# Pool heated by the air conditioner?



## EatenByLimestone (Feb 10, 2020)

This video came up on my YouTube feed:



I didn't think an a.c. would put off enough heat to make a difference in a pool, but apparently it does.   So, why haven't I seen pre heaters for domestic hot water?   It seems like the AC could handle this if it can heat a pool.


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## woodnomore (Feb 11, 2020)

What do you do when you want the pool heated but do not want the house cooled by the ac?


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## SpaceBus (Feb 11, 2020)

woodnomore said:


> What do you do when you want the pool heated but do not want the house cooled by the ac?


I'm sure there's a primary heater. This is simply a way to recover waste heat energy.


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## EatenByLimestone (Feb 11, 2020)

Yeah, I saw it as wasted energy being out to use.   If the pool needs to be heated, I'm sure theres already something in place.


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## Z33 (Feb 11, 2020)

EatenByLimestone said:


> This video came up on my YouTube feed:
> 
> 
> I didn't think an a.c. would put off enough heat to make a difference in a pool, but apparently it does.   So, why haven't I seen pre heaters for domestic hot water?   It seems like the AC could handle this if it can heat a pool.



They definitely have them. 









						ZeroEnergy Heat Recovery Water Heater System - Zero Energy ZE-TSHRU - The Home Depot
					

ZeroEnergy is a unique, innovative heat recovery system that provides free hot water while your air conditioner (AC) system is running. It connects to both your outdoor AC unit and your water heater, helping them both work more efficiently. Because water heating can be as much as 30% of your...



					www.homedepot.com
				




Seems to be well reviewed but with only 5 reviews who knows.


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## begreen (Feb 11, 2020)

woodnomore said:


> What do you do when you want the pool heated but do not want the house cooled by the ac?


Dump the cool air outdoors. Use it to chill your beer collection.


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## peakbagger (Feb 11, 2020)

If the pool  temp is lower than the outdoor temp its good thing as it raises the COP of the AC, if the pool is warmer than the surrounding air then it drops the AC system efficiency. 

Some of the VRF multihead minisplit systems use this concept to supply off season heating or cooling. if the system is predominately in heating mode but there is small demand for cooling, the system redirects the cooled refrigerants to unit calling for cooling. in the summer its the opposite, even though the overall demand is for cooling there is usually some reheat needed somewhere so the system redirects the refrigerant to the reheat unit.


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## woodgeek (Feb 12, 2020)

More to the point, a pool will run below the mean air temperature, probably closer to the mean dew point (wet bulb) temp.  So the AC is pushing heat into a sink that is significantly cooler than the air outside, in the middle of the day, during AC season.

As for preheating DHW .... sure, get a geothermal unit.  If you don't want one, the answer is setup cost.

The fact is that heat pumps (and ACs) have become so efficient, that any complexification of heat sources/sinks to improve efficiency seldom have good payback.

So simple is good .... air source HPs for space heating, air source (indoor) HPWHs for DHW.  Separate, simple, and done.

As for the pool tech in the OP, it looks quite attractive in terms of eff improvement, and I could imagine it pencils out in a heavy AC climate.  Esp if one would be heating the pool anyway.


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## SpaceBus (Feb 12, 2020)

woodgeek said:


> More to the point, a pool will run below the mean air temperature, probably closer to the mean dew point (wet bulb) temp.  So the AC is pushing heat into a sink that is significantly cooler than the air outside, in the middle of the day, during AC season.
> 
> As for preheating DHW .... sure, get a geothermal unit.  If you don't want one, the answer is setup cost.
> 
> ...


Sounds like it would work great for FL or some place with a similar climate.


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## williamtell (Feb 12, 2020)

My brother had one in Florida and a house we rented had one.  They are pretty common and extend the swimming season fairly well.


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## Highbeam (Feb 13, 2020)

Straight heat pump water heaters for pools have been around a while. This thread is about dumping the waste heat from house cooling into the water. They work fine for warm ambient temps and reasonably cool pool temps. 



woodgeek said:


> complexification



New word! I also liked negawatts.


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