Heat Pump Water heater?

[mpire]

So this month's bill came in.

Its almost a full month with the new water heater in full on E-heat mode only.

I have run the air conditioning much more this month, and I have been running it in the garage as well as I am doing more and more projects out there and not worrying about the intense summer heat.

This month I racked up 784 kwh of electricity. So that's a reduction of 81 kwh over last month, despite actually running the whole-house A/C quite a bit and the garage A/C unit.

So I guess I will take that net savings of $8.667 and be happy with it.

 

[mikeatrpi]

Hey guys, any updates on these Geospring units after a year or more in service? I see the new models are out and available at the local Lowes and Sears for $1000. Our utility has a $400 rebate. So not as sweet a deal as some, but still not too shabby! I am replacing a 15 year old oil fired Bock water heater.

My big reason for replacement is that we have a draft issue in the room. The furnace and water heater are separate flues, but we get a diesel exhaust smell in the house sometimes when the air handler is running and the water heater fires up.

I'm still doing my research about all of this, but I want to see if anyone has the new model as well as any reliability info about heat pump water heaters in general. Thanks!

 

[mpire]

Well, including the mini-splits and the water heater my power bill is now consistently around $100 a month. It used to be $250 in the summer. So I must be doing something right. I haven't added any extra insulation or anything fancy like that to the house.

 

[toyotadriver]

Hey guys, any updates on these Geospring units after a year or more in service? I see the new models are out and available at the local Lowes and Sears for $1000. Our utility has a $400 rebate. So not as sweet a deal as some, but still not too shabby! I am replacing a 15 year old oil fired Bock water heater.

My big reason for replacement is that we have a draft issue in the room. The furnace and water heater are separate flues, but we get a diesel exhaust smell in the house sometimes when the air handler is running and the water heater fires up.

I'm still doing my research about all of this, but I want to see if anyone has the new model as well as any reliability info about heat pump water heaters in general. Thanks!

I have a GeoSpring water heater that I installed in the garage in Oct 2011. This summer has been hotter than last summer so our electric bill should be even higher than 2011...even though 2011 was fairly hot too.

Over the past 6 months, we have seen a reduction in the electric bill of anywhere from $20 to $40 per month. Less in the cooler months and more in the hotter months. The garage is a few degrees cooler too.

I would estimate that we are saving about $350 per year with the GeoSpring water heater.

I'm VERY happy with it and plan to install one in the next house whenever we build it.

We have not made any other electrical changes other than the GeoSpring water heater so I'm confident that the reduction in the electric bill is a direct result of the water heater.

 

[mpire]

Yeah, I am pretty impressed with the water heater so far.

It gets the garage cooling down after my shower in the morning and then I can just kick on the A/C unit and its down to 80 in no time.

 

[briantompo]

I was searching for something else and stumbled across this thread. I thought I'd comment since I owned one of the original AirTap heat pump water heaters for 3+ years in a 2-car Florida garage. Bottom line is it worked great and I loved that it heated our water, cooled and dehumidified my shop for 50kW or $6.50/month ...but I didn't replace it when we built a new home.

I paid $400 in 2008 and figured the AirTap would be cost-neutral over it's life. I was OK with that because of the cooling/dehu benefit. Unfortunately, a new Airtap A7 was $800 in 2011 and unlikely to break even over it's lifetime. It's worse if you count your time as anything but "free" in cost calcs.

My AirTap used 630 Watts and ran about 3.5 hrs/day. I plugged it into a Kill-A-Watt for months on end and it used 44kW in summer months and 58kW when colder, averaging less than 50kW/month. I saved $12/month or $144/year for water heating. I figured a 3-year payback, all while having a cool, dry garage. Sweet, right? Not so fast. You have to stuff 20' of copper coil into your water tank, creating a battery, so anode life is potentially reduced. The owner's manual called for removing/inspecting the anode at 6 month intervals and replacing as necessary. At $60 a pop, an anode every 18 months takes a sizable chunk from the utility savings and doesn't account for your time. My tank was stuffed between the chimney and compressor and was a complete PITA to access. The copper coil work hardens during installation and it's a bear if you have to remove/reinstall it.

I think an AirTap paired with a "plastic" Rheem Marathon tank would be a great solution but at retail prices, it's an expensive way to save $12/month. In fairness, if the local utility offered a smoking deal like mpire found, I'd install a hybrid unit in a heartbeat.

Now, where's that thread on mini-split AC that I was looking for?

 

[mpire]

The GE geospring has a fiberglass tank.

Also, I probably wouldn't have done it had I not gotten the massive rebate from the power company.

