Duct Heat Pump Water Heater into Minisplit ducts for cooling?
stolzberg
| Posted in General Questions on
If I am putting a minisplit air handler in the basement to heat and cool the first floor via ducts and floor registers, during the cooling months could I duct a heat pump hot water heater into the return or supply side ducts connected to the airhandler to add cool air to the first floor?
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Replies
Since the experts haven't chimed in, I'll give this a bump.
I don't see why you couldn't run the HPWH exhaust into the return duct. You have to make sure that you have a flow path from the the 1st floor to the intake on the HPWH.
You would still have to run the handler's fan to move the air to get it to where you want. If you dump the HPWH outlet into the duct like that the air will come out of return and supply side uncontrolled. (more air out on that side you dump the air in relative to the handler-coil).
If that is ok for you then do it.
Better do that hook-up manually in the shoulder seasons so that you avoid non-return flaps etc..
Imagine what happens if the HWHP-fan starts and what you want the system to do without that..
Seems to me you are over estimating the amount of cooling the water heater is likely to provide.
The last thing you want is the mini sucking up radon from the basement and spreading it around upstairs.
Yes, you may want and need ductwork for your water heater if it is located in an unvented closet.
Walta