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Questions about hybrid electric water heaters + electric tankless

Wayne Reibold
10 years ago

IâÂÂve read some postings about hybrid electric water heaters stating that the heat pump functionality only kicks in if temp surrounding water heater is above 50 degrees, otherwise it runs on electric. Is this true?

I have a very old electric water heater in my garage that I need to replace. I approached Lowes about purchasing a standard electric water heater but Lowes is strongly encouraging me to go to a hybrid electric water heater vs. a standard electric water heater and when I stated the above they said it isnâÂÂt true. IâÂÂve read a lot of reports of reliability issues with hybrid electric water heaters so I certainly donâÂÂt want to get one if it will almost always run in electric mode vs. heat pump mode.

My home is a daylight basement design, the water heater is in the garage which is part of the daylight basement and is very cool/cold year round (even in summer). I live in the Seattle/Tacoma Washington area.

I have two water heaters in my home, one is a natural gas tankless servicing the bathrooms, the other is this one servicing the kitchen/laundry areas so it isnâÂÂt used often. Is an electric tankless something I should consider instead since this water heater IâÂÂm replacing isnâÂÂt frequently used so that normally the tankless isnâÂÂt consuming any electricity? I wanted to install a gas tankless one to replace the electric one but between the cost to upgrade gas meter and run gas line to far end of home estimates are obscene, in the $9K range (including the tankless, upgraded gas meter and gas line) which wouldn't pay for itself for several lifetimes. It is attractive to me to not have a giant tank taking up space in the garage.

Thanks!

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