Panasonic T-Cap defrost cycle in sudden heavy snow on 19 Apr 2017

[@HomeCinemaJunkie]

Hi, Nice video! We are currently installing a 9kw Panasonic T-cap and so far only have the bottom floor hooked up and running. Cant wait untill the whole house done so I can start learning the unit.

[@zoltanhorvath294]

Hi! Great to hear that! It will be a continuous learning, it's completely different from the gas heating. :-) I did many measurements and after 4 years I found the most effective way of heating which spares the compressor and the unit, running on minimum frequency most of the time during the heating which reduces the number of defrost cycles like on the video and saves money on the electricity bill as well. Getting to know its functionality will be a great hobby, good luck for that ;-)

[@afurgeustglocke5071]

Thx for sharing your video it's nice to know someone else likes these units

[@zoltanhorvath294]

Thank you! Do you have a similar unit?

[@fernandoasperillaperez2385]

Hello Zoltan, in one of the responses to the comments below you explain how to adjust the compressor frequency so that it defrosts as little as possible, but I can't find it. I have a T CAP 12KW with a fixed 35°C impulse and throughout the night it defrosts about 10 times, more or less one defrost per hour. I notice that when the machine has defrosted, the compressor frequency increases a lot and the outside unit freezes again. This means that it enters a loop and the machine defrosts more than it heats. Could you tell me how to do it? On my machine I see that the lowest compressor frequency is 22Hz. Thanks.

[@zoltanhorvath294]

Hi, I have explained the reason of the many defrosts at the other video on your question there, the key conditions are the temperature and the humidity, please see it there ;-) Regarding your question on reducing the frequency of defrost cycles, it can be possible if you keep the working of the heat pump as low frequency as possible, therefore the outdoor unit doesn't need to work much at much lower temperatures than the air. This reducing on the defrost cycles can be done at 1-2 degrees Celsius since the unit will work nearly at 0 or little bit above 0 degrees. The minimum frequency in indeed at 22Hz. Unfortunately below 0 degrees at humid weather, the heat pump can not "cheat" the physics, snow will develop on the external unit. Therefore, the best for the heat pump is when it operates above 3-4 degrees Celsius. With the floor heating, you can accumulate the heat in the floor. During the night and the morning when the temperature is the lowest, I switch off the heating. At 8:30am when the sun begins to shine on the heat pump, the temperature rises from -4 degrees to 3-4 degrees which is already much better to begin the heating. I start with a relative low temperatures (eg 31 degrees water), then rise this temperature gradually until I reach 37 degrees at 13:00 when there are the daily maximum temperatures. At 16:00 when the sun sets, the floor is already beginning to be warm and when the temperature drops below 0 degrees, the house needs a little amount of heat, so the heat pump will work at low frequency even at 37 degrees Celsius water production. With a 300 liter buffer tank, there is enough water to lengthen the defrost cycles when the floor is warm. At 22:00 I switch off the heating, the house is insulated, so the temperature is slowly going down until the next morning. This keeps the working of the heat pump on low frequency and reduces the number of defrost cycles as much as possible

[@xaviera.m6114]

Hello, could you tell me how you have the temperature curve configured? I am 60/-5 55/12 gracias

[@zoltanhorvath294]

Hi, these temperatures are too high for the heat pump, it doesn't work cost effectively at all at those temperatures! Even if you heat with radiators, in an insulated house 37-40 degrees celsius should be enough, since it's continuously heating. I used 43/-15 31/15 for floor heating

[@arcticarrowhvacr]

Those are good units as far as I know. Where do you live where it's that cold, in APRIL?!

[@zoltanhorvath294]

I live in Hungary, the weather in that April was weird

[@zoltanhorvath294]

@@zlmdragon. Hi Vicki, at the worst weather conditions ( around 1 degrees Celsius and below with fog) it also can make defrost every 30-35 minutes, unfortunately physics can not be ignored with the freezing, however, if you make the settings in heating to keep the compressor frequency as low as possible, this can lengthen the periods between two defrost cycles, it's the only possibility to do it which saves energy. The heating periods need to accommodate to the daily COPs, see below the previous comments, with this technique you'll also save money on heating ;-)

[@doityourselfprojects5744]

Hello Zoltan ! Can you tell me how is the electric consumption on a winter month/season for this heat pump ? Did you had any problems with the system? Thanks !

[@robertl.fallin7062]

I can tell you my cost with a mini split I about $400.00 per winter . That compares to 350 gallons of #2 fuel oil. At $2.79. per gallon average over five years , it's a significant savings.

[@doityourselfprojects5744]

Thank you

[@zoltanhorvath294]

Hello! After many years operation I had problem with the water pump once, but it was due to the installation, there was a normal sludge separator in the system instead of the magnetic one which caused the water pump stuck. After inserting this and washing through the whole floor heating system which contained dust due to the buffer tank, adding a special inhibitor in the floor heating which prevents the clotting and the deposition of metal on the inside surfaces, the problem has been resolved and it works perfectly, the water pump has got very good and more silent voice compared to the previous state

[@zoltanhorvath294]

With the many measurements which were done in the last years, I was able to optimize its consumption causing even smaller energy bills. The only thing is to know how it works and heat with it during the day when the COP is much better than during the night and store the heat in the floor for the night. This concept brought significant reduction on the consumption comparing with the previous years' heating

[@doityourselfprojects5744]

@@zoltanhorvath294 Thanks a lot for all the info !

[@valema4833]

Hello Zoltán, Érdekelne a véleményed illetve tapasztalatod a panasonic t-cap hőszivattyúrol! Épp most vagyok vásárlás előtt és én is ezt a típust szeretném venni. Ha esetleg röviden leírnád neked mennyire vált be azt megköszönném! Előre is köszi! :)

[@zoltanhorvath294]

Hello Valentin! Bevált, most sem döntenék más típusnál! Viszont meg kell tanulni, hogy működik, akkor lehet igazán hatékonyan és gazdaságosan üzemeltetni. Nekem 4 évbe és sok mérésbe, beállításba és megfigyelésbe telt, mire sikerült úgy finomhangolni, hogy az éves elszámoló villanyszámla mínuszba jött ki a negyedik év után is 🙂 Az volt a cél, hogy a komfort is megmaradjon, igazodjon a napi ritmusunkhoz a házban és a gép is komfortosan tudjon működni

[@twosawyers]

Man those units are quiet!

[@zoltanhorvath294]

Yes, indeed