- 11 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:04On Ask This Old House, our experts travel across the country to answer questions about your house.
00:18Today, Ross discusses the advancements in water tank technology
00:23and works with a homeowner to install a solar thermal unit.
00:28Then, do you have problems with houseplant pests?
00:32Jen gives advice on how to get rid of them.
00:35And, Nathan helps a homeowner get better access to their attic by installing pull-down stairs.
00:41On Ask This Old House.
00:48Hi, I'm Ross Rathui, and welcome back to another episode of Ask This Old House.
00:52When most people think about solar, they think about photovoltaic panels or solar electric panels
00:58that take the sun's energy and convert it into electricity.
01:01There's also solar thermal, which uses the sun's energy to create heat or hot water used for domestic hot water
01:08or pool heating.
01:09But today, we're headed to a homeowner's house to help them upgrade their water heater.
01:13And we're going to be using a new technology that pairs up heat pumps with solar thermal collectors.
01:18We're really excited to help them out.
01:22You must be JC.
01:24Hi, Ross. Welcome to our home.
01:25Yeah, we're glad to be here.
01:26You wrote in about a water heater upgrade and trying to get more efficient.
01:30So, tell me about that.
01:31So, we use exclusively oil here.
01:33Okay.
01:34And because of that, our water heater is all electric and it's not very efficient.
01:39Sure.
01:39So, we'd like to upgrade to a more efficient water heater if possible.
01:44Right.
01:44So, you've got an oil system for space heating and you have a traditional electric water heater for domestic hot
01:49water.
01:50That's correct.
01:50Got it. Okay.
01:51Well, I got a jump start on it and I reached out to a local company that specializes in energy
01:56efficient water heating options.
01:57He's going to help us out today.
01:58I think he's in the basement already. I can take you there and meet him.
02:01All right. Let's go.
02:06Hey, Bruce. Good to see you.
02:08Good to see you. What's going on?
02:09How are you?
02:09All right. So, you get a sleigh of the land here about what's going on. I see the oil boiler.
02:13Yeah.
02:13The electric water heater.
02:15Yeah. Yeah. So, in this house, the space heating is by oil boiler and the domestic hot water is by
02:19what we call a resistance water heater.
02:21Just a regular electric tank.
02:22So, there's an electric element in the top. There's an electric element in the bottom.
02:26This is the cold in from the street and this is the hot out to the house.
02:30Efficiency-wise, we're looking at...
02:31So, its efficiency is about one or a little bit less.
02:34So, a unit of electricity goes in, you get a unit of hot water out. Dollar in, dollar out.
02:39Okay. So, when you think about these, we think about upgrades and what can we do better?
02:43Right.
02:44So, what are the other options out there?
02:45Right. So, the hybrid water heaters. Everybody's installing heat pumps. As a matter of fact, in 2029, you're not going
02:50to be able to even buy these.
02:51You're going to have to put a heat pump water heater in your basement.
02:53Wow.
02:53So, that's what we're talking about today.
02:55So, that's what I see over here, right?
02:56Exactly. This is a conventional hybrid or heat pump water heater. They're called air source because they take warm air
03:03from the room.
03:03They harvest the energy through the compressor or the heat pump unit on top.
03:06They take the warm energy out of that air and then they blow cold air out.
03:09So, these units can operate where on the efficiency scale?
03:12The nameplate efficiency are extremely high for some of these units.
03:15They're like four, but that's in a test condition.
03:17You know, in real-world conditions, it'll be between two and three.
03:19Depending on how cold the basement is and stuff like that.
03:21Got it. So, if we're in a hot climate, you know, very warm where you have air conditioning demands pretty
03:26much year-round, this is a great solution, right?
03:29Yeah, it's a phenomenal solution.
03:30In the south, for example, there's a lot of water heaters in garages. So, some air conditioning and dehumidification in
03:36your otherwise hot and humid garage is a good thing.
03:38Right.
03:38Up here in the northeast where, you know, where there's space heating and you have to heat your home, it's
03:41not necessarily a good thing.
