wrote:
On Dec 26, 7:06 am, Drew Cutter wrote:
wrote:
On Dec 25, 8:55�pm, Drew Cutter wrote:
Is it worth the money to use a integrated heat pump water heater ? Any
mfg. you can recommend on both the heat pump and water heater . Thanks.
heat pumps work best in areas with moderate temperatures, air heat
pumps in northern freezing areas use back up electric resistance heat.
thats costly.
what part of the country are you in and how do you currently heat your
home and water?
I'm using gas water heater . From the web page as long as the basement
or furnace room stays above 40 degree i'm ok. This heat pump is not out
side. http://www.nyletherm.com/waterheating.htm

The manufacturer says that tests show it reduced ELECTRIC water
heating bills by an average of 50%. Three things worth noting
there. One is that it's compared to electric which is costs
significantly more to operate in most parts of the country than a gas
water heater, which you have. Second, whatever average use was for
their test in terms of water amounts could be very different from your
personal situation. Third, manufacturers use situations that put
their product in the most favorable light for stated numbers like
this. So, you may not save anywhere near 50% off your gas bill.

So, can you recover the $1100+ upfront cost for the unit, plus install
cost, over the expected life of the unit? Do you have 240V available
at the gas water heater location, free breaker panel space for a
circuit, etc? What is the expected life? It has a 2 year
warranty, which doesn't sound very good to me for a heat pump based
device. If you bought a heat pump HVAC system, or a refrigeratior,
it would have a longer warranty than that.

It also says it's for electric hot water heaters and to contact the
manufacturer if you want to adapt it for gas. That wouldn't make me
very comfortable.
Looks like a nice unit. But, besides
all the other comments, this unit will
probably cool the area where the heater
is located. If it is on the back
porch, that might be ok, but in a used
basement, I wouldn't want it to be
cooled. Even in the summer, my Chicago
area basement is cold in the
summer just from being below grade and
having the central air evaporator
and air handler there. The one basement
register is closed and the only
cool air from the AC system is coming
from leaks and the cold uninsulated
ducts taking on some heat. I certainly
wouldn't want it any colder.