Question & Answer

          Using Hot Water Heaters with the Turbo Heat System

                                                         Domestic Hot Water Tie-In

OVERVIEW
When using a Turbo Heat System, all the fresh hot water used in the home comes directly from a standard hot water heater.  However, all the hot water in the hot water heater is supplied directly from a Turbo Heat Unit through a heat exchanger coil.  This allows you to use virtually any fuel to heat your hot water.  You could use firewood, gas, oil, sunlight, or electricity as examples.  Imagine taking a shower with hot water produced directly from sunlight, firewood, or burnable waste.  This can save you a tremendous amount of money over life of the system.  This gives you freedom to choose the most available cost effective fuels and heat resources in your area.  This eliminates the dependence on a single costly heat source or fuel!

HOW DOES THE FRESH HOT WATER SYSTEM IN THE HOME WORK WHEN USING THE TURBO HEAT SYSTEM?
The Turbo Heat Unit can have a large fluctuating temperature range during its normal operation (120°F to 212°F).  To stabilize the fresh hot water temperature at the faucet in the home, a standard hot water heater is used in conjunction with the Turbo Heat Unit.

This is accomplished by circulating cold water from the bottom of the hot water heater to the heat transfer coil in the Turbo Heat Unit and circulating it back the cold water inlet on the top of the hot water heater.  To regulate the temperature and transfer heat from the Turbo Heat Unit to the hot water heater a special differential controlling thermostat and a circulation pump are also tied into the above circulation loop.

WHAT SIZE OF WATER HEATER IS RECOMMENDED?
Typically, any standard 40 to 60 gallon gas or electric hot water heater can be used.

CAN I RETROFIT A TURBO HEAT SYSTEM DIRECTLY TO MY EXISTING HOT WATER HEATER?
Yes.  This is very simply done.  Two pipes are run between the Turbo Heat Unit and the hot water heater to form a circulation loop and a temperature sensor wire is also run from the differential thermostatic controller to the hot water tank.  SEE DRAWING. - Domestic Hot Water Tie-In.


DISCUSSION:
Virtually any type of hot water heater gas or electric can be tied directly into the Turbo Heat System.  They are generally not used as a primary source of hot water by themselves.  However, they are an integral part of a standard Turbo Heat System installation.

The primary purpose of the hot water heater in the Turbo Heat System is to control fresh domestic hot water temperatures.  For example, if the Turbo Heat Unit is at 200°, the hot water heater tied in with a thermostatically controlled circulation pump can keep the temperature where ever you want it for the fresh hot water supply.  We set ours at 125°.

Typically, hot water heaters are used to regulate fresh hot temperatures in conjunction with the Turbo Heat Unit. Since the Turbo Heat Unit's temperatures can easily fluctuate between 120°F and 212°F, it would be difficult to regulate fresh hot water temperatures without a standard hot water heater tied in.  The hot water heater is simply used as a pressurized hot water holding tank.  It does not need to be connected to gas or electric, nor does it use gas or electric in a typical Turbo Heat System installation.  It helps to precisely control the temperature range of the fresh hot water supply to the home when used in conjunction with a temperature controller and pump.  

CAN I OPERATE THE HOT WATER HEATER DIRECTLY FROM ITS OWN ELECTRICITY OR GAS HEATING SOURCE WHILE IT IS TIED-IN TO THE TURBO HEAT UNIT?
Yes, although it is rarely if ever needed.

Reasons you might consider having your hot water heater also hooked up to gas or electricity might include:
 1.  if you are doing maintenance in the Turbo Heat System you could still have hot water,
 2.  if you wanted to shut down the Turbo Heat System during the summertime for whatever reason and just needed fresh domestic hot       water.

NOTE: It is suggested that you have gas and/or electricity stubbed out to the hot water heater location even if it is never hooked up.  This would allow you to connect it in the future if the Turbo Heat System was ever shut down.  

Although it is rarely if ever necessary, when the hot water heater is tied into the Turbo Heat System, it can be used as a secondary or backup hot water heater.  Some people do this if they plan on shutting the Turbo Heat System down.  The hot water heater in this case is actually hooked up to gas or electric at the same time it is tied into the Turbo Heat System.

Additionally, the Turbo Heat System thermostat and the standard hot water heater thermostat can be programmed in such a way that one is used as a primary heat source while the other is used as a backup.

For example, when the Turbo Heat System is in operation, its fresh hot water thermostat could be set at 130°F while the hot water heater thermostat is set at 125°F.  The Turbo Heat System would supply all fresh hot water unless the temperature in the hot water heater itself dropped below 125°F in which case the gas or electric system tied directly into the hot water heater would kick in and backup the Turbo Heat System.

Note:  with.the standard installation, the Turbo Heat System is never shut down in the summertime as you still need hot water for things such as showers, laundry, dishes, swimming pools, hot tubs, etc.

Things to consider when determining whether or not to operate a hot water heater from its own heat source if you ever want to shut the Turbo Heat Unit down:
1.  In a standard system, the Turbo Heat System is designed to operate yearround.  Although you may not need it to supply heat during the summertime for home heating purposes, you still need the Turbo Heat System to produce fresh domestic hot water for your home.

2. The Turbo Heat System also needs to be operational during the summertime if you plan on using solar hot water heat collector panels.  In this case, the Turbo Heat Unit acts as the required thermal mass hot water storage system for the solar hot water panels. (Solar hot water collector panels collect FREE HOT WATER from sunlight anytime the temperature in the panels rises high enough.)

3.  With the Turbo Heat System functioning during the summertime, you still have all the benefits of thermal mass storage during power outages and during times of excessively high hot water usage by your family.  In other words, you will not run out of hot water like you could when using a standard hot water heater by itself.

4.  Using a natural gas or propane hot Water heater is desired over an electric hot water heater anytime you are considering using alternative energy now or in the future.  Alternative energy sources could include solar electric, wind power, or hydropower, etc. (Note: if the utility power goes out there may be a chance that natural gas supplies are disrupted during the power outage.  We recommend using propane to prevent disruption of gas supply.)

5.  Besides, who wants to be stuck with one type of fuel that may be subject to escalating costs or could risk disruption of service?