So, we are looking to replace our 15+ y.0. electric water heater. The local appliance store and most internet reviews strongly favor the heat-pump assisted type over the traditional electric heater. However, our plumber who is doing our addition is very skeptical and recommends as K.I.S.S. traditional unit. So, does anyone here have experience with the heat-pump units in their homes and/or any HVAC/plumbers want to help me out? Obviously, the heat pump units are more expensive up front but are "supposed" to cost less to run and last longer.
We put one in our old house when we stopped burning oil for heat, that was probably 10-12 years ago. It worked fine, no issues, definitely cheaper to run. We opted for one in our new place, it works fine as well. There were rebates from the manufacture and the state that made it the same cost as the resistive electric. Our woodstove is in the basement so the efficiency of the unit benefits from that. In the summer it makes the basement feel like it has a/c.
More up front, but not that much as even the standard WH's have went up in price with the new EPA mandates forced on them a couple years ago...and HPWH are often eligible for local "green" rebates...some people can end up getting one for pretty cheap, or even free in some cases. I'm not sure about the "last longer" part...that remains to be seen...I did buy the extended warranty for mine...it was only $70 and extended the full warranty 10 years...and it will have long paid for itself by then.
If you are in the market anyways, I think its a good choice. Seems like the Rheem/Richmond model is a pretty good one for "bang for the buck"...I like the built in sensor display that can be pulled up too...also can be setup for WI-FI...if'n ya wanna geek out with your water heater
Plus you kinda have "2 in 1" with a HPWH...if the heat pump fails, you can just run it in "electric only" mode and it will just be like any other electric "resistance type" WH then...this is assuming that the controller is working...if it fails I suppose you are just SOL for a hot bath...
How do you find the rebates and stuff. We are possibly looking at putting one in next year. But maybe this isn't the same as Chaz was talking about. He is looking at a unit that would sit outside on a cement pad and there would be units in the house for either heat or ac.
That is a heat pump for the house heat/ac...the HPWH just heats your domestic water. For the rebates, you can check with your local utility, and google search too...often times the retailer will know about them also...
Lol... One of the first things we talked about today. She said she posted that and I was.. Umm.. nope.. Different units But I still like those HPHW units.
Late to the thread, but we put one of the GeoSpring water heaters in a few years back. I worked for GE at the time and got a super deal on it and by the time we got he rebates from state and electric company, it was under $500. I did drop the electric bill and as mentioned above by DaveGunter our woodstove in the basement boosts it in the winter and it assists cooling in the summer as we keep the air moving in the basement to prevent mildew. I know the early versions of the GeoSpring had some reliability issues, but when production moved to Appliance Park in KY the reliability went way up. I see pricing has gone way up also... Overall we've been happy with it although the wife would prefer that I put the temp higher. I have it at the max that it can do without kicking in the regular electric heating elements. I also keep it in the most efficient mode which does slow the recovery time down but with just the two of us in the house now we don't run out of hot water. We do try to avoid running the dishwasher, washing machine, and both showers at the same time though. We are all electric at our house and we have tried to do all we can to reduce our usage. Woodstove does over 90% of the heating. LED lights almost everywhere, still a few CF types, but NO incandesants. Heat pump water heater. Induction stove. We see they now have heat pump clothes dryers so that may be next on the list.
