Add A Heat Recovery Unit To Your Air Conditioner

Residential air conditioning systems come in several forms and configurations. Regardless of the type of system, cooling is almost always achieved by compressing a gaseous refrigerant (freon) which causes it to give up heat and then quickly reducing the pressure which causes it to take on heat. The low pressure gas is cold and thus collects heat from inside the home. The gas then travels to the compressor outside the home where it is compressed causing it to release the heat. It is by this process that heat is effectively pumped from the inside of a house to the outside air. Heat pump air conditioners use a slightly altered form of the same process to pump heat back into the house during the winter months. A Heat Recovery Unit (HRU) can be added to these systems in order to channel the heat from the hot side of the air conditioning system into the water heater and thus provide free hot water. Heat Recovery Units such as the Enviro-Pak from Turbotec are installed between the air conditioning compressor and the water heater. When the hot gas from the air conditioner enters the HRU, it is cooled and the water is heated. The gas then leaves the HRU and travels to the air conditioning compressor much coooler than it would have without the HRU installation. This provides the added benefit of less wear and tear on the compressor. With a return on investment of three years or less, these units are a must for any new installation and are suitable for many retrofit applications as well.  Discover and share home improvement knowledge at www.HomebuiltHowTo.com