hot water and less energy to replace the hot water you do use. They are supposed to be very good products and there is a $165 + $165 ecoEnergy rebate for them. I just ordered mine from Home Depot this week.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:53:34 +0000

Hi Sheena,
We live in a 1/5 storey detached home, there are 5 residents – but only 2 full-time (me and my husband). Our three kids live basically half time with us, having other parents to also reside with. And boy, do I hear ya re: teen girl use of water!! That is a real drag re: not allowed to vent into common driveway! We are lucky we don’t have that issue. And yeah, I am beginning to understand that going tankless is not a worthwhile investment to make.

By: Sheena Curran

Sheena Curran — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:28:43 +0000

Hi Heather

We also looked into converting from an electric tank to a gas tankless water heater. We also wanted to reduce costs and be more eco friendly. But beyond the immediate cost considerations we found out that there are several other factors to consider. 1. What kind of home do you live in? As an end unit townhouse we were not allowed to install a gas furnace vent into a common area ie. the mutual driveway. 2. How many people in your household? As empty nesters we are only heating and using water for two people (not having a teenage girl living at home makes a big difference to our consumption)and, we were told, the gas tankless would make very little difference to our energy use!

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 22:23:57 +0000

Joe, thanks for the terrific information and feedback. Please email us at heatherecorenovate.ca with data on the ‘high end’ air source heat pump.

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:06:22 +0000

Nice blog – enjoyed reading about your work!
I have owned and operated an air source heat pump for the past 13 years and can offer the following comments:
A “high end” ASHP can be less expensive than gas providing it is properly specified and installed. I have the data available to back this up and could email it to you if your are interested.
As a bonus, the heat pump will also function as your central air conditioning – while providing really high efficiency numbers and low cost of operation.
My home (in Belleville ON) has 2400 sq feet of heated space and costs me ~$850 per year to heat, which is less than several neighbors (same home types) running high efficiency natural gas furnaces.
Yes, electricity is more expensive than gas however the
heat pump uses “coefficient of performance” or COP ratings to it’s advantage. A heat pump with a COP of 4 at an outdoor temp of 47deg F will put out $4 worth of heat for every dollar of electricity input to it.
This efficiency will drop as the outdoor temp falls.
There are several things to watch for if choosing an ASHP including:
–always purchase a high end unit with the best specifications and features
–the unit must be correctly sized for the home
–the forced air ductwork must also be sized for the unit
–correct installation is crucial to performance and long term reliability
–backup or secondary heat source is required, and needs to be properly implemented to get the best performance and comfort levels.
–I would always recommend purchase of extended warranty
(10 years on both parts and labor)

Tankless Water Heater
From what I have seen, there is not a good payback on them as they are only saving you on standby heat losses and the purchase price is quite high.
I think if you already have natural gas in the home, then that is the way to go, because of the relatively low fuel cost.
If you will not have gas, (like if you went with a heat pump) then a high efficiency electric tank is the better option. You can purchase your own tank and avoid rental charges. Sears have a model that has a 12 year warranty and is insulated to R24 – very low standby cost to operate

Cheers – Joe