03:43Right. All right. So, what other options do we have in a cold climate like this?
03:46So, this is a split system. Far less known, right? Far less understood.
03:51But basically, instead of harvesting warm air from inside, there's an evaporator panel that gets mounted on the wall anywhere
03:57in the house and it'll harvest the heat from outside, right?
04:00So, that panel right there reminds me of a solar panel.
04:03Exactly.
04:03And so, you're mounting that outside.
04:04Yeah.
04:05And that is like the outdoor heat pump. That's the evaporator panel, effectively, for a heat pump.
04:10Exactly. So, there's no effect on the conditioned space inside. It's not blowing cold air. You don't have to reheat
04:14anything.
04:15And it looks like a solar panel, but what's happening is that the refrigerant, all these units use refrigerant, the
04:20refrigerant is going through the evaporator and it's evaporating and gaining energy and going back inside to the heat pump
04:25unit, which has a compressor, which ultimately makes the hot water.
04:28So, the usual common question I'd get is, so if it's 32 degrees outside or even colder, how does that
04:33thing work?
04:34Exactly. Exactly. So, the efficiency of this is extremely high in the summer. In the winter, the efficiency is less.
04:39But all that means is that the heat pump unit itself, the compressor runs longer.
04:43So, lower COP in the winter, but still vastly higher than a regular electric water heater.
04:47Sure.
04:47But on an annual basis, it'll be between two and three in the high twos. Higher in the summer, lower
04:52in the winter.
04:52Got it. So, you increase the net COP compared to that.
04:56Yes.
04:56And you're way higher efficiency compared to that.
04:58Exactly.
04:58So, the cold climate like this, the fact that I don't have to have discharging cold air and putting that
05:02onus on the heating system, the fact that I can do that with an outdoor heat pump effectively with that
05:06panel, that really gives us that boost and especially if the sun is shining on it.
05:09That's right. So, this thing is smart enough to know that when the sun is shining on it, oftentimes that
05:14panel doesn't see a lot of sun. Sometimes it doesn't see any sun.
05:17It's designed to work by convection, which means air movement. If it happens to get some sun on it, then
05:21it's happier, but the test conditions assume that there's no sun and there's no air movement.
05:25So, it's meant to go on the back of a house and the landscaping and stuff like that.
05:28Okay. So, JC, the question comes down to which option? What are you thinking about here for an upgrade?
05:33Well, this definitely sounds like a great option, so let's do it. Let's install this.
05:37All right. Let's get to work. All right, Bruce, we'll help you out.
05:39Thank you, Bruce. Yeah.
05:41First thing we do is we go in the basement. We figure out where we place the new heat pump
05:45on the walls.
05:45We measure from the floor. We mark the holes. We hammer drill.
05:54We put a level on it because our heat pump needs to be level.
05:59And then a two-person operation. We hang the heat pump onto the bracket.
06:04And then we maneuver the storage tank next to the heat pump so we're not wasting space.
06:11Electrical. First thing you want to do is make sure that connections are safe.
06:13So, that means that after you turn the breaker off and then we mount a new junction box.
06:17The tank is in a different location, so we have to extend the conductors to the new location.
06:24From that junction box, we'll mount a new MC cable.
06:32From the junction box to the tank, we screw the covers back on the tank and the four-square junction
06:37box.
06:38And then we test the circuit.
06:40Next step, they remove the old tank.
06:42They shut the water off.
06:43They drain the existing tanks.
06:46They cut some piping.
06:50They remove the old tank that wielded away.
06:54Then they measured and cut and made connections to the new tank, pro-press connections to the tank.
07:03On the refrigeration side, we're going to run the new line set through an exterior wall penetration.
07:08We connect our line set to the heat pump and to the evaporator panel outside.
07:12We test with nitrogen for leaks.
07:15And we perform a refrigeration triple vacuum to get all the non-condensibles and moisture out of the system
07:20and make sure that the system runs as cool as possible and as efficient as possible.
07:27All right, the system is on.
07:29The tank is filled with cold water.
07:31The heat pump is operational.
