Energy efficient electric water heaters

[mad murdock]

We received in the mail a sales flyer on GE's Geospring heat pump hybrid water heater. With state and fed tax incentives and local power co's rebate program, initial cost might be negated, with potential savings of light bill between 400-500/year. Not to shabby, if it works as claimed. A lot of reviews on it, says it lives up to hype. Went to Big Box Store("L" type) last night to buy one, they are sold out for the next 2 weeks shipments, we should be installing ours before Christmas.  A lot of people must have jumped at the offer. Anyone else on here have one? Or have experience with a similar heat pump hybrid tank water heater? happy turkey day!!

[ancjr]

Not far away from needing a new water heater myself, and was eyeballing the GE as well.   ;D

[Al_Smith]

The first geothermal( Hydra -Delta ) unit I owned had the water heater option but I did not use it .It was a used unit that I managed to get 9 years out of before the sulfer water ate out the heat exchanger .

When I ordered the present unit ,Water Furnace I didn't opt for the water heater thing .It has a either cupra  nickle or a some type of sufer resistant exchanger .

Most of them I've seen you tie into a regular water heater with a recirculation loop and a little fractional horsepower pump .

[r.man]

I looked these up on the web but the explanations are not good. Is it a compressor and two coils sitting on top of the tank dumping heat into the water and cooler air into the room?

[chuck172]

I have the geospring. One of the best purchases I've made. Prior to this I was using a tarm wood boiler all summer. Now I use the geospring.
I twined it in to my superstore and tarm boiler for the winter. Now I have 90 gallons of dhw at my disposal. I bought the 10 year warranty. Very happy with it.

[hardtailjohn]

I wonder how it compares to the "tankless" systems? It sure looks like a good deal! We're looking at changing out next year, and were figuring on going with the "on demand" style...but maybe this would be better??

[Thehardway]

I've done a bit of research on these.  Before you jump on the Geospring, check around a bit.  The Heat pump water heater is a great idea but you need to be careful of where you put it and make sure you get a quality unit. Consider the following to know if it is right for you:

1. They take heat from the ambient air around them which may make your heat source run more or if in unheated space, makes them work harder
2. Only a few manufacturere of these units were designed for low ambient temp operation.
3. They produce a considerable amount of noise ( a compressor is used)
4. They have a slower recovery rate than their electric or gas counterparts
5. Max temp setting is about 135 F
6. Most have a backup resistance heat element so if you use a large volume, it comes on for faster recovery.

You might want to also consider an add on hot water heat pump if your current electric hot water heater works fine and the tanks is in good shape, no point in paying extra for a tank when you can just add a heat pump on top.  Nyle makes these as do a couple other companies.

The best scenario for a HP water heater is a southern home with two retired people that have a water heater located in the garage or basement.  They can use the extra cooling/dehumidification in that location and do not use a large volume of hot water in a short period of time.  In such cases they can cut water heating costs by more than 50% and get some free cooling from it.

I won't advocate a specific brand but GeoSpring may not be the best in all cases.

[chuck172]

My geospring is in the basement. It air conditions in the summer. Also dehumidifies.
My basement is heated by the tarm boiler, so never really cools off in the winter. I believe the heat pump will operate at a minimum of 45*. Then it functions as an efficient electric hot water heater.
The noise isn't objectionable, just a fan running.

[wolf nemeth]

   The 'on demand' heaters are great IF  your point-of-use is a long run from the main water heater, especially if the pipes run through unheated space.  And for a home business such as my wife's it's very cost effective, because  the only objective is to provide warm (as opposed to hot) water for hand-washing. No more nightmare electric bill just because somebody  kept waiting and waiting for the warm water to arrive.

[mad murdock]

Got the geospring installed around the 15th of December, a little after the billing cycle started for January.  Been running on heat pump mode only, it is in the basement, we heat with a wood stove. So far the bill we got in January which accounted for about 3-3 1/2 weeks with the geospring online showed a solid 30 bucks less on the bill over the prior month. Not too bad. I bet a full month will be at least a 40 buck average savings. I am impressed. No issues with enough hot water, the noise is barely there, as it is tucked away in a closet beside the far wall of the bathroom. Can't hear it run unless you are in the bathroom or the little room next to the closet. I like it!!

[danreed76]

We put in a "Titan" tankless electric several years ago.  Even though it does not qualify for "energy star" or any of the tax credits and such (didn't at the time anyhow), we noticed considerable savings immediately on our monthly electric bill.  We never run out of hot water, just has to run for a minute to get the hot to the tap.

[ancjr]

Our tankless saved us about $30/month on electric.  The one critique I had of it was the fact you had to "run" water at the tap to get it to heat.  Trickling hot water, it doesn't turn on.  Makes sense though, because without adequate water flow, I'd imagine it'd overheat in a hurry.

[mad murdock]

Well, January's power bill came in at $60 lower. Will see what we get for a three-month average. So far I am impressed!