Heating & Air Conditioning Renewable Energy for the Home

Domestic water heaters - are hybrids worth it?

last year

Are hybrid DHW heaters worth it in terms of energy savings? I just checked with the plumbing dealer who supplied all the plumbing fixtures for my new house and asked that question, and a hybrid heater of capacity similar to my resistance-only electric heater was about $2300.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

wdccruise
last year
last modified: last year
Operating savings do appear to be substantial and the price of the hybrid is only about $1200 more than the cheapest resistance model (at Home Depot). Note that hybrid models make noise while resistance models are completely silent.
- Rheem XE50M06ST45U1 Performance 50 Gal. Medium 6-Year 4500/4500-Watt Elements Electric Tank Water Heater: $419/year
- Rheem XE50M12CS45U0 Gladiator 50 Gal. Medium 12 Year 4500/4500-Watt Smart Electric Water Heater with Leak Detection and Auto Shutoff: $424/year
- Rheem XE50T10H45U0 Performance Platinum 50 Gal. 10-Year Hybrid High Efficiency Smart Tank Electric Water Heater: $104/year
- Rheem XE50T10HS45U0 ProTerra 50 Gal. 10-Year Hybrid High Efficiency Smart Tank Electric Water Heater with Leak Detection & Auto Shutoff: $104/year
Elmer J Fudd
last year
mtvhike, I believe hybrid heatpump water heaters CAN substantially save on electricity use but your household use patterns need to be considered.

I think they all have at least three settings, that I'll call Resistance heat only (conventional operation), Heat pump only, and Both.

Obviously, the Heat Pump only setting would use the least electricity and provide the most savings but I've heard that recovery times (how long is required to reheat all or part of a tank of water when cold water has been added) without a resistance boost can be hours and hours. If your hot water usage occurs throughout the day rather than being concentrated during a few peak hours, a Heat Pump Only setting may not offer much more than lukewarm water after the tank has been run out. Using the hybrid setting will provide quicker recovery but will negate the benefit of having a heat pump unit.

Another thing to consider, in addition to the noise factor wdcruise mentioned, is the ambient temperatures through the year of the spot where the heater is located. Warm room temperature provides more heat to be more quickly extracted from the air. Cooler or even cold temps are going to limit how much and how fast the heat pump can act.

Maybe see if any of your neighbors have such units and see what their experiences are. And, speak with some plumbers in your area to get their experiences. An acid test - do they have one in their home?
Related Discussions
We have no hot water: help decide what water heater system asap.
Q
Comments (9)
I installed it all and plumbed it myself - Not a really difficult job . . . . maybe 3 on a scale of 5 The collector panel was $1K, the tanks were $600 for the pair, the circulator pump was $100, the differential controller was $200 and about another $300 for copper piping, valves, flowmeter and an analog temp guage. $2200 for the total system, give or take $100. We had no hot water heater to begin with, so we would have had to spend $300 anyway, so take away the $300 and the $400 in Tax rebates and the system actually cost us $1500 - I got $300 off my federal income tax and another $100 from the state My 'break even point' is about 3 to 4 years - It would be higher if I had paid another $1500 to $2K for a professional installation We're remodeling an old farmhouse, so we've never lived here with anything but the solar heat but the tag on the side of one of the water heaters says it costs $400 per year to run - It's a very high efficiency unit with 3 inches of polyfoam insulation, so a lesser water heater would cost more to operate. $500 to $600 per year is probably an average cost for domestic water heating per year for a family of four I REALLY don't understand why there isn't a larger push from the government on solar water heating. Unlike solar electric, or hybrid cars, this technology is pretty well perfected right now and the payback is much shorter than for just about any other 'green' energy source. It can be used in most places in the United States. The outside temp isn't a big factor in how well it works . . . . it depends more on how many sunny days you have If more houses had solar domestic hot water systems, we could make a huge dent in the total energy use of the country and just think of how much less fossil fuel we would consume Don
...See More
water coil heat with relation to water heater usage
Q
Comments (36)
Nice price on electricity. I pay at least twice that. Here are some numbers for you, based on your figures: A kilowatt of electricity is about 3,413 BTUs, and is $0.0636, which works out to be 53,660 BTUs per dollar. Electricity is 100% efficient, meaning that there are no combustion losses that go up the chimney at your house. Propane has about 92,000 BTUs per gallon, and is $2.50 gallon, which works out to be about 36,800 BTUs per dollar. Your existing water heater is prolly on the order of 60% efficient, which means that 40% of the BTUs out of a gallon of propane end up going up the chimney, and not in your house. As such, you are getting about 22,000 BTUs per dollar out of it. If you went with a new water heater, such as the Polaris which is 95% efficient, you would be getting about 34,900 BTUs per dollar after combustion losses. Based on your posted information, electricity would be about 65% the cost of propane for heating with a 95% efficiency water heater, and 41% of the cost of propane using your existing water heater. An electric water heater won't work because they donÂt produce enough BTUs to keep up with the demand on the house. But an electric boiler might, depending on the model and how manu BTUs your house requires to keep it warm on the coldest day of the year. An electric boiler will require a lot of electricity, though, prolly on the order of 100 amps. A 200 amp electric service to your house would be the minimum needed to run the electric boiler. You still need to address the ducting losses through your attic. If yours are anything like mine were, that is half the problem right there.
...See More
Desuperheater and Hybrid water heater
Q
Comments (4)
Yes, there will be cost savings and most of that is going to be in the summer when the geothermal is producing excess heat to cool the house. A desuperheater basically heats water for free in the summer by salvaging the heat that would otherwise be dumped into the ground. ThatÃ¢ÂÂs going to be more efficient that the regular heat pump water heater, which needs to use some electricity to keep the compressor and fan running. There is a possibility, though, that it will not save any money in winter because the geothermal works as a heater at that time and you will transfering heat from one heat pump heater to another. It could a good idea to deactivate the desuperheater in the winter to see if there is a significant change and perhaps permanently shut it down until spring if you find out it is not saving anything. Even if it doesnÃ¢ÂÂt make a difference in the winter, it is worth installing the desuperheater for the decent savings during summer.
...See More
Hybrid Electric Water Heater in basement at 60F temp
Q
Comments (6)
I am just researching which electric water heater to go with. Theoretical payback is dependent on equipment. If we compare 50 Gallon Rheem Platinum vs Geospring: Assuming optimum tested conditions for simplicity of comparison. Cost of operation is $555 vs $182 per year. Install cost I am not sure assuming similar. Then $555 - $182 = $373 savings per year. Cost of equipment is $568 vs $1200. $1200 - $568 = $632. Number of years to recover extra cost is $632 / $373 = 1.69 years. This not assuming any rebates. In some areas they are giving $750 rebate from utility company, in which case break even is when you get rebate immediately. Is that what you are looking for? Not decided on plumber or DIY. Seems easy to hook up on your own using flexible hot water connectors such as sharkbite, etc. , especially if you are replacing with similar electric water heater. Little taller and have to make sure you have required space. Also have to hook up pump if you don't have drain which might be little more install cost. Why?
...See More

Domestic water heaters - are hybrids worth it?

Comments (2)

wdccruise

Elmer J Fudd

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US