07:32We're in business, right?
07:33Exactly.
07:34So, this panel that we screwed it to the wall, it's got nice stainless steel screws.
07:37It only weighs about 10 pounds.
07:39Our line set goes through this nice line hide.
07:41And then our heat pump is about six feet away on the wall here.
07:43So, it has a nice short line set length.
07:45Nice.
07:46So, the panel is made of aluminum, powder coated, and no moving parts out here.
07:50Exactly.
07:50It can't rust.
07:51It can't do anything.
07:52It'll last indefinitely.
07:53Nice.
07:54And Bruce, I see frost on the panel.
07:56Is that normal?
07:57It is normal.
07:57And it makes us happy because that means that the refrigerant is coming out at relatively low pressure.
08:01And it's very cold.
08:02It's cold enough such that the moisture in the air is condensing on it and freezing.
08:07That means it's doing its job.
08:08There's no defrost cycle.
08:09This will run until it's 20 below Fahrenheit.
08:12That's amazing.
08:13I also brought an infrared camera.
08:14So, on this infrared camera here, and you can see that panel is averaging around 20 degrees.
08:20Wow.
08:20So, all the hot, you know, humid air, that 50 degree air that we see is actually condensing and creating
08:26frost on that surface.
08:27So, that means that it's actually working.
08:29Exactly.
08:29Phase change is good.
08:30Bruce, as far as efficiency, you know, what will JC save compared to his old electric water heater?
08:36So, it's about a third, right?
08:38The coefficient of performance or efficiency of these systems is about three.
08:41Your electric water heater is about one.
08:44That's great.
08:45That's cool.
08:46And installation cost-wise, how does this compare if you went with the centralized, you know, traditional heat pump water
08:51heater?
08:51Yeah.
08:51So, our company installs both.
08:53We install the, you know, the conventional unitary heat pump water heaters, and we install these, of course.
08:57You know, we think everybody should have a heat pump water heater, but at the 80-gallon size, this is
09:00actually slightly less for us.
09:01And in most cases in Massachusetts, it makes more sense.
09:04Well, Bruce, this is great.
09:05Thank you so much for your help today.
09:07That was awesome.
09:08JC, you happy with everything?
09:09Yes, I am.
09:10Awesome.
09:10Great.
09:10Thank you, Bruce.
09:10Thank you, JC.
09:11All right.
09:11Until next time.
09:12Cool.
09:13We'll see you.
09:17Hey, Jen.
09:18Hey, Kevin.
09:19Oh, boy.
09:19I'm seeing more bottles than plants.
09:22What are we talking here?
09:22This is the doctor section of the show.
09:24Okay.
09:25So, we're talking about house plants.
09:26A lot of times, people don't know what to do when certain types of bugs come in, right?
09:31So, pest control.
09:33Yeah.
09:33There are solutions if you catch it early.
09:35Yeah.
09:35Okay.
09:36So, let's start talking with mealy bugs.
09:38Let's.
09:39They're like a white cottony bug, right?
09:43That you usually found at the base of the stem.
09:45This one, I know, started in the new growth and it migrated up.
09:49And what they do is they pierce the plant, and they suck out the sap, and then they create
09:54this substance called honeydew.
09:56Hmm.
09:56And then after they have the honeydew, it's like this sticky substance that's left on the
10:01leaf, and that promotes something called sooty mold, which is black.
10:04Like a black spotty that you would notice over the plant.
10:08So, a double whammy.
10:09So, the sucking of the sap is no good, but then that black mold that can grow because
10:13of it, no good.
10:14Correct.
10:14Okay.
10:14So, what we have to do is attack the mealy bug.
10:17Don't worry about the mold because it's caused by the mealy bug.
10:20How do we attack the mealy bug?
10:21So, first of all, try washing it off first.
10:24With just water in the shower or sink, spray it down, physically try to remove it.
10:28Just wash them away.
10:29Yep.
10:29If that doesn't work, take a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water, spray it down, and then
10:34see if you can wipe them off.
10:36Hmm.
