Definition
A desuperheater is a small auxiliary heat exchanger built into many geothermal heat pumps that captures superheated refrigerant gas leaving the compressor and uses its surplus heat to preheat domestic hot water, usually feeding a conventional water heater tank. It produces the most hot water during cooling season, when that heat would otherwise go into the ground.
Why it matters to you.
Long, humid Central Kentucky summers mean a geothermal system spends many hours in cooling mode, which is when a desuperheater contributes most to your hot water. In winter it contributes less, so the regular water heater still does much of the work.
Practical guidance.
Ask whether a proposed geothermal model includes a desuperheater and how it will be piped to your water heater. Plumbing connections, pump checks and any refrigerant-side work belong to a licensed technician.
About this definition
Written by the Feistritzer Heating & Air Conditioning team — family owned and operated in Danville since 1976, Kentucky HVAC license M02584. Definitions inform; a whole-system diagnosis in your home decides.