Stupid Environmentalist DANGEROUS Make-Shift heatrecovery to save $5 per month

[amd]

WTF?!!

The combustion by-products need to be hot to vent safely on conventional equipment - this idiot makes a pathetic attempt to pre-heat domestic hot water to reduce his "carbon footprint." (Global warming bull**** is surely more important than safety/equipment lifespan! )

[HeyBob]

Ahem...........I uh..........like fixed the title for ya!

[amickracing]

CO2 should be saved by not allowing people like him to breathe anymore.

So, he's saving $5 per month, and condensing the flue gas in his chimney, which very likely could either A ruin his venting, or B ruin his furnace, neither of which $5 a month will pay for very fast.

He's got the right idea, the less you have to heat water, the less NG you'll use... I commend him for that, but good effing lord this tree hugging crap has to stop, or get a handle on itself.

He should just buy Carbon Credits instead... sure it's a joke, but I'm sure it'd make him feel better about himself.

[absrus]

Is it a HOT water heater or a COLD water heater because if the water is already hot, you shouldn't have to heat it thus reducing your carbon footprint even more.

[beachtech]

Ahem...........I uh..........like fixed the title for ya!

lol was that your best "valley" impression lol

[mayguy]

I wonder if this is something be brought or built?

I would be worried about condensation in the summer if he has the windows open, and humidity is high, and lot of water is used.

[AtticAce]

Just plain stupid, the time and effort to manufacture the materials for this install could have been used for a better purpose.

So in fact wasting these materials has increased his carbon foot print.
A better idea would be for him to take one cold shower a year, this would do a better job of reducing his carbon foot print. A cold shower might do him a world of good.

[tinnmann]

A whole $5 ! Man, I'm gonna get that right after I get a hole in the head....

[amd]

With the cost of at least two heat exchanger replacements not covered by warranty (it's abuse), a new B vent, and the original materials there's no return on investment.

I'm all for conserving our natural resources and saving money, but damn, common sense must come first.

[hvaccolo]

A whole $5 ! Man, I'm gonna get that right after I get a hole in the head....

Hey, that's $5 Canadian ($4.87 usd)...besides, it's not about the money. it's not even about the environment. It's all about feeling like you're doing something good. And, of course, feeling like you're doing more than your neighbors.

It's a lot easier to point at the heat exchanger and say "look what i've done" than to skip one shower a week to achieve similar results.

[tpa-fl]

Hey, don't knock $5/mo savings. Granted, for the typical home-moaner it's not that much of a difference, but if you can find multiple ways to save $5 here & there it adds up. In my own house:

Ditched:
Cable box (wasn't using it)... 60 watts... or 43kWh/month.
Cisco router... 80 watts 57.7 kWh/month
LED alarm clock at bed: 10 watts 7.2kWh/month

On switched power strips/switches (turned on only when used):
Printer/fax: 10 watts 7.2kWh/month
Electric range: 24 watts 17.28kWh/month
Computer monitors+speakers (monitors "off"): 42 watts 30.24kWh/month

and plenty more...but let's take a look at what just these changes made:
43+57.7+7.2+7.2+17.28+30.24 = 162.62 kWh/month saved or 1951 kWh/year saved.

Electric rates here are ~$0.1132/kWh, so: $18.40/month saved or $221/year saved. Tampa Electric's about to raise rates 31% later this year, so that'd be $24/mo / $289/year saved. And this isn't the full list of things I've done. I've gone from $350-400/mo electric bills down to $50-75/mo. So conservatively $275/mo saved which translates out to ~$3300/year..and that's using the conservative #'s.

In the case of the video, I'd definitely not want some home-moaner trying this flue trick on their own, but there certainly is a place for heat recovery. The trick is to make sure you still have plenty of airflow and reducing condensation. In a similar vein, look at how buildings are starting to take AC condensate and dump it in their chiller towers. Nice pre-chilled free water, often better quality than tap (less scale).

I could care less about the environment, but $3k/year buys plenty of good steak and booze.

[HeyBob]

lol was that your best "valley" impression lol

LOL............no but it was me being extremely flexible after reading the original title............like how's that man!