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by lm28469 153 days ago
Get a basic heat recovery unit, it basically has no moving parts (just a few fans) and good ones recover 90%+ of the heat going out of your house. It's almost useless if you don't have an airtight envelope though.

All in one systems with water heating are way too complex and _will_ fail relatively quickly, mini heat pumps won't last 10 years, and by the time it dies you won't be able to find a replacement for your specific model
2 comments
MisterTea 153 days ago
> All in one systems with water heating are way too complex and _will_ fail relatively quickly, ...

Can you offer some evidence of this? I don't see how adding a refrigerant to water heat exchanger after the compressor, before the reversing valve, could possibly hurt the longevity of a system.

> ... mini heat pumps won't last 10 years, and by the time it dies you won't be able to find a replacement for your specific model

Thing with mini-splits is you replace the entire unit so it doesn't matter.

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lm28469 153 days ago
> Can you offer some evidence of this? I don't see how adding a refrigerant to water heat exchanger after the compressor, before the reversing valve, could possibly hurt the longevity of a system.

The nearly infinite amount of forum posts about heat pumps dying prematurely and costing thousands and thousands to fix. You don't see how adding complexity on top of complexity in a complex system add points of failures ?

> Thing with mini-splits is you replace the entire unit so it doesn't matter.

I forgot this is an american centric forum and things are just made cheap/disposable because "it's cheaper'

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MisterTea 153 days ago
> You don't see how adding complexity on top of complexity in a complex system add points of failures ?

I don't see see a heat pump as complex. It's a compressor, valves and coils. The complexity are the stupid computers foisted onto us.

> I forgot this is an american centric forum and things are just made cheap/disposable because "it's cheaper'

We don't have a choice. Do you? We're all at the mercy of the manufactures.

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lostlogin 153 days ago
This makes me sad. I’m in a 1940s house where the lack of it being airtight is a key reason it’s still standing as it leaks and the airflow dries it. Water flows down the inside of the brickwork, and the cavity is well ventilated.

Yay for New Zealand housing.

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