Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Oct 06, 2008 9:45 pm Hi, I'm hoping to gain feedback or knowledge on Hot Water Systems - Types and Brands on what would be suitable for my home - which I am currently renovating and looking at replacing my Electric Hot Water System - here's a run down of where I'm at:
Climate: Hot Summers (15degrees overnight and up to 35degress during the day) and Cold Winters (minus 2degrees overnight and 14degrees during the day). First choice was: Gas Storage Tanks - then a few friends advised me not to as the cost of Gas will be increasing and the trouble of having to have bottles refilled etc.... Second choice was: Heat Pump - I have been searching forums and the Product Review Australia website and am very scared of this product - it sounds like a nightmare - for me, my dogs and my neighbours - being soooo noisy (also read a terrible experience on this website of "kasiakm - heatpump" having to listen to their neighbours Heat Pump make noise all night - this would drive me nuts). Third choice (and currently thinking seriously about): Solar Electric Boosted (am waiting to speak to my plumber on what he thinks). I would love to hear from anyone with comments/recommendations to assist me with trying to make my final decision. Re: Hot Water Systems - unsure of which one to get... 2Oct 06, 2008 10:09 pm Go for either a vacuum tube solar system, or a flat panel system. Both will be better than any fossil fueled system in that climate.
look at these aussie companies products http://www.apircus.com and http://www.ecosmart.com.au Steve Re: Hot Water Systems - unsure of which one to get... 3Oct 06, 2008 11:31 pm We have just installed a Heat Pump HWS.
Very happy with it, we previously had an instant gas HWS that was very ordinary (and old). Decided to pay the extra for the Heat Pump because of it's cheap running costs primarily. The 'hot' water we get is great (the water never used to be 'hot', I had to use water from the kettle to add extra heat when washing dishes!), but I assume most modern HWS would provide that. But yes, they are noisy. It's like having an aircon on.. well it IS aircon technology. Ours is installed near the laundry, so we can't hear it from the living areas and only just from the bedrooms. We're on 3/4 of an acre with neighbours on larger blocks, so that's not an issue. Edited to add - our climate is similar to yours, we're in the Adelaide Hills. So it can get very cold in winter. Re: Hot Water Systems - unsure of which one to get... 4Oct 07, 2008 10:33 am Thanks Steve & esg - your comments have been helpful.
Update: After speaking with a few plumbers I am back at on the Instantaneous Gas - does anyone use or have comments on this type of HWS?? (on this due to our winter climate - advised....solar may not be as efficient as I thought in the winter months also frosts may damage panels and heat pump may have to work too hard = noisy). Re: Hot Water Systems - unsure of which one to get... 5Oct 07, 2008 5:19 pm An instantainious system such as Rinnai or Bosh is the best option in my opinion. Apart from never being short of hot water the size of the systems are small and compact which is also a good thing. Re: Hot Water Systems - unsure of which one to get... 6Nov 01, 2008 5:01 pm msja Hi, I'm hoping to gain feedback or knowledge on Hot Water Systems - Types and Brands on what would be suitable for my home - which I am currently renovating and looking at replacing my Electric Hot Water System First choice was: Gas Storage Tanks Second choice was: Heat Pump Third choice (and currently thinking seriously about): Solar Electric Boosted I would love to hear from anyone with comments/recommendations to assist me with trying to make my final decision. Depends on budget and what running costs you want. Solar is most green and will cut bills by half. Wood heater with wetback is greenest boost system. Gas boost is most expensive but most green friendly and will cut bills by a half. Electricity is cheaper but a little less green. Expect to take 5-10 years to pay off the extra cost of having one. Instantaneous gas is next best option in initial cost and running cost. Don't go with electricity. Pure storage heaters are inherently inefficient because of continued tank heat losses. You can heat with off-peak electricity tariff. Heat pump is a newer technology but has efficiencies closer to solar rather than instantaneous or storage. Read, http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/re ... system.pdf Thank you so much. We ended going with the terrain that’s part of our brick. 2 1393 Thanks Pulse, thats really helpful and very much appreciated. Also thanks for the pointer on sheathing, thats me watching too many american youtube videos! 6 2104 Depends how much direct sun it gets. Is there any shading (eaves or trees)? If the sun hits a window directly it doesn't matter too much if it's double or single… 1 10101 |