Looking back though, I would do it again even without the rebate.

 

[toyotadriver]

I didn't get a rebate but got it on sale for $999 or so.

I figure my payback time is probably about 3 years. Everything after that is just a bonus. I think I'm saving a lot because of how warm it is in the garage. Its well insulated so when you park a hot car inside, it gets over 100 quickly. When the water temp setting is 125 degrees, it doesn't take a lot of running to make 125 degree water when it's over 100 air temp.

 

[mikeatrpi]

The GE geospring has a fiberglass tank.

I'm pretty sure they (or at least, the new Geospring-2 units) have a porcelain coated steel tank though I can't find it listed in the manual. Hmm.

 

[mpire]

I have a first gen unit, so I am pretty sure it is a fiberglass tank and it was engineered better than the new units.

Its also much larger, heavier, uses more power, and is more complicated overall.

The original units were made in China, now they are made in the USA.

Not sure which is better, but I guess time will tell.

 

[mikeatrpi]

Interesting info. My local lowes had several of the new model, plus one of the old (on clearance). I just assumed the new one would be better. Maybe its not so clear.

 

[mpire]

I can't tell you which one is better, only that I am happy with mine so far.

 

[truckman5000]

Enjoyed the read.
I need to replace my electric water heater.
Looking into it as im a plumber. But not too familiar with these units around here.
I can get a 50 gal. ge for 900 bucks and a 1,000 rebate from the power comp.
Sounds like you guys are happy with the performance of these.

 

[toyotadriver]

Enjoyed the read.
I need to replace my electric water heater.
Looking into it as im a plumber. But not too familiar with these units around here.
I can get a 50 gal. ge for 900 bucks and a 1,000 rebate from the power comp.
Sounds like you guys are happy with the performance of these.

They are noisy enough that you don't want them too near your living space. Not extremely noisy but noisy enough that putting it in the garage was the best decision for me. Also, ideally you will put it in an area that gets warm. My garage was the best place for mine but might not be the same for someone else.

 

[toyotadriver]

Interesting info. My local lowes had several of the new model, plus one of the old (on clearance). I just assumed the new one would be better. Maybe its not so clear.

I think the older ones looked better but I would install either of them.

 

[bertristerf150hd]

I have my airgenerate up and running on a 40 gallon tank. I have the tstat on 130 and it is more than enough for me and my girlfriend, even on the heavy use days. I actually installed mine in the bathroom, with the cool air venting into the living room. I did build a return into the bathroom.

 

[mikeatrpi]

I installed mine today... the Geospring 2. I put it in the basement with my furnace. The install went smoothly... it is heavy though! I can't believe how much water it has already generated (I put a bucket at the output temporarily). Very happy,... though it is only day one.

 

[toyotadriver]

I think mine has saved so much because of how hot it is in the garage. It wouldn't save as much if it was inside IMO.

For those who mount it in a basement, it will help dehumidify the basement.

 

[Jackfre]

Glass/Porcelain lined tanks must be understood in the manuf process. When tanks are produced they take a sheet of steel and weld on the tank penetrations. The tank is then rolled and the seam welded, end caps welded, glass gun goes in and shoots the interior and the unit goes into the Leer, the enormous furnace that cures the glass. The problem with these lined tanks is that the velocity of the furnace gases racing thru the tank openings creates a process called "burn-back". I use the analogy of the "Raiders of the Lost Ark", where the guy opens the arc and the spirits come racing out of the arc and blow thru everyone who looks at them. The glass is eroded from the openings and you end up with a glass/porcelain lined tank with open steel. The actual spec allows 1 sq in of open steel/sq ft of tank area. I believe that 95% of tanks develop leaks at a tank penetration. This is the part of tanks that the consumer never seems to hear about. If you don't change your anode rod and actually maintain your water heater, and how many do, you MAY end up with a short life to the water heater. This is certainly water quality dependent, but you have to know what you are buying

 

[LakeJoe]

Metal faced film with at least a 3/8 lnch air gap installed in your roof facing the sun will reflect the rays and stop them from penetrating your garage.

 

[LakeJoe]

Thank you for the post.
We live where the swamp and sand allow the sulphur from oak leaves breaking down to turn my HW heater into an acid cell battery eating the anode and heating element once per year leaving about a foot of sulphur/fluoride deposited in the inaccessible inside. The chunks will not come out without enormous effort.
I would like to see tanks made with an access, and reverse-electrolysis.
The oil company uses a solar panel to run a current to counter the valance current between the inner and out pipe surfaces keeping the corrosion at a minimum.