Heat Pump Water Heater Recommendation

[OzSolar]

Can anyone recommend a heat pump water heater on today's market that is worth buying?

Not sure where to post this so I'll put here. Admins, please move if needed. We don't have an appliance forum, right?

After spending just a few minutes reading the reviews on Home Depot and Lowes it's pretty clear that many people are often unhappy with their expensive purchase. It seems like the HP function fails leaving you with a very expensive standard electric water heater. Sure, it's under warranty but it's taking the techs forever to get the replacement parts which appear to be the same poorly engineered parts as before thus fail quickly again. No thanks....

 

[gg576]

I have had the Rheem platinum HD sells. Been going strong for one year now. App is a bit wonky but I love it with my PV system. I have it cranked up as high as it goes (150F) and use a mixing valve as well as a recirc pump for instant hot water.

I cannot use it from November to March because it cools the finished basement down way too much. May try to exhaust to the outside to keep it going.

Looks like some massive tax rebates are coming for heat pump water heaters with this new law. May want to get clarification before buying anything.

 

[nokiasixteth]

I personally have the 80 gallon off brand . It works quite well due to the sheer size of the unit . We are a smaller family & i have it set to efficient mode so it only uses the heat pump zero use of the resistive heating elements. Main reasoning i got it was the 4000 watts of normal water heaters vs 500 watts . Also being we are in a humid & very hot climate it is a win win situation .I have had mine around 6 months. Cant speak of real long term as to this.

 

[nokiasixteth]

I have had the Rheem platinum HD sells. Been going strong for one year now. App is a bit wonky but I love it with my PV system. I have it cranked up as high as it goes (150F) and use a mixing valve as well as a recirc pump for instant hot water.

I cannot use it from November to March because it cools the finished basement down way too much. May try to exhaust to the outside to keep it going.

Looks like some massive tax rebates are coming for heat pump water heaters with this new law. May want to get clarification before buying anything.

If you exhaust air you have already cooled what your hvac system has warmed up inside your home. Depending on where you live it may be more efficient to put an inlet & outlet from the outdoor possibly .

 

[SkyBlue]

My 50 gallon GE Geo Spring unit has worked well for 8 years now. Unfortunately, GE doesn't make heat pump water heaters anymore. But according to the article below GE is getting back into the market, and there will be a lot more 120 v plug in brands available in a year or two. Might be worth waiting for.

Finally, a heat-pump water heater that plugs into a standard outlet

How a public-private collaboration brought a key climate-change-fighting tool to market: an efficient 120-volt water heater that can be easily installed in homes.

www.canarymedia.com

 

[nokiasixteth]

My 50 gallon GE Geo Spring unit has worked well for 8 years now. Unfortunately, GE doesn't make heat pump water heaters anymore. But according to the article below GE is getting back into the market, and there will be a lot more 120 v plug in brands available in a year or two. Might be worth waiting for.

Finally, a heat-pump water heater that plugs into a standard outlet

How a public-private collaboration brought a key climate-change-fighting tool to market: an efficient 120-volt water heater that can be easily installed in homes.

www.canarymedia.com

That was what i had looked at Sears years ago & was going to purchase but couldnt afford at the time . Glad to know it has lasted 8 years.

 

[OzSolar]

My 50 gallon GE Geo Spring unit has worked well for 8 years now. Unfortunately, GE doesn't make heat pump water heaters anymore. But according to the article below GE is getting back into the market, and there will be a lot more 120 v plug in brands available in a year or two. Might be worth waiting for.

Finally, a heat-pump water heater that plugs into a standard outlet

How a public-private collaboration brought a key climate-change-fighting tool to market: an efficient 120-volt water heater that can be easily installed in homes.

www.canarymedia.com

I saw that today. It was one of the those news alerts. Almost like google knows I'm looking for HP water heaters.

That will be especially useful for people trying to retrofit gas water heaters.

 

[Ampster]

I purchased a GeoSpring 8 years ago and it gave up the ghost after 6 years and I got the runaround about warranty repairs because GE had sold that division to AO Smith. I replaced the GeoSpring with a Ruud and I also put in a Rheem in a former home and in my sisters home. Ruud and Rheem are the same company and primarily sold to the trade and I bought them at supply houses although I have a vague recollection I purchased one of the Rheems at a home depot on special order.

 

[pvdude]

Take a look @ Bradford-White.

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Bradford-White-Residential-Water-Heaters-11200000

I have one (not HP version), waiting to install, as soon as my 16 year old electric AO Smith gives out.

 

[Ampster]

Take a look @ Bradford-White.

I did not see any Heat Pump Water Heaters in that lineup. Don't be fooled by what they call Energy Savers. A HPWH is six times more efficient than a water heater with a resistive element. The reason is that a HPWH moves heat rather than converting electricity into heat with an element. It is the opposite of what your refrigerator does. Ever notice the heat at the back of the refrig?

