What is the difference between CoTherm Water Heating and a Heat Pump?
• A common type of heat pump is a swimming pool heat pump heater. This device cools an small quantity of outside air and, through vapor compression, maintains the pool at a temperature between 80o to 86oF. CoTherm Water Heating can also be used to heat a commercial size pool such as at a resort hotel however, instead of cooling the outside air, CoTherm Water Heating cools the return chilled water from the air conditioning system. The existing chiller goes to part load while CoTherm Water Heating maintains the pool at a comfortable temperature. CoTherm Water Heating provides both cooling benefit and heating benefit from the same investment in electricity. The heat pump has only the heating benefit. CoTherm Water Heating increases the efficiency and lowers the operating costs of the overall system.

What is the difference between CoTherm Water Heating and Heat Reclaim?
• The principal of heat reclaim is to use the heat rejection of an air conditioning system for some beneficial use. This system is limited by the amount of heat rejected from the system. Typically, water from a water cooled chiller condenser is diverted to a heat exchanger before entering a cooling tower. Cooling towers typically cool 95oF water to 85o in the summer. In winter the temperature leaving the chiller condenser and available for reclaim ranges from a low 70o to 85o . Therefore, with Heat Reclaim, the temperature available to reclaim is lower than what is needed for useful purpose and must be supplemented by an electrical or fuel fired booster. CoTherm Water Heating on the other hand controls to provide 140o hot water temperature or 86o pool temperature. The resident chiller operates as normal in part load or in some cases is turned off saving both heating fuel and electrical cost. CoTherm Water Heating again increases the efficiency and lowers the operating cost of the overall system.

If I have an existing Hotel boiler/steam and chilled water system do I need to get rid of anything to adopt Cotherm Water Heating?
• The CoTherm Water Heating unit is specifically designed to be quickly integrated into an existing system without any disruption of either the cooling or heating system. The existing heating system can stay in tact as a back-up. Retrofitting the legacy systems is an initial target market for CoTherm Water Heating.

Can CoTherm Water Heating be applied in cooler climates such as Chicago or Paris or is it just for southern climates such as Las Vegas or Rio de Janiero?
• City between the 20o latitudes with buildings employing a chilled water AC system are certainly able to benefit from CoTherm Water Heating year around. Las Vegas is probably the best city in the world to take advantage of CoTherm Water Heating. In Northern climates similar buildings can take advantage of CoTherm Water Heating as long as they have a minimum cooling load. Even in Chicago there is minimum cooling load where sunlight through big windows or heat from internal spaces such as kitchens and ballrooms provide enough load for CoTherm Water Heating to provide hot water for 6 – 12 months of the year.

Is CoTherm Water Heating proven?
• CoTherm Water Heating is a patent pending improvement to a principal that has been used since the 1970’s. The world headquarters of HSBC bank in Hong Kong has been using a similar system to heat their building for over 25 years. That system was innovated by the inventor of CoTherm Water Heating. The prior art to CoTherm Water Heating has been successfully deployed in a test market in Mexico since 2006. Over one million liters of fuel and 2400 tons of carbon have been saved with four hotels over 24 months. The CoTherm Water Heating unit in final development is under laboratory tests. The unit will be thoroughly field tested prior to worldwide introduction.

How much can a hotel typically save in the cost per month with CoTherm Water Heating technology?
• Depending upon the cost of fuel and the size of the hotel, the 2007 market tests using prior art demonstrate savings between $5000 - $20,000 per month in fuel costs alone.

What is a typical payback with an installed Cotherm Water Heating system?
• 12 – 24 months

What is the status of patent?
• The patent is currently published at the USPTO under the US Patent number 7,658,082 and is pending in the European Union.