Man...I slipped up here, haven't come back to update this thread! Been using the HPWH since Christmas...very happy with it...electric bills have been running between 100 and 200 kWh less per month than the same period last year. Have it set on HP mode only...not on hybrid mode...have only almost kinda sorta ran out of hot water once (and that was after 4 baths/showers...and the last one was my wife, who likes her showers HOT...so I'm sure it would have been just fine if I had went last, or if it was set in "hybrid" mode) So far this summer I have been able to forego running the dehumidifier in the basement...HPWH has kept it as dry as the DH does/did...so that will be additional savings on the electric bill once the summer bills come in (they run a month or so behind, just as most peoples electric bills do)
I have a tankless heater but I've been thinking about putting in a HPWH in the basement/stove room. In the summer (today) the room is 72° and pretty comfortable (dry). The hpwh would probably cool it another 1-2° But that HP water heater should be pretty efficient in the winter with the stove running. The room regularly gets 85-90° at peak burn.
Yes...my wood furnace is only 10-15' away from the HPWH...I also put a "snorkel" on the HPWH intake to make it pull in the warmer air from up by the ceiling...you can seen the difference too...the on board sensors show a ~10* increase in intake air temp. My summer basement temp seems to be running in the 65-68* range...depending on how much the HPWH has ran recently...runs more like the 70-75* range in the winter with the furnace burning.
So it cools the room about 2-3° ? My thought was to "preheat" the water with the hpwh at least during the winter or possibly all year. Don't know if there would be enough savings to justify the initial cost... (Another thought was preheating with evacuated solar tubes possibly mounted right on the front of the house (and holding tank.) Again, justifying initial cost...)
I would say so...at least when the furnace is not running. Probably more like 5* when we all take baths/showers close together, and then more like 1-2* if it just runs a quick cycle from doing dishes, or a quick shower. The humidity in the basement is running 50-55% (according to my cheap digital meter) depending on what the weather is doing, and how much the HPWH has run recently. I know it sure feels good down there when you walk in from outside on a hot day! I was going to do a tempering tank through the coil on my Kuuma furnace, but I never got a "roundtoit", and after installing the HPWH I thought, heck, the HPWH is basically using the radiant heat from the furnace to make hot water anyways, so probably not much to be gained by doing the TT...and have a bunch of extra copper fittings now.
Glad it's working out for you..! Mine is saving about $20.00 or more a month on average. I have it on the main floor so it's pretty warm in that room all year long with the wood stove helping heating the hot water most of the year.... Only 3 people now using it. If I added the savings of using the dehumidifier less and the air conditioner a little less in the summer, the savings would be a little more. I think mines about 5 years old now.... Certainly saves around $250.00 or more a year for me.
Can you put a dollar figure on the yearly savings, brenndy? If it's like F1's savings at $250/yr., it wouldn't be hard to justify the $800-1000 up front cost. How much you have in your HPWH?
Installed a Rinnai tankless LP water heater 19 years ago and never looked back to any other type. Simple once a year flush, and unlimited hot water for showers, washing machine, kitchen at the same time if needed. Not cheap compared to tank heaters at first , but a fine efficient machine. One problem: the joints love staying in a hot shower longer .
Well, I'm only 6 months or so in, but yeah, it would appear that I'm seeing between $10-$20 per month savings...we'll see what things look like on next months bill, with the lack of starting to run the dehumidifier now, as would be usual. Also, our electric rate is pretty cheap, so the savings for us will be a little less than for some. I noticed that Menards always put these things on sale every few months, but there was always one sale each year that was better than the rest...so that's when I bought mine. IIRC it was $950 after sale and rebate...and then I added the $70 extended warranty to it too (warranty was the same price as for a standard WH ) And my old WH was still working good...put an ad up online and it sold for full price within minutes ($100) so that eases the cost/pain a bit too...
Just saw a HPCD (heat pump clothes dryer) on TOH this morning...first I have heard of them...guess they have been in the states for a couple years now...in Europe for longer already though. Sounds like they work pretty well, but generally not quite the savings of a HPWH. I was thinking a while back that a HPWH and a refrigerator ducted together could be quite efficient...the fridge puts off hot air that would make the HPWH more efficient, and the HPWH puts off cold air, which would make the fridge more efficient. Most people probably don't have their water heaters placed right below the fridge though...although ours is close. Might lose the dehumidification benefit of the basement this way though...
The big advantage of the HPCD is that some dont have to be vented. Clothes dryers are a terrible waste of warm house air in the winter. Let's take the already warm air of your house, heat it up more with electricity, vent it to the outside and in the process suck cold air in to replace what you've forced out. One less hole in your envelope as well.
We have a ventless clothes dryer that shares the same room with our HPWH. Each benefits from the operation of the other. The dryer vents hot dry air and the HPWH vents cold very dry air. Since moisture from the clothes dryer is pumped down the drain, the dehumidification by the HPWH still occurs. I've also placed other heat-producing devices in the room like our solar power inverter that "feed" the HPWH. Our dryer is a condensing ventless dryer rather than a heap pump type. It thrives on the cooler air exhausted by the HPWH. I've also thought of ducting the warm air from our fridge to this room and have even considered this in our future kitchen renovation plans.
This is all quite interesting to me. Thank you all for the educational input. I’d never heard of either of these energy efficient appliances before but I’m very curious. I guess I must live under a rock of something. Heck if it weren’t for the firewood hoarders I prolly woodn’t know nuttin!!!!!!!!!
