It looks like the water heater at our new-to-us house is not going to be long for this world. It's probably 15 years old, has been maintained as well as the rest of the place and takes forever to heat up while providing an interesting array of flashing error codes.
The local plumber who quoted us for the gold plated toilet also thought we needed a gold plated water heater ($2k installed for a 50 gal electric water heater?) so I did some shopping around. Looks like the Lowes Depots of the world offer their long warranty models for about $600-$700 or about $1200 for the models that include a heat pump. Plus installation, of course.
Are the "heat pump" types something I want to consider, or is this a gimmick? We're basically stuck with electric unless I have a propane tank installed, and that seems to be less cost effective. I don't mind forking out the extra money if the heat pump variety is actually consierably more efficient.
I think we paid $600 for ours from HD. I’m not really into going “fancy” on a device that makes water hot.
We considered tankless for space-saving until I read the fine print that suggested multiple units.
Also, I was pleasantly surprised at how cheap the clean install was from my local plumber last time we replaced ours at the “real” house.
RevRico
PowerDork
6/25/19 7:08 a.m.
I think my AO Smith was only $500 from the commercial plumbing shop. From what I've been lead to believe all modern electrics are junk with short service lives, under 15 years. I just like AO Smith from my days building office buildings and despise Lowe's depot.
In reply to poopshovel again :
Yeah, I don't think I want to go tankless. While I'm used to tankless from living in Europe, the decent ones mostly seem to be the gas ones, which brings us back to having to have a propane tank.
The main appeal of the heat pump versions is that the heater is in the proper place for using a heat pump as it's in the mechanical room with the furnaces. If they do work as advertised, it should work rather efficiently.
In reply to RevRico :
My understanding - which might be wrong - is that you really have to buy one with a long (9-10 year minimum) warranty to get any decent service life out of them. I'll have to get it installed rather DIYing the install, so I'm at least trying to research what's out there to figure out what I want and how much it costs so I can avoid paying the "big house" premium.
I've got an air source heat pump water heater. It does pay back the money if the water heater is located somewhere you're also running a dehumidifier.
The reduction in the amount of electricity used relative to the older unit has also made charging an electric car at home pretty much a wash, cost-wise.
I've got a heat pump, a GE Geospring 2, which Ive had since 2012. I'm quite happy with it and with the service from GE... they made a few repairs under warranty for me and since then its been working very well. I forget my actual cost, but it was heavily subsidized by the electric utility and the government in the form of rebates. And I've continued to save cash monthly, particular over the oil fired water heater it replaced.
See also: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/grassroots-homeownersports-hacking-my-water-heater/126042/page1/
In reply to Karacticus :
No dehumidifier in the basement or mechanical room. We also don't get any subsidies from the electricity supplier.
One of the reasons the heat pump version appeals is that I want to add a solar generator w/ backup batteries at some point as we have had a few too many issues with the electricity supply dropping out. Given how much power the well pump uses, having a more efficient water heater would be great.
In reply to BoxheadTim :
Not that I’d recommend buying a water heater for its network connectivity, here’s what the consumption looks like on ours since installation. Our household is just two adults, but my wife, the veterinarian goes through a lot of laundry.
Our installation was also subsidized by the local rural electrical cooperative.
A kWh runs about $0.10 here.
