Comments by "eDoc2020" (@eDoc2020) on "Plug-n-play solutions for home electrification, and options for power outages (Part 2)" video.

There are already systems which do most of this. On a recent series of This Old House they installed a Mitsubuishi system which does home heating/cooling and water heating.
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If you have central AC then it is always worth it to add heat pump functionality, at least in terms of operational costs. If you don't remove your existing heating system you can choose whichever is more economical at the time.
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@klikkolee Some companies make all-in-one units with one compressor running home heating and cooling along with hot water production. This Old House installed one by Mitsubuishi in season 40. They specifically mentioned it was capable of heating one room while cooling another so I can assume it would also choose the best heat source for water.
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Yes, we need this. Even with a cheap mini-split you have installation costs but a window one is easy. It's probably not ideal for actual windows but plenty of people have in-wall units which are basically the same.
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If load does not affect your runtime the generator is running very inefficiently. You could increase efficiency by using it to charge a battery and then running off the battery.
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Ground source heat pumps are definitely the way to go if you can.
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Your 230v 63a 3ph is almost 44 kilowatts. American 200a service (200a on each 120v leg) is 48 kilowatts so it's pretty comparable. I've watched videos of English electricians and 63 amps single phase seems to be their norm with 100a as an option. Worst is Italy where if I'm not mistaken 16a single phase is the norm with 25a as an upgrade option.
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Why not use a thin silicone mat as a buffer? Even a piece of paper would theoretically work.
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It's perfectly normal and acceptable for the breakers to add up to more than the main breaker. It's all in section 220 of the NEC. 220.82 is a "shortcut" which can be used most of the time.
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When you add a circulation system you're basically adding an in-wall tank to the water heater.
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You don't need to mess with rectifiers and bare transistors. There are super cheap AC current sensing relay modules and you can have its output power a contactor which cuts off the other device.
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@ccoder4953 That article is wrong in its assertion about needing eight circuits, that's only if you have tons of built-in appliances. From my reading of the 2020 NEC you only need two and a half circuits in a kitchen: the two dedicated appliance circuits and the lighting one which can be shared.
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I did a search for "central heat pump" and lots of units showed up. "Ducted heat pump" is another term.
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@DeGuerre Actually one of the first central heat pumps my search revealed is the Pioneer DR024GHFE18HT2 which uses a conventional "dumb" 24v thermostat system. For better performance you probably want one with more smarts. It's better to have multiple zones but I would imagine most would have no problem operating with a single zone.
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Definitely.
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In terms of plain electric heating everything is 100% efficient, the wattage is exactly equal to the heat output. The difference is how the heat is utilized. An infrared heater pointing at you could make you comfortable without needing to heat the entire room, thus saving energy. "Heat lamps" often marketed for reptiles or chickens work exactly the same as the $200+ infrared heaters ones you are finding.
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According to Whirlpool a "high efficiency" washer uses 10-25 gallons per load. If filled with hot water directly from the tank that's enough for at least two loads on a 50 gallon tank.It's only a problem if you have a large laundry day. If you rarely do more than one load at a time it's a complete non-issue. Also the modern washer will take longer per cycle than the hot air dryer, leaving off-time for the water to reheat.
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A gas tankless water heater would definitely take a few seconds to start. Electric ones might be an imperceptible delay. But with a hot water tank there's usually some heat conduction into the outlet pipes, meaning it would be a bit warmer while you wait.
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His main breaker appeared to be Siemens so he probably needs QP breakers. I think they have tandem breakers but IMO a new subpanel is a better option. He could even use it as a "critical loads" panel if he gets a backup power source.
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Supercapacitors often have a high self-discharge rate which would waste energy, but much more importantly for a given amount of energy storage they are many times larger and more expensive than batteries.
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@alakani Energy density is still an issue. According to the Wikipedia page ELDCs have up to 3.9Wh/kg. To store 1kWh you'd need over 250 kilograms. If the density is similar to water that would be something like the internal volume of two minifridges. Definitely not easy to integrate.
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@alakani Those numbers don't seem right. I looked up SkelCap (hadn't heard of them before) and their website has tons of links for their latest 3200F model. They specify: 6.7Wh/kg and 8.7Wh/L. This would be 150kg and 115L for 1kWh. 115L is 4ft3 or around 1 19 inch cube. You'd need 278 of these for 1kWh and at probably $50 each (when purchased in bulk) that's almost 14 thousand dollars. I'm surprised that it ends up being that small but it's still a bit too large and way too expensive.
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@christo930 On a technical level the only difference between an AC only unit and a reversible heat pump is the addition of one extra valve, so the manufacturing price difference is minimal. Because it's such a simple difference they can fit in the exact same locations. While EVs increase demand for electricity it's surprisingly little compared to total grid usage. If EVs are too much for a grid then the grid is already too close for comfort. With home solar growing faster than EV adoption power generation is not going to be the limit.
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The battery definitely won't handle all-day cooking but the battery oven also has a standard wall plug. The 1800w available from the plug is probably sufficient to offset the heat lost through the oven walls, meaning the battery is only needed when preheating or if you open the door too long and let all the hot air out.
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