As a building science nerd NZ (Net Zero) construction is the
ultimate in new home construction. In full disclosure I am not only a building
science nerd but I am also an advocate for geothermal heating and cooling. I
have been in HVAC most of my life and I have found that nothing comes close to
the comfort and efficiency you can get from a properly designed and installed geo system. With as much as 70% of
a home’s power consumption coming from heating, cooling and hot water
generation, few HVAC systems can come close to matching geothermal for energy
savings. In further discloser I have primarily worked with WaterFurnace
geothermal systems and I have always been very proud of that affiliation, in my
opinion WaterFurnace has always lead the geo industry in innovation and
quality. That being said, the industry is constantly evolving and it would be
short sighted for me or anyone else to limit themselves to one brand of
equipment.
Last year’s release of the WaterFurnace 7 series with its
variable speed DC powered compressor set the new industry standard for what
high efficiency geothermal could be. By varying the speed of the compressor
from20% to 100% the 7 series’ ability to closely match the homes BTU needs
throughout the entire heating and cooling season allowed the system to only use
the power that the space required, in short the 7 series is a monumental jump in
efficiency because there is little to no wasted effort do to short cycling and
its DC power supply allows for a soft start eliminating the high power draw at
start up. I am a huge fan of this system with over 30 -7 series installed for
customers in Central KY in the last year I’ve seen nothing short of incredible
energy savings. The ability to slow the compressor down to 20% capacity
encourages the system to run for long durations almost acting as a whole house dehumidifier
in cooling and closely resembling a radiant style heating system in the winter.
It conditions the space with such a low air volume that in most cases you do
not even realize that it is even running. With an impressive 550 watts of power
( that includes the fan and flow center for you geo naysayers) for low stage on
the 3 ton model , you can heat and cool your home for less power than the
standard coffee maker uses. Another benefit to this system is the ability to
generate hot water any time the system is heating or cooling, all of this run
time helps to greatly assist the home’s hot water heater and offsets its energy
consumption, that 550 watts is offset by the fact that it is keeping the hot water
heater from using 5000 watts to heat the water.
So the WaterFurnace 7 series is pretty impressive and should
be considered by anyone looking for the best, most efficient HVAC system for
existing, new and even Net Zero construction? Yes, but it has one major shortcoming,
the 7 series does you no good when you do not have a heating or cooling load. I’m
sure you might be thinking “Duh! No heating and cooling system can benefit you
when it’s not running right?”
Wrong! Enter the new Climatemaster Trilogy geothermal system,
it heats, it cools and it provides hot water, all with a super-efficient DC
powered variable speed compressor much like the waterFurnace 7 series.. Ok, so
every geo on the market does this, why is this one so special? Because the
Trilogy system is not just a geothermal heating and cooling system it is also a
very creative geothermal heat pump hot water heater! Climatemaster has paired
the Trilogy with a super insulated electric water heater called the Marathon by
Rheem. The geo controls all heating, cooling and hot water generation and only
allows the water heater’s heating elements to come on when the geo cannot
recover quickly enough, much like emergency heat on a conventional heat pump.
What makes this unique is that the geo compressor can run only to heat the
water regardless of a call for heating or cooling.
This satisfies a huge need in the high efficiency home
market because guess what, high efficiency super insulated homes have a very
low heating and cooling load. The best geo on the market cannot help you if it’s
not running, the Trilogy can by heating the hot water replacing a 5000 watt
heating element with a 550 watt (guessing based on my experience with
WaterFurnace because the Trilogy’s specs are not out yet) geothermal heat pump
water heater.
As we get closer to practical Net Zero construction, super
insulated is becoming the norm, this lowers the heating and cooling load making
hot water generation a larger percentage of the homes overall power
consumption. The Climatemaster Trilogy is the first HVAC system on the market
to take this into consideration and at first glance it does it very well. The
Trilogy is still in field testing mode and is not yet available on the open
market so it is yet to be seen if it can live up to the hype in a real world
setting.
I will say I have
some concerns about all the different moving parts and pieces that have to line
up for the Trilogy to function properly. It will be critical that the crew
installing the Trilogy follow the installation guidelines to the letter as any
deviation from the factory specifications will result in lost efficiency. That
being said, in the hands of a qualified HVAC contractor the Trilogy will be a
game changer for Net Zero construction.
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