 

[pvdude]

Here is a better link.

AeroTherm® Series Heat Pump Water Heater | Bradford White Water Heaters

[...]Read More... from Aerotherm

www.bradfordwhite.com

 

[OzSolar]

If you exhaust air you have already cooled what your hvac system has warmed up inside your home. Depending on where you live it may be more efficient to put an inlet & outlet from the outdoor possibly .

Good points. One needs to be keenly aware of where they are installing them as well as thier hot water load which is a function of the number of people in the household.

A water heater in a garage of a one person household in Phoenix vs. six person household with a water heater in the basement in Minneapolis are very different applications.

 

[efficientPV]

Back when water heaters only had a COP of 2 PG&E did a study which said the effective COP in a house heated by gas was reduced 44%.

 

[ajalger]

I personally have the 80 gallon off brand . It works quite well due to the sheer size of the unit . We are a smaller family & i have it set to efficient mode so it only uses the heat pump zero use of the resistive heating elements. Main reasoning i got it was the 4000 watts of normal water heaters vs 500 watts . Also being we are in a humid & very hot climate it is a win win situation .I have had mine around 6 months. Cant speak of real long term as to this.

Where does one find an off brand one?

 

[nokiasixteth]

I bought mine off ebay it was cheaper & ability to pay with paypal ("For a 80 gallon" ) not cheap to me really the guy had 4 of them said they didn't sell good . He was in one of the Northern states . They are all gone now . I also have a kozy kool everyone said would be trash has been the best mini split so far ive had . Had it at least 8 years only things ive done with it was clean it . So the water heater has been performing as it should .

 

[ajalger]

Ah nice find. Out of curiosity - since you are in a humid/hot climate does it help much for dehumidification? Running a dehumidifier in the mechanical room now because of a very tightly sealed house (ERV doesn't help when its humid outside). I found some info that people said it did help but no quantification

 

[ArtDeco]

Can anyone recommend a heat pump water heater on today's market that is worth buying?

Not sure where to post this so I'll put here. Admins, please move if needed. We don't have an appliance forum, right?

After spending just a few minutes reading the reviews on Home Depot and Lowes it's pretty clear that many people are often unhappy with their expensive purchase. It seems like the HP function fails leaving you with a very expensive standard electric water heater. Sure, it's under warranty but it's taking the techs forever to get the replacement parts which appear to be the same poorly engineered parts as before thus fail quickly again. No thanks....

We don't have an appliance forum, right? No, but it's probably a good idea. I have a GE maybe? heatpump from a decade ago and kept the old tank plumbed to the new one (no element active, just extra storage) and have never had an issue with mine as far as performance. The menu and display are primitive, but we never run out of hot water.
IDK what's available on the market today, someone else is likely to know and will chime in.

 

[nokiasixteth]

Ah nice find. Out of curiosity - since you are in a humid/hot climate does it help much for dehumidification? Running a dehumidifier in the mechanical room now because of a very tightly sealed house (ERV doesn't help when its humid outside). I found some info that people said it did help but no quantification

Yep helps here . As to how much i have no idea . But i wanted to see if it did before so i turned off ac ran the hot water out & let it run its cycle &. Its noticably cooler/ less humidity. I really didnt get mine for dehumidification but it is a noticed added benifit that the system provides . My place is really old & plenty of air leaks also .

 

[ArtDeco]

Mine seemed to be pretty effective as a dehumidifier as well. I run a dehumidifier all season (some years 2) but I remember thinking there was a lot less water to dump when I first got it. Then I set up the dehumidifier on a sink with a drain.

 

[Landon McKeester]

I just got a Bradford-White Aerotherm and have discovered several important things:
1-The BW Aerotherms are all rebranded (and perhaps updated?) GE GeoSpring heat pump water heaters -GE sold the entire product line and factory in 2019 (including GeoSpring warranty repairs) see:

Bradford White Buys GeoSpring Rights and Equipment - GreenBuildingAdvisor

Bradford White will pick up where GE Appliances left off as it buys the production equipment GE used to make the GeoSpring heat-pump water heater and moves it to its own facilities in Michigan. Citing low sales, GE Appliances stopped general production of the GeoSpring last month. The company...

www.greenbuildingadvisor.com

2-The web-connectivity and app control of these units doesn't seem to be currently supported by Bradford-White (despite it's Ethernet/CAT5 connection port), so I am challenged in my desire to schedule it for off-peak use...
3-The old, hard-to-find GE Connect Plus module and app/connectivity may or may not work for my off-peak scheduling....
4-Heat Pump Water Heaters, like refrigerators, may become damaged if they are transported on their side, so be aware! (to be safe they should be left standing for ~ a day so the refrigerant fluids in the tubes all flow back down before they are turned on)
5-Bradford White seems like their warranty will be voided by DIY or non-professional installs, so be careful when filling out that warranty registration