The U.S. EPA has released an Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) report confirming 400% efficiency of the EarthLinked® Commercial Water Heating System, developed by ECR Technologies Inc.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released an Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) report confirming 400% efficiency of the EarthLinked® Commercial Water Heating System, developed by Lakeland, FL-based ECR Technologies Inc. The hybrid system combines a high efficiency geothermal heat pump with a standard commercial water heater tank.

Cutaway illustration of the system.
The EPA's Greenhouse Gas Technology Center verified that renewable energy from the earth reduced electric energy consumption for water heating by 75% at a Florida nursing home. The technology has been heating water since 1983, as an optional feature of EarthLinked residential space heating and cooling systems.

The water heating systems, which require little space inside a building, are ideally suited for apartment or condo complexes, motels, colleges and universities, restaurants, health care facilities, food processing operations and a variety of other commercial users.

The EarthLinked water heating system offers the highest efficiency of any powered water heating system.

"The technology has proven itself over twenty-three years of operation,"

Where the EarthLinked system is installed in a building.
The cost of installing the refrigerant evaporating loop in the earth is a substantial part of the system's price. The excavation cost varies with the installation method, which can use small bore drilling, directional boring, trenching or excavation to install the refrigerant lines vertically, diagonally or horizontally, even under a parking lot. But the cost can usually be recovered within 24 to 36 months, depending on usage and energy costs. Escalating energy costs may further reduce the payback period and increase ROI.

Because of high-efficiency thermal exchange with its heat source in the earth, only 100 feet of earth loop per ton of heat pump capacity is needed, and a three-inch- diameter bore hole is optimal. This allows the system to be easily adapted to new construction or retrofit applications.

In June 2006, a newsletter published with DOE support, "In Hot Water,"

A commercial user installing an EarthLinked system at a cost of $17,000, using 2,000 gallons of hot water per day, with an electric rate of $0.10/kWh, an earth temperature of 65°F, using the EarthLinked system to raise the water temperature to 115°F, and the electric resistance element to raise it an additional 10° to 125°F, saves up to $7,169 annually when compared to an electric water heater. The cost recovery period in that case is 2.5 years, which yields an ROI of 40.01 % annually.

"A payback within thirty months is an opportunity for savings that is hard to pass up. Both of our customers who hosted the testing ordered additional units when they saw the results of the monitoring programs,"

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