Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - heat pump supplement water heater?

i read something somewhere once about using waste heat from a heat pump hvac system to heat the supply water to a water heater. anybody know anything about this? is it a product that someone sells, or is it a matter plumbing a secondary 'coil' around the hot side of the coil on the heat pump? any info or thoughts appreciated

What you are referring to is know as a super"D"heater. Heat pumps in the cooling mode extract the heat in the house and expels it to the outside. What the super"D" heater do is instead of expelling the heat captured inside the house to the outside, it uses that heat to heat your hot water. I'm almost certain where you live your utility provides incentives for such appliances and they have a list of contractors that do it. This falls under a federal program known as "Energy Star". All Utilities must partiscipate in this program. You can search the web or on your utility's web site.

yes, you are correct on all counts. but i was hoping to do the work myself. the southern company's (utility) website mentions that it is possible, but that's it. i've gone back to the people that put the heat pump in for info, but i doubt theyre going to want to just sell me parts. i've been looking for info all morning on the web, and aside from a few places mentioning it in passing, nothing. am i correct in assuming that its basically just a coil piped in series with the hot side of the coil, and either heats water directly or the pipe the water runs through? i guess i have a mental picture of something functionally resembling a tankless water heater.

The super"D"heater I've seen were 50 gallon electric water heater with a coil from the heat pump attached to it. If you go to the top of this web page click on "editor's choice web links" and then click on "heating and cooling" You'll be able to access a manufacturer website and possibly order one on the web. These units come with instructions and all the hardware you'll need to hook it up. Plus you might be able to view diagrams on their site.

Okay, the site that you are looking for is http://www.fhp-mfg.com the product you're looking for is the Heat Recovery Option.

the expiration date on your refrigeration license.If you do the job yourself you will also needed piping charts to interpret the EXACT refrigeration charge required.Without the correct charge your system WILL NOT run efficently.Also make sure your present system is not still under warranty.If it is warranty will be voided.There are alot of other items to take into consideration.Do alot of homework.If you are going with a strict HWH that has a built in HP you will be all set.PDF