10:36Last resort, use neem oil.
10:38This is also a great product, and it's an organic product.
10:41It's just derived from a seed from a tree.
10:43Some people don't like to use it because it has a little bit of an odor.
10:47That's effective.
10:48Very effective.
10:48And so, when I hear oils, I think of it as sort of as not poisoning the bug, but kind
10:52of encapsulating it so it can't do?
10:54It'll cover and suffocate it.
10:55Suffocate it.
10:55Okay.
10:56Mm-hmm.
10:56All right.
10:57So, that's that.
10:58And then, for other plants, such as this succulent, the mealy bugs like to hide in little cracks
11:04and crevices.
11:04Mm-hmm.
11:05So, take rubbing alcohol with a cotton pad, go like this, and then just physically pull
11:12them off.
11:12And the alcohol's not going to hurt the plant.
11:15It shouldn't, but do a test spot on the backside.
11:17Because I like mine with a little bit of tonic.
11:19But I get it.
11:20All right.
11:21What's going on with this plant here?
11:23This plant has spider mites.
11:25Ooh.
11:26So, spider mites are a little bug that crawls around.
11:29You can see they start to create like a web.
11:32Right?
11:33Spider.
11:33Therefore, the spider.
11:34Yeah.
11:35You can barely see them with the human eye, but they are visible.
11:39Kind of like if you look at that leaf.
11:41So, you can't necessarily see the bugs, but you can see the webs.
11:44But I know they're there because of the webs and then also because of spotting on the
11:48leaves.
11:49You have yellow and brown spots.
11:51It doesn't look like a healthy plant to you, does it?
11:53Not at all.
11:54That one, I can tell, is not doing well.
11:55Right.
11:56And what causes spider mites to show up?
11:58Like, why are they going after a particular plant?
12:00One reason why spider mites show up is very dry conditions.
12:04If your plant is dry, dry, dry all the time, it's a perfect environment for spider mites.
12:10So, proper watering could be preventative.
12:12Yep.
12:13Keep your soil moist and appropriate, but not soaking wet.
12:15Right.
12:16There's all the balance.
12:17How do we take care of spider mites?
12:18Well, start with spraying with a solution of dish soap and water.
12:24Dilute the dish soap, spray it on, and just like these guys over here, it suffocates
12:30it.
12:31So, soapy water, spray it on, and if that doesn't work, go to the neem oil.
12:36Again, either one will work fine.
12:38Very good.
12:39What are you trying to show us with this?
12:40Here we have fungus gnat problem.
12:43So, what's a fungus gnat?
12:45It starts with the larvae in the soil, and once they grow up to be an adult, they start
12:49to fly around.
12:50Which you can see, right?
12:51Right.
12:51Because I do see gnats everywhere.
12:53I saved you one.
12:54This guy.
12:55You caught one?
12:56Yeah.
12:56So, this is a sticky trap, right?
12:59That's one of the remedies?
13:00Yep.
13:00Yeah.
13:01You just stick it in, they fly, they hit, and then they get stuck.
13:04Look at you, Ninja Warrior.
13:05That could be used for any of these insects that fly around.
13:08A little sticky trap.
13:10Another thing, very important, is to kill the larvae inside of the soil.
13:15This is a natural granule that is a natural pesticide.
13:20Mm-hmm.
13:20So, you mix it with water, apply it to the soil, and then it will kill the larvae.
13:25That's interesting.
13:26Big words, says, kills mosquito larvae.
13:28Yes.
13:28Kills mosquito larvae, but also the gnat larvae.
13:30Yep.
13:31So, if there's that outside, you could use that for treatment as well.
13:33Cool.
13:34Okay.
13:34So, that's how we get rid of them if they show up.
13:37How do we prevent them, like, stop them from ever even showing up?
13:40That's a good question.
13:41So, with the fungus gnats, this is caused by too much moisture in the soil.
13:46Ooh.
13:46Fungus gnats love a moist environment.
13:48So, don't overwater.
13:49Don't overwater that.
13:51This one is the exact opposite.
13:53Spider mites like a dry environment.
