Picture a portable dehumidifier on top of a water heater, and instead the condenser coil is immersed in the tank.
That is a heat pump water heater. That being said a normal one canÂt be converted.

Last time I paid attention they were about $2,700.00

The benefits of having one in the basement is you have a free dehumidifier working, but some cooling to deal with.

Rather than a 'heat pump water heater, if you are in a hot climate...see this...

In hot climates a proven strategy that works well is a heat recovery unit attached to your AC unit. It provides free hot water and also increases the efficiency of the AC a couple of SEER points by reducing head pressure (and electricity draw) on the compresser. Adding one of these to an older AC unit that still runs well is a good way to cut $30-$50 off your monthly power bill during AC season (which here in cent Fl can be about 9 months). Here is a manufacturer's site for two of these and a power company document about it as well. The second mfg site has a neat calculator for your savings...but my experience shows it to be somewhat under-optomistic. I don't think it's taking into account how a hru will improve your AC's efficiency.

http://www.trevormartin.com/about.asp

http://www.turbotecproducts.com/EPhome.html

http://www.p2pays.org/ref/11/10104.pdf

There are quite a few setups available for heat pump water heaters 110v versions 220v versions, ones that set up on top of a conventional water heater and have part of the coil physically go into the tank and others that the water circulates through the heater and into the tank. I have researched models that have high and low settings that with a drain will actually dehumidify and cool an area like if you live in the southern states and have the heater in your garage you can have a cool less humid garage area or if it is in an area with carpet you would select the low setting so it wouldn't need a drain but only get 2 units of water heat for 1 unit of electric.
This is not new technology and is used widely in other countries that have high electric costs.

Cost.. I have seen them from $400-1,000 with a few going up from there.

LINKS : http://www.ornl.gov/sci/btc/apps/hotwater.html

http://www.nyletherm.com/waterheating.htm

http://www.alabamapower.com/energy_efficiency/heatpump.asp

http://www.aers.com/etech_residential_water_heating.html

http://www.anaheim.net/utilities/ea/PA_26.html

I do not know how to get the links clickable so you will have to copy and paste them. Sorry for that

Bob

I never heard of this. I am in eastern PA....$2700 seems like pay back might not occur before the sucker breaks. $1000 is not much more than a 12 year efficient water heater...if that includes installation.

How are they at maintaining a hot water supply for 4 people?

A typical residential HPWH can heat 15 gallons of water per hour by 80°F, with a final storage temperature between 120°F and 140°
Versus a standard 40,000 BTU 50 gallon Nat gas water tank can heat 50 gallons per hour with the same storage temps above.

Both the above in addition to recovery per hour are based on 50 gallons of storage to add to the recovery, making the HPWH first hour rating about 55 gallons versus the gas tank close to 80 gallon rating first hour.

An on-demand gas can heat 300 gallons an hour with no storage involved.

In many cases I have seen on-demand heaters added downstream from the HPWH which is the primary heat for water and the on-demand is there to add temp when needed during higher draw times.

I doubt you can fine one for $400, as it is a complete sealed refrigeration system. There are add-on units that can be added to any tank, especially an electric, which have an external heat exchanger which are less money. These are beneficial if you wish to double up and add capacity and are concerned about tank life.

I asked a freind-

The 8,000 BTU, 15GPH external add-on tends to cost from $1,000-1,200, plus materials, wiring and labor.

well, this is a lot to absorb, I have no nat gas...its an electric water heater. It will be do for replacement soon. An electric 50 gallon water heater, 12 year warranty installed will be less that $1K. How does this compare to the HPWH in initial cost and yearly savings? How long do the HPWH typically last? We have no trouble with hot water now, our family of 4 has to to ever run out.

You best bet is to have the new electric water heater of appropriate size installed when needed and add the external heatpump to the domestic hot water system later if it works out to be a good deal for you.

Nyletherm has a special 10% off going on until october and some scratch and dent units or something like that I noticed on their website. I think the 2-5yr payback depending on usage would be great. I plan to go with a stand alone unit that the water is circulated through the storage tank/conventional water heater. I also plan to get a marathon water heater by Rheem that has a poly tank that is better insulated than most heaters and lifetime tank warranty. As much use as our whirlpool bath gets we use a bunch of water and I figure a 2-3yr payback on the pump heater and will benefit from the dehumidification in the basement.

"I think the 2-5yr payback depending on usage would be great."

- Where is the data to support that payback?

If you do a search for heat pump water heaters with the search engine of your choice the information and data is out there and not hard to find on utility websites and manufacturer. If you are comparing electric element to heat pump systems element is 100% efficient and heat pump is 200% on average for units that do not use a condensate drain in use because of unit location. Units on the high setting with a condensate drain and fan cooling are all the way up to 3 units of heat per unit of electricity.

110v units that I have researched usually need a 15amp circuit and 220v a 5-10 amp.

take the consumption of heat strips in a furnace compared to a heat pump.. the heat strips really make the house nice and toasty quickly but make the meter outside spin like a CD. A heat pump takes more time to bring things up to temp but the meter spins like an old 33 record.

The regular water heater compared to a heat pump heater I would think would be along the same line and would also dehumidify the area that it is located in.. another plus to many people.

The longevity of the unit is supposed to be very long compared to a regular tank and elements.. I know they are much more prominent in other countries that have higher prices for utilities and fuel. If gas would have dropped and stuck under 2 a gallon I do not think the smart car and others that are on their way would have arrived for quite a few more years.

I think a heat pump water heater is something to look into and keep an eye on. If I do not go geothermal I will be adding one to my system.

Having lived in the great white north, where it is imperative to run a dehumidifier, even in a well drained and semi dry basement, there is no argument to be had operating the HP water heater and benefitting from the dehumidification is a huge plus. I had planned on getting one, via a job that I was to supply 50 units and was to get a good price on one for me. I had planned on adding it before my on-demand gas unit, being that I ran a dehumidifier and planned on replacing it anyways. Rejecting the heat to water versus the basement is a plus. However, should the basement be cold and external heat source is used to make the space comfortable, the rejection of the dehumidifier might be better used that way.

It wouldn't be hard to convert the cost of producing a pound of water with a HP versus resistance and at only 15 G's or 125 lbs of water at an 80 degree rise is slow; at least a HP would be 50% more efficient. The demand or usage would weigh heavily on the ROI.

I did what countryboymo is going to do... I have a Marathon water heater and the Nyletherm-1. It works great, and only cost around $900 total to install myself in a few hours...

Countryboymo - keep in mind, when you get your units, you can't use the 'tube-in-tube' boiler drain adapter that comes with the Nyletherm-1 on the Marathon (nor on some Sears) due to the bowl-shaped bottom. Instead, pull your "Water In" line to the cold water line atop the Marathon, and use the "Water Out" to the boiler drain line... Also - here is a schematic that might prove helpful - it's how I connected mine...

http://deviant.org/Marathon%20and%20Nyletherm-1/new.png

I hope to get some more information up on my site about how to set it up. I got a refurb unit from Nyle... Saved some money there (I figure - whatever was going to go wrong already went wrong, and was fixed!), and the same warranty as a new unit... Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1586857}}

How efficient would a HPWH with electric water heater as heating source for for hydronic system with air handler and ducts? 1400 sq ft house w/ 9 ft ceiling. Elec. is about .31/Kwh in Asheville NC.

I have nothing to do with the following company, but during a search found their add on unit which is less than $700. It doesn't seem too bad.

http://www.airgenerate.com/products/airtap.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Air Tap add-on Heat Pump Water Heater