The Benefits of Heat Pump Water Heaters
What Is a Heat Pump Water Heater?
Known in the trade as hybrid electric hot water. Heat pump water heaters use electricity to move heat from one place to another instead of burning gas and creating carbon. They work much like the refrigerator in your home only in reverse. A small compressor – a fan – and a heat exchanger all work together to squeeze the heat out of almost any temperature air and transfer it to the water.
Benefits of Heat Pump Water Heaters?
This system uses a fraction of the energy of Traditional gas water heating technology. In addition to being quiet and clean to operate, nearly all operating costs can be offset with just a few solar panels. Water usage doesn’t have to change, still allowing you to take all the showers, washing dishes and laundry as you have in the past, but with these units; it’s all done for a fraction of the cost you paid before. Another benefit of a heat pump water heater is that it doesn’t produce carbon, helping the environment.
In most cases, a standard 40-gallon water heater would be replaced with a 65 or 80-gallon hybrid electric water heater. Since they use such a minimal amount of energy, the water heats over a long period of time (usually at night when rates are lower) making it available when you need it, even if you have an extra load of dishes to do.
Advanced Solar Electric Strategy is another option available to you which provides a reserve power mode. An example of when this function would be useful is if you are expecting guests and will need more hot water than normal. You can set the programming from heat pump to hybrid, automatically optimizing hot water production. When the guests leave, simply set it back to heat pump for ultimate performance.
The Energy Efficiency of these units is measured in coefficient of performance (also referred to as COP). The COP on most units are around 3.4 to 3.7, meaning for $1.00 worth of electricity you can make $3.40 to $3.70 worth of hot water. Compare that to even the most efficient tankless water heater at .98% efficiency where you get $.98 of hot water for every $1.00 of gas.
Considerations for Installing a Heat Pump Water Heater
There are some modifications required for installation but generally the cost is about the same as an efficient gas tankless system. If there is space in your electrical panel and garage (or wherever your existing unit is) you can likely have one installed. Heat pump water heaters are a great investment for most homeowners. If you’re looking to save money on your utility bills and reduce unnecessary carbon production, consider installing a heat pump water heater in your home today!
If you need help with installation and repairs or have any questions about heat pump water heaters, contact A-1 Guaranteed for heating and air conditioning services in Solano.