13:55Oh.
13:56Don't underwater.
13:57Don't underwater.
13:58So, know your plants.
13:59Okay.
14:00And know what soil to use and have a well-drained pot.
14:03It's a pretty good rule of thumb, right?
14:05A healthy plant that's taken care of.
14:07Yep.
14:07Is going to prevent them from wanting to the bugs from wanting to get there.
14:10Yeah.
14:11So, keep them healthy.
14:12Inspect them.
14:12Very nice.
14:14Awesome.
14:14Thank you, Jen.
14:15Yeah, you're welcome.
14:21Hey, Denelson.
14:22Hey, Nathan.
14:22How's it going?
14:23Good.
14:23Nice to meet you.
14:24So, you were only about access to an attic space?
14:26Yes.
14:27So, right now, all we have is this small hole.
14:29Oh, yeah.
14:29And in the future, we're thinking about getting heating and cooling.
14:32Okay.
14:33The contractors come in and they told us to get something a little bit bigger.
14:36So, kind of a small spot.
14:37Yeah.
14:37Also, kind of in an awkward space, right?
14:39Right here next to the stairs.
14:40Go down.
14:41Whenever I set up the ladder, I do feel uncomfortable being close to the stairs.
14:44I don't blame you.
14:45Well, it's cool.
14:45You already got the kit.
14:46It's definitely a two-man job.
14:47You got a spot.
14:48You want to put it?
14:49Yeah, I was thinking about putting it in front of this light.
14:50This light over here.
14:52This does seem like a good spot right here.
14:54Yeah.
14:55So, I was already in the attic.
14:56I moved around some insulation.
14:57Okay.
14:57I noticed that the joists do run this way.
14:59So, I think it's a good spot.
15:01Perfect.
15:01So, I'm going to hop up there and take a look and we'll get started.
15:03Okay.
15:11All right, this is a great spot.
15:12Nice and open.
15:13No plumbing.
15:14No electrical.
15:15Danilson, what was the size of that unit?
15:17It's 22 and a half by 54.
15:20Nice.
15:21So, we got 25, 54.
15:26That's perfect.
15:27That'll fit right in.
15:28All we have to do is close down this opening a little bit.
15:30Create our new rough opening, but we don't have to cut anything.
15:33Okay, great.
15:33That sounds good.
15:34All right, Danilson, I'm going to drive a screw down next to this existing ceiling joist
15:39right here in this corner.
15:40I want you to go over, take a look and see where it lands.
15:43Okay, I see it.
15:44You see it?
15:44All right, I'm going to go down a little bit further and I'm going to put another one in.
15:48Okay.
15:55Okay, I see the second one.
15:57All right, I'm going to come down and take a look with you.
15:59All right, now we have something that we can measure off of.
16:01Let's see what we're working with.
16:03Okay.
16:05So, over here, off this partition wall, I have about 38 and an eighth.
16:14And then coming back over here, I have about 38 and a quarter.
16:20So, not too bad, within an eighth.
16:22And then I know I want to come off this back screw.
16:25My rough opening is going to be about 55 inches.
16:28So, we're not too close to the light.
16:30This area is going to work out really well.
16:31The ladder's got a great area to land.
16:33I can go up.
16:34I'm going to start framing out that rough opening.
16:36Then we're going to cut that hole open, but we're going to create a lot of dust.
16:39So, if you want to set a projection, you work on that, I'll work on that, and then we'll cut
16:42it open.
16:43Okay, sounds good.
16:43I'll take care of it.
16:47All right, to start framing down my opening to receive the ladder, I'm going to add two 2x4s down here.
16:53I'm going to fill in.
16:54They're going to be 25 inches long.
17:02I'm going to put two more down there.
17:06I'm going to add this 2x4 to the edge here, and that will drop the spacing down to 23 and
17:12a half inches.
17:18All right, so we have all our four corners located, and I'm going to use a piece of 1x4.
17:23It's going to do two things for us.
