Hotspot Pool Heater FPH - looking for review

[Joshii]

Topics merged. Please don't double post. Bama

Hey guys,

I'm looking for anyone who has actually installed a HotSpot FPH pool heater. Is it any good? I'm thinking of installing one sometime down the road but would really like to get the opinion of it from someone who went before me.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Joshii]

I know this came up a couple times before, but I didn't see anything conclusive. Has anyone actually installed this pool heater? I'm thinking of installing this sometime down the road and am looking for a review of the product from someone who actually uses it.

Thanks!
Josh

 

[markwimbush]

never installed one. It looks like a good idea as long as you setup your ac to stop adding heat to your pool. when the pool is satisfied.
If you look at the ac side of things it will increase the load on your ac, and by extension your hydro bill, as the temperature of the water that is cooling your ac will be pool temperatures....which will always be a higher temperature than geothermal, and often higher temp than the air. higher temperature condensing means more electricity

 

[jtex84]

Mark, pretty sure that's not the case. The system says it comes with a controller and an automatic divert valve for one. Anytime the controller is satisfied with water temp, the unit runs like a normal A/C. Number two, I don't know where you're pulling geothermal from, this system appears to work with any A/C by means of heat exchange. Similar concept, but I'm not seeing how it's going to increase load on an A/C. we need to look at the principles of heat exchange. Your refrigerant (hot) will be running through a heat exchanger in a coil, surrounded by water <90 more than likely. That being said, 200F+ refrigerant is automatically cooled more than it would be by the unit itself, taking less energy to reach whatever temp its supposed to be to do its job. I'm no A/C man, but I do work in the petroleum production field. Basically you'd use your pool as a radiator... You're gaining two things here - less energy to cool your refrigerant, and if I look at it all correctly, free waste heat recovery. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but the physics and engineering make perfect sense here, to save on cooling, and as a byproduct, heat a pool.

 

[zed88]

Interested in this idea even if it will only work when the AC is active (not at beginning and end of the season). Was also thinking of ways to run this in conjunction with a gas heater.

 

[Joshii]

I'm in the process of getting this installed now. I will give you guys an update on how it works when it is up and running.

 

[joepegas]

Hi, any luck with this FPH heater. I have been watching this for a while and cannot find any reviews on line. In this day and age, that is a little scary. Just wondering how it is working out, specifically with the change of seasons. Thanks.

 

[Joshii]

Waiting on HVAC install. My HVAC guy had several things come up (middle of the summer after all) and had to push this back. Looking forward to getting it done before the end of the cooling season. Fingers crossed.

 

[Joshii]

Hey guys, I finally got this installed and wrote up a comprehensive review in its own thread -- check it out here!

 

[Gus Strasburger]

This product was featured in the early 2000's in WIRED magazine by an innovator from Texas. He built units to run with heat pumps but added cooling towers that would keep the water at a constant temperature without cutting off the heat exchanger when the water got to the max temperature desired. We installed this at my Dads house and had a constant pool temperature of 86 degrees from early May to late September. During the winter the pool water never got below 40 degrees so the heat pump never needed back up or auxiliary heat.