Effectiveness of SEHRAC (storage-enhanced heat recovery room air-conditioner) for water heating in residential buildings in Hong Kong and elsewhere has been confirmed in previous studies. However, given these studies assumed a theoretical maximum recoverable heat, whether its use is still energy effective in practice, in particular under intermittent operation, is of concern. Intermittent operation of the SEHRAC can lead to significant fluctuations in operating conditions. Adding that capillary tube is often used as the expansion device to magnify the fluctuations, whether SEHRAC can still operate satisfactorily despite the fluctuations is another concern. To address these concerns, a prototype which can be switched between the combined CH (cooling and heating) mode and the CC (conventional cooling) mode was set-up for laboratory experiments. The results showed that the water heating objective can be achieved. The operating parameters also confirmed the satisfactory operation of SEHRAC. Energy performance of the CH mode was found better than the CC mode. A prediction model was developed for evaluating the use of SEHRAC. On wider application of SEHRAC, energy use of the residential sector in Hong Kong can be reduced by 9.1%. The experimental details described in this study would become an experiment protocol to enhance future research in this area. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.