17:24It's going to create a straight edge from screw to screw, but also it's going to compress your ceiling together
17:29because you have wood, lav, plaster, and then I believe another skim coat of sheetrock.
17:33So, probably a half-inch piece of sheetrock below that.
17:36So, it's going to compress everything together as we cut.
17:39There's a lot of vibration, and that old plaster and lav always likes to break up.
17:42So, we're going to try and minimize any of the repairs needed.
18:05We're good.
18:16Perfect.
18:16Good job.
18:19We're going to cut the ceiling into two sections so it's easier to pull down.
18:27All right, pass them down.
18:30Ready?
18:30Yeah.
18:31Okay.
18:34You got it.
18:35Yep.
18:36So, just as we thought, you have your wood lav, you have your horsehair plaster, you can see all the
18:41fibers,
18:41and then they skim the ceiling with half-inch sheetrock there and then plastered over that.
18:46So, a lot of layers, so it's nice to sandwich everything together for that clean cut.
18:51Okay.
18:51One more cut and we're done.
19:04All right.
19:05Oh.
19:05Got it?
19:07Got it.
19:07All right.
19:08Down to you.
19:09Nice job.
19:10Thanks.
19:12All right.
19:12What we're going to do now is we're going to take some 1x4 and we're going to do a couple
19:15of cleats across the bottom here.
19:23That's going to allow us to bring that ladder back, put it in.
19:26It's going to lower down and it's going to sit nice and flush with your ceiling.
19:30All right.
19:31How's that look down there?
19:32It looks pretty good.
19:33I'm going to shim it, screw it, and then we can open it up.
19:36Okay.
20:00Let's take a look and see how it turns out.
20:03So, that goes down.
20:05Looks pretty good coming through here, but then we've got a big gap right there.
20:08So, typically these ladders do come long and you cut them to fit your space.
20:12If it was a little too short, we would adjust these brackets up here to try and make that drop
20:17more.
20:18But I think the solution for here is we've got to cut those legs.
20:21To do that, I'm going to flip this up out of the way.
20:25I am going to project my tape down and I'm going to grab one measurement off the back.
20:30So, projecting that leg down 32 inches.
20:34So, I'm going to hook onto that side, measure 32 inches, and I'm going to make this a square cut
20:4290 degree.
20:47Because once we put our feet back on, remember those feet have that angle to them?
20:51The feet will go back on, slide up, and we'll stop at that 32.
20:56Okay.
21:08Let's see how we did.
21:09Flip it up.
21:10Put it down.
21:13Nice and tight.
21:14Nice and tight.
21:15Can we give it a try?
21:16Yep.
21:20Nice and sturdy?
21:20Yeah, it feels pretty good.
21:21Alright, awesome.
21:22If you want to go and cut all the shims, we'll trim it out, insulate it, and then we're done.
21:26Okay, I can do that.
21:33Alright, outside I put together this picture frame with some 3.5 inch colonial casing.
21:39So, what we're going to do is we're going to hold it up.
21:41There's going to be just a little bit of a reveal.
21:55Alright, now I'm going to insulate the opening.
22:01And I'm adding an insulated attic access cover.
22:05That will help reduce energy loss.
22:09Alright, push this all the way down.
22:12Drop this.
22:16I think you are good to go.
22:18Yeah, thanks for the help today.
22:19I think it came out really great.
22:20You're welcome.
22:21A little bit of homework for you.
22:22We'll paint the trim, tighten that up, and then once a year, oil these hinge points, and
22:26I think you're good to go.
22:27Okay, I can manage that.
22:28There you go.
22:29Nice to meet you.
22:30Same here.
22:41Next time on Ask This Old House, Nathan and Lee team up to bring some curb appeal to a homeowner's
22:47front yard.
22:48Put that top rail in.
22:51It just looks amazing.
22:53Then, Morrow is talking paint spills and how to clean them.
22:57And Heath gives a lesson on how three-way switches work.
23:01What do I screw into what?
23:03It looks confusing, but let me try and make it as simple as possible.
23:06All that on Ask This Old House.
23:12Ask This Old House.
23:13We're right.
Comments