HVAC to Pool heat exchanger

[blustang67]

sounds like it needs a simple relay or two to either
1: run the pool pump when there's cooling demand
or
2: run the condenser fan when the pool pump is off

I thought pool pumps ran all the time. is that not a thing? I can see why they wouldn't bother designing for pool pump failure. most ACs don't design for condenser fan failure (at least not the economy units). if the condensers are just in-line, a simple thermostat could run the condenser fan if the discharge temp from the pool condenser is too high. if it does fancy things like pump-down on the add-in condenser then the controls get more complex.

No, pool pumps don't run all the time. You run them when you need them to keep algae down with the chlorine. There is a thermostat that takes the temperature of the pool and will heat it to whatever you set it at. If it is at temp, it stops heating. The pool pump is what circulates the water through the heater. If the pool pumps fails to turn on, the heater just sits there and melts because it is overheating, while your AC quits pushing cold air. Please at least take a look at how the system is supposed to work before we start giving advise.

 

[u3b3rg33k]

No, pool pumps don't run all the time. You run them when you need them to keep algae down with the chlorine. There is a thermostat that takes the temperature of the pool and will heat it to whatever you set it at. If it is at temp, it stops heating. The pool pump is what circulates the water through the heater. If the pool pumps fails to turn on, the heater just sits there and melts because it is overheating, while your AC quits pushing cold air. Please at least take a look at how the system is supposed to work before we start giving advise.

thanks, i've read their brochure, and I understand how AC systems work.

I also understand that heat recovery is tricky when you are running two demand based systems that aren't necessarily in sync. that's why I said the controls are wrong/inadequate, and why i made the prior post about a water to water system that removes basically all of the refrigerant complexity this system has. Being on different breakers is not relevant.

 

[pcmeiners]

Basically the heat exchange would be similar to this, larger and more expensive, one side is for refrigerant, th other for water, note it is 316 stainless, chloride proof.

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[86turbodsl]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not one that wants a cold pool, and the shape of the pool won't allow for any sort of easily removable solar cover unfortunately. This seemed like a good idea with AC season often starting in early May.

If you want a warmer pool, it probably makes more sense to do a solar thermal setup plumbed direct into the pool.
If you want to recover heat from your HVAC, it probably makes more sense to dump it into the water heater. That's something you could possibly make more usable heat with. They do make those now, heat pump water heater.