Quote:
Originally Posted by eco_generator
Never even considered that an airconditioner is an efficient heat pump... wow. Will have to think about that one, I have a few extra window units sitting in my basement (the part that didn't get sprayed with poo water)
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I've crudely used a window unit with a 12.0 SEER to pump heat into or out of a room ... and a continuation of that project to make it better and to properly quantify the results is one of many things on my project list ... eventually I'll get to it.
But I will give a few considerations to keep in mind if you also plan to tinker a bit with the idea yourself.
#1> Mass produced window units don't seal well in the window ... You don't want to reduce the insulation of a room , from the outside cold by a larger joule amount than any heat pump gains... there are a variety of options ... either to better seal the units ... or to put the units hot and cold sides in a box that vents the heat from point A to point B ... which ever direction you want.
#2> The hot side of the heat pump for even a small ~5,000 BTU window unit ... can get pretty hot ... so before you leave it to run unattended you should test it hard to make sure ... like any hot surface inside ... you don't want a fire hazard.
#3> Sense most are OEM designed for the controls to be on the cold side ... in your tinkering you either want to relocate the temperature sensors and controls ... or some other mechanism to allow the same effect ... ie ... when used to pump heat into a space ... you are not trying to regulate the air temperature of the cold side.
#4> Be aware that although any performance better than a SEER of 4.0 is more energy efficient than a resistance based space heater ... and many window AC units have SEER ratings many times better than this ... just remember that the Labeled SEER rating is not likely under the conditions you will be using it ... and it will perform differently under those different conditions ... so if say you have a unit with a SEER of 12 label ... don't be surprised if your effect SEER drops significantly ... but even a SEER of 8 ... is still twice as much heat joules of energy for the same amount of electrical joules as the best 100% efficient resistance based space heater.
Best of luck ... no matter what method of increased efficiency you explore.
