New Heat Pump Hot Water Heater = All Electric Home

[freebeard]

Maybe nobody noticed #18 (permalink)?

As I was walking home from the grocery store, I realized that I have a $10 8-gallon water heater I was going to test for watertightness. If I can find a Fresnel lens it would make a good test case.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

In my country solar panels exclusively for water heating (without electricity, or resorting to a backup electric heater just for extreme weather circumstances) are not unheard of, yet they're not so cheap. Had i been living in a house instead of an apartment, maybe I could consider such setup.

Originally Posted by JSH

I've seen those units in various places around the world. The B&B we stayed at in Scotland had an on-demand electric water heater right in the shower.

You mean anything (at least conceptually) similar to this?
https://www.leroymerlin.com.br/chuve...zetti_86213043

[JSH]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

You mean anything (at least conceptually) similar to this?
https://www.leroymerlin.com.br/chuve...zetti_86213043

Same concept but a bit different:

[JSH]

Preliminary efficiency results are in. In my first week the hot water heater used 11.94 kWh ($1.79) of electricity. That is less than 1/2 the cost of running the old natural gas water heater.


That was just holding water temperature at a steady 125F - time to use some of the "smart" features on the new water heater. Yesterday I started a time of day usage schedule. I set the water temp to 125F at 5 am so we will have plenty of hot water for showers and then at 7 am it drops and holds at 120F for the rest of the day.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by JSH

Similar to what I usually see in motorhomes, serving both as a shower and as a tap for the sink.

[Piotrsko]

You can also use the heater for a localized AC unit. Got one in a converted breezeway that we have to turn off in the winter

How long is recovery from ambient? Until I retired and was home all day, I turned mine off until two hours before I returned, and ditto for wake up. Couple extra insulation batts and it wouod stay around 100f

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

You can also use the heater for a localized AC unit. Got one in a converted breezeway that we have to turn off in the winter

How long is recovery from ambient? Until I retired and was home all day, I turned mine off until two hours before I returned, and ditto for wake up. Couple extra insulation batts and it wouod stay around 100f

It took about 2 hours after filling the water heater with cold water to heat up to the stock setting of 120 F.

The instructions on this water heater specifically say not to add additional insulation to the outside of the water heater. I suspect they are concerned that people will cover the intake and exhaust vent. It also has a pretty thick stock Styrofoam jacket. The top insulation is about 3 inches thick.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

You can also use the heater for a localized AC unit.

More than 20 years ago, I remember some studies meant to use the serpentine of a fridge as a water heater for a shower. It didn't succeed AFAIK.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

More than 20 years ago, I remember some studies meant to use the serpentine of a fridge as a water heater for a shower. It didn't succeed AFAIK.

I guess it depends on what you mean by not succeeding. Heat from an A/C condenser absolutely will warm water. However, there likely isn't enough heat produced by an A/C to warm water enough for a comfortable shower. You would need to use the waste heat to warm a preheat tank and then send that preheated water into a continuous water heater for the final warming.

[Piotrsko]

Wasn't clear enough then, insulation jacket on a conventional electric WH only. Afaic, not so efficient on gas fired, cant prevent heat loss through chimney to outside.

SO the issue becomes, does restoring power to the new WH after bringing it back from off for 8-10 hours cost more than maintaining 120f? I would think not, that would be the useage scenerio for the compressor heater