Patrick R.
New Member
Hi folks,
I'm new to the forum. I'm a DIYer with a question about my current hot water setup. Background: I purchased a 4100sq ft home which is basically a colonial 2-story setup with an addition built on. The home has two Heat Pumps (separate controls), providing AC/Heat during most conditions to the original structure and addition, respectively. The house also has an oil-fired conventional boiler that provides hydronic heat to one or both zones on those real cold Maryland nights via hot water coils in the plenum. The system can even run the heatpump and hydronic at the same time. I have 5 adults in the house. I have an 80 gal electric water heater in one corner of the house, and a 40 gal indirect water heater in the middle of the house in the boiler room.
Question: Is this setup efficient? Right now, I'm running both water heaters. In my mind, when the boiler is running, I'm getting "free" hot water from my indirect with no lag time to showers and faucets. And this should reduce the demand on my very old electric water heater, saving some money. However, the electric one is still having to maintain heated water. BTW, both water heaters service the house plumbing ; they are not separate circuits. Thanks in advance!
I'm new to the forum. I'm a DIYer with a question about my current hot water setup. Background: I purchased a 4100sq ft home which is basically a colonial 2-story setup with an addition built on. The home has two Heat Pumps (separate controls), providing AC/Heat during most conditions to the original structure and addition, respectively. The house also has an oil-fired conventional boiler that provides hydronic heat to one or both zones on those real cold Maryland nights via hot water coils in the plenum. The system can even run the heatpump and hydronic at the same time. I have 5 adults in the house. I have an 80 gal electric water heater in one corner of the house, and a 40 gal indirect water heater in the middle of the house in the boiler room.
Question: Is this setup efficient? Right now, I'm running both water heaters. In my mind, when the boiler is running, I'm getting "free" hot water from my indirect with no lag time to showers and faucets. And this should reduce the demand on my very old electric water heater, saving some money. However, the electric one is still having to maintain heated water. BTW, both water heaters service the house plumbing ; they are not separate circuits. Thanks in advance!