By Ray Mallette, Ashland Resident
You may not think much about where your hot water comes from until one day you run out while taking a shower or find a leak around your old unit.
Your water heater is usually the second largest user of home energy only behind heating and cooling. Tank water heaters typically last 10-15 years, so if yours is approaching this age it’s best to start thinking about replacement options now rather than getting caught with no hot water or no time to consider how to heat it!
When my 50-gallon electric water heater was 12 years old, I decided to replace it with a 50-gallon Rheem ProTerra Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH). The cost of the HPWH at Home Depot was $999 on sale from $1,699. That same model is still available now on sale for $899, only $100-200 more than a straight electric water heater with 3-4x the efficiency!
The HPWH Installation
Being a DIY, I decided to do the install myself with some help from friends. My water heater was in the garage which is the easiest location to put a HPWH. I already had a 240v connection, lots of air volume and a utility sink for the condensate drain. I applied for a plumbing permit and brought the old water heater to Recology for disposal. The use of PEX fittings made it easy to plumb the new HPWH and it was up and running in one day.
My net cost to purchase and install the HPWH was less than $500 after Federal and Ashland Utility incentives.
The Impact
The HPWH allows you through Wi-Fi to set the mode of heating your water, control the water temperature, monitor alerts and track electric energy usage. Over the last two years my annual electric usage has averaged around 950kwh which is less than $100/year to heat water for a household of three.
Considerations When Switching to a HPWH
Most water heaters that are failing today are either using methane gas or electricity with resistance coils to heat water. The good news is that we now have electric HPWHs as an option and since 2020 there are more manufactures with improvements made to ease installation and increase reliability, making them mainstream for replacement. The main benefits of HPWHs are that they are 3-4x more efficient than electric only water heaters and they do not have the harmful emissions associated with methane gas water heaters. The operating costs are less than electric only and can also be on par or less than using methane gas.
Considerations:
- You usually need to have a 240v circuit available although 120v models are available with a lower first hour rating for hot water.
- There needs to be a minimum volume of air available for the HPWH to extract heat, usually around 500 cubic feet that does not routinely go below 37F. If your location is in a smaller enclosure, you might be able to use louvered doors or vents to another area.
- There needs to be a condensate drain to handle the moisture drawn from the air. This can be routed to an existing floor drain, utility sink or an exterior location and may need a condensate pump if not gravity fed.
- The heat pump compressor sound is typically around 55dba, similar to a dishwasher and usually not an issue if the location is in a garage, basement or utility closet.
- The installation cost will be higher than either an electric or methane gas water heater but between the lower operating costs and incentives, the HPWH installation is still cost competitive over its lifetime.
The Bottom Line
While a HPWH may not be a fit for everyone, it merits serious consideration if your hot water tank needs are 40-65 gallons and you would like to lower your operating costs or reduce your operating emissions. This also applies if you have an electric or methane gas tankless water heater. There are also other HPWH types like splits systems and flexible voltage systems targeted at methane gas replacements.
Currently the Ashland Electric Utility offers a new $1,400 incentive for replacing electric or methane gas water heaters with a HPWH. There is also a $1,000/$600 incentive for electrical service panel/circuit upgrades (like 240v). All these incentives increase if you qualify for low income. See the Ashland Climate Collaborative Home Energy page for more information on incentives, electric coaching, or help in finding contractors. You can also view Consumers Reports on HPWHs and information for DIYers on installing your own.