Tecoponic HY1000 H

The Tecoponic HY1000 is the largest machine in this range and the only one that controls water temperature in both directions: it cools up to 1000 litres of nutrient solution and heats as well. Where the HY150 and HY500 only cool, between 18 and 22 °C, this model's thermostat runs from 18 to 35 °C.

Cooling and heating from one controller

This version has a heating element built in as standard, driven from the same digital display as the cooling. You set one temperature and the machine decides for itself whether to cool or add heat. On earlier Tecoponic units that heater had to be bought and fitted separately; on this model it is supplied.

In practice that means one appliance instead of two. A growing space that climbs under the lights by day and drops sharply at night would normally need both a chiller and a tank heater, each with its own setting and each capable of working against the other. Here a single thermostat holds the tank at one value around the clock.

Why you hold a nutrient tank at temperature

Above roughly 22 °C dissolved oxygen falls away in the water, exactly when the organisms behind root rot are most comfortable. But too cold is not free either: at low temperatures root activity slows and uptake follows. A tank that stays at one value all day therefore gives your roots more than just protection from summer.

The pump that is not included

This is where most installations stall. A Tecoponic has no pump of its own. It is a heat exchanger with a compressor: water has to be pushed through it before anything happens, and without a pump the machine does nothing. You buy that separately.

The HY1000 needs a flow of between 500 and 800 litres per hour. That is a window, not a minimum: too little flow and the heat is not carried away fast enough, too much and the water spends too little time against the exchanger. Note that a pump's rated capacity applies at zero head: as soon as your hose rises or runs any distance, real flow falls below the figure on the box.

Plumbing and siting

Inlet and outlet carry 3/4 inch threads, with hose connectors for 16 millimetre tubing supplied. The principle is a loop: the pump draws water from your tank, pushes it through the machine, and it comes back to the same tank at temperature. Keep the hoses short, because every metre and every bend costs flow.

Give the machine free air. The fan moves 160 cubic metres an hour and while cooling that air is warmer than the room: all the heat taken out of your tank ends up in the growing space. Maintenance amounts in practice to keeping the air filter and fan clean. At 20 kilos on a 310 by 310 millimetre footprint it wants a solid, level spot. Designed and built in Italy.

Technical Specifications:

• Cools up to: 1000 litres of solution, at 20 °C water, 30 °C ambient and 0.5 W/litre heat load
• Heating: built-in element, supplied as standard, driven from the digital thermostat
• Adjustable range: 18 to 35 °C
• Electric cooling: 315 watts
• Supply: 230 V, 50 Hz
• Refrigerant: R134a
• Required water flow: 500 to 800 litres per hour
• Air flow: 160 m³ per hour
• Connections: 3/4 inch thread, 16 mm hose
• Dimensions: 310 x 310 x 482 mm (w x d x h)
• Weight: 20 kg
• External pump: required, not supplied

Frequently asked questions

Does it really heat, or only hold cold? It genuinely heats. There is a heating element inside working from the same thermostat, which is why the setting range runs up to 35 °C.

Do I still need a tank heater? No. For this tank the machine handles both directions. A separate tank heater is for setups without cooling.

Which pump do I need? One delivering between 500 and 800 litres per hour at your actual hose length and height difference, not on paper. Allow for pipe resistance.

What if my pump delivers too much? The water spends too little time against the heat exchanger and the machine works less effectively. Stay inside the stated window.

Will it manage 1000 litres in a hot room? The stated volume applies at 30 °C ambient. Above that the usable volume is lower.

Where does the warm air go? Out of the growing space if you can manage it, while cooling. The machine moves heat from your tank into the air, it does not make it disappear.