New Heat Pump Hot Water Heater = All Electric Home

[JSH]

I've been looking at Heat Pump hot water heaters for a few years now but couldn't see spending the money to swap out our gas water heater. Well that was taken care of for us when it decided to fail in a spectacular fashion. The plastic drain valve failed, shot across the room, and the water heater sprayed gross water full of mineral deposits all over my BMW. (It took 3 washes with the last using a diluted vinegar to get the deposits off the bike)

So this weekend I spent our anniversary swapping out a water heater. The hardest part was finding fittings that would work for the condensation drain.

The new Rheem Protera 50 gallon water heater will work out to be $700 after incentives. ($1700 - $700 from electric utility - $300 Federal tax credit. The energy star label says it will use $117 of electricity a year vs the $330 a year on the label for the old water heater. (We actually spend $209 a year for natural gas)

Failed plastic drain:


My motorcycle after the rupture:


New water heater:

[oil pan 4]

I had a heat pump hot water heater.
Won't make that mistake again.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I had a heat pump hot water heater.
Won't make that mistake again.

Care to expand on that? Small details like how long ago this was and the problems you experienced.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by JSH

Care to expand on that? Small details like how long ago this was and the problems you experienced.

Gotta wonder what brand, early models were very expensive and like all new things needed expensive maintenance and repairs off book.

In this area any device that makes cold air also generates boatloads of mold after a few months unless you locate a $200 UVC light that fits your condenser.

My question is does your “heat pump” water heater provide the side benefit of AC during operation?

Some just vent cold outside (a consideration in areas that get hot and cold)

[JSH]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Gotta wonder what brand, early models were very expensive and like all new things needed expensive maintenance and repairs off book.

In this area any device that makes cold air also generates boatloads of mold after a few months unless you locate a $200 UVC light that fits your condenser.

My question is does your “heat pump” water heater provide the side benefit of AC during operation?

Some just vent cold outside (a consideration in areas that get hot and cold)

Yes, like all heat pumps it exhausts cold air when heating. Mine is in a 400 sq ft garage so I don't expect that to be an issue - A friend has been using the same basic model for 5 years in a single stall garage without a problem. In the summer I'll take as much side effect A/C in the garage as I can get.

There are vent kits and if there was a problem I have an exhaust vent right above it left over from the natural gas water heater and old gas furnace.

This Rheem water heater has a one year labor / 10 year part warranty. If things go as planned we will be selling this house in summer 2024. I could have saved $150 or so by going with a super cheap conventional water heater but that would be incredibly short sighted. I will likely break even in that year and this water heater will save the next owner thousands of kWh.

EDIT:

A Rheem 50 gallon regular electric water heater with a 9 year warranty is $679 - or $21 cheaper

A Rheem 50 gallon gas water heater with a 9 year warranty is $809 - or $109 more expensive.

[oil pan 4]

A natural gas heater wouldn't use any KwH and are usually at least 80% efficient.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

A natural gas heater wouldn't use any KwH and are usually at least 80% efficient.

No, a gas water heater doesn't use any electricity - just $17.50 a month in natural gas. (At least that was my monthly average).

That is the equivalent of 115 kWh of electricity a month. Time will tell with the new water heater but the energy star label says 837 kWh per year or 70 kWh per month. I'm guessing I'll be closer to 650 - 700 kWh for the year.

80% or even 95% efficiency sounds good until you compare it to a heat pump at 250% to 300% efficiency.

EDIT: Again - care to share what problems you had with your old heat pump water heater?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

First time I heard about similar all-electric setups was in 2008, yet I have never seen one. Gas-fired and even wood-fired boilers OTOH are still common in my region.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

First time I heard about similar all-electric setups was in 2008, yet I have never seen one. Gas-fired and even wood-fired boilers OTOH are still common in my region.

Our current house in Oregon is the first I've lived in that has natural gas. My houses in Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama were electric only.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

In my country, a built-in heater element (replaceable) right at the shower head is more usual than central water heating, yet in regions with a colder weather it's more common to resort to central heating. Hotels and hospitals may also resort to central water heating more often.