I just bought a house a little more then a month ago and just received my first electric bill and it's OUTRAGEOUS!! I have a feeling my electric pump is doing most of my water heating which I found out it is (currently it's on 24 hours a day .. I didn't know). Now, I called a solar company in my area that deals with Hartell pumps, they said if the Hartell pump is working, it should be vibrating .. mines is not .. are they correct? They also said it only works when the sun is out, so by evening, I have to switch on my electric water heater. I'm just checking to see if I'm receiving the correct information before I time my electric water heater .. since every other local solar company I called are unfamiliar with Hartell pumps.
OK, well your question is a bit confusing and I am not sure if it is because you don't understand how your system works. Your hartell pump pumps water. It does not produce heat. Your water heater heats water. It is a backup to your solar panel system. If on the other hand you have a heat pump as a back up source of heat this could be an entirely different matter and you are best at providing a model number which should be stamped on the part. We need to start again. Is your system for solar hot water or for general heating? Is it a system in a cold climate where freezing is an issue. Is it a pump down system or a system that circulates antifreeze in the solar loop. The reason all this is significant is that if you are paying a lot in electricity then something is not working. The first question has to be is it a design problem, a mechanical problem or an operational problem. You may need more hot water storage or more solar panels, you may need to replace parts, or you may simply need to turn the right valves (This would be the case where you have a grounding loop to keep the solar panels from overheating in the summer.)
