Electric hot water heater question...
 

I am tire4d of running my boiler all summer just to heat hot water. So I plan to put in an electric system for the season.

There is a fairly new system that uses a heat pump which is on top of the heater to take heat from the room and pump it down into the water tank. You heat the water while air conditioning and de-humidifying the basement! The engineer in me loves the concept.

They are expensive, around $1200 but you can get a rebate (up to $500) from the Co-Op which brings it back into range.

My question is "just how noisy is the compressor"?

I don't want to sink in a pile of money only to find out that I have to turn up the volume on the TV in the living room up stairs.

Any thoughts?

Misty Blue

I've read lots of negative reviews about them--do some reading and see whatchoo find.

Have you considered any "on demand" options? Many are raved about and it's about as efficient as you can get since you're only heating water you are using.

Here are some GBA blogs that provide good reading for you:
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/...aters-come-age (with 92 comments)

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/...rs-waste-money (with 107 comments)

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/...-water-heaters (with 90 comments)

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/...-cold-climates (only a year old, and 13 comments)

You can search there for other relevant blogs and Q&A for more reading than you have time to do.

I have one of the heat pump water heater and love it. There is fan noise but it is not bad. Cost me about $14.00 a month to operate.

Electric Hot Water Heater
 

One of the very important variables is that the heater is installed in a warm area

On-Demand Has Some Drawbacks
 

We have an on-demand hot water heater (natural gas) and I'm not thrilled with it.

There is a delay after the water begins to flow, and it takes a while to heat up the exchanger before the water gets hot. As a result, you have to run the water for a long time before it's hot at the faucet. If you're just washing your hands, it takes too long.

When you shut off the water, the heat exchanger quickly gives up its heat. So when you turn the faucet back on, it's cold again and you have to wait.

You end up wasting a lot of water waiting for it to get hot.

If you are in the shower when someone starts up the dishwasher or washing machine, you get widely varying pressure, so temperature variation.

Finally, I think another thread mentioned that you cannot completely drain an on-demand unit to shut it down in the winter.

I can imagine a unit that addresses these complaints, but I don't think it's on the market yet.

Funny Its the opposite for me. It takes a minute for the hot water to reach the faucet and it is hot! Even when the dishwasher and clothes washer is on I have a great shower. I love my tank less hot water heater. Maybe it is not installed right? I have the System 2000 unit.

On Demand Water Heater
 

System 2000 by Energy Kinetics doesn't make a on demand water heater. They use a plated heat exchanger with a storage tank.

'On demands' do have the delay and waste situation described above but for low-use periods you might want to consider one of the less expensive ones offered at Sportsman's Guide.

I got the cheapest propane version, to use in a camper I have as a guest house. The more expensive ones are about $250 and should be enough for a regular household. If you are handy, you can plumb a spigot line from the hot-water circuit to the outside of your house fairly cheaply and even if you hire a plumber it shouldn't take more than 2-3 man hours.

The whole thing will be much less than the couple thousand that will be wanted for an inside installation. When the propane tank gets chilled it won't provide as much energy to the heater but you still have your boiler to switch on. It's just a question of turning a few valves when you decide which unit to use.

If this suggestion doesn't work out for you, you can still get some of your money back by selling it and you'll have a hot water outlet which will come in handy for cleaning your grill and other gear.

I mounted mine on a post a couple feet away from the trailer wall. I would suggest a similar installation but the larger ones do offer more conventional options. Mine is removed in the off-season but you may choose to leave it in place but winterized.


Good luck!

I don't see a storage tank, and I was told it was tank less. Now I am really confused! It is a great system BTW. It works well with a Mitsubishi split system.

Energy Kinetics Sytem 2000
 

I didn't realize they make different models. I have the Accel CS which is a wall mounted integrated boiler. It is one of the most efficient boiler in the 2015 Energystar website. Take a look at this http://www.energykinetics.com/accel-...g-boiler.shtml

I have an on demand tankless propane water heater.
Does work and has worked for 10 years.
But it does require adjusting. Water pressure and flow rates.
And there is no one who can repair these. Yes, some claim to be able. But in the end the cost of any repair would approximate the cost of an ordinary 30 gallon electric water heater.

Bottom line.
If I had to do all over again. I would purchase an ordinary run of the mill 30 gallon electric water heater. Easier to replace when wears out and less expensive.

I would check and see that the heat pump could be disconnected should it fail, so that the unit would be just like any other electric hot water heater... After that if you can get a rebate that brings the unit back in line with a regular electric hot water heater then I say go for it...