Electric Heat Pump for H.W. Check It Out

69dartgt wrote:I have installed a few over the last few weeks for the company I work for. We are handling the AirTap units. The only ones I have installed are the add-on units for existing water heaters. From customer feedback they seem to work well. Recovery is slower than straight electric heating if two or three showers are in a row. Thinking since my water heater is right next to my coal stove I should get pretty good efficiency.

The one advantage of both AirTap units are that you can duct them into existing ductwork, a floor register, or outside (in the winter).

http://www.airgenerate.com

I used to install air taps, not real good, the parent company is now importing a one piece design, exactly the same as the ones I imported from last year. a much better unit, check out airgenerate. it should show newest units.

homecomfort wrote:... here is a comparison, a resistance electric water heater consumes 17 amps of 220 volts for about 13000 BTU of delivered heat, a heat pump water heater consumes 3 amps of 220 volts to deliver the same btu's. I can ship a very good unit, 50 or 65 gallon capacity, 220volt, stainless steel holding tank, one of the few that use stainless. Paul.

Paul, I know I should be able to make the conversion, but.... could you express that in terms of kwh per million btu? What air temperature gives those results? What input and output water temperature does that assume?

What brand do you sell? Can it run purely in heat-pump mode? I'm wondering about the economics of front-ending my oil-fired heater with a heat-pump heater.

Hi Bob. inlet air temperature can be as low as 40F and still achieve about a 3 to 1 coefficient of performance, c.o.p. and over 4 to 1 at 60F. inlet water temp here is about 58F, and water outlet temp up to 131F. My units are made in China, as are just about all one piece design units including G.E and air tap. Air tap now buys from my manufacturer. Good units, wholesaler needs to be careful buying overseas, that is all. look up theodoor heat pump water heaters on line. There are 3414 BTU's per Kw, so it takes 292,911 kw to = 1 mbtu. from me or any where else, heat pump water heaters are the way of the future. I am a contractor, and have tried and used just about every possible combination of water heating there is, this is the best. I burn coal for space heating for part of the load, but for domestic hot water, I wanted convenience and economy. most units will run in any mode you want, it is nice to have the resistance as a backup, better to buy the next size tank to avoid using expensive resistance element. I can provide a 65 gallon, or an 80 with a special order, as well as 50 gal. not to put a sales pitch here, but I am currently selling 50 and 65 gal. at nearly cost, to establish a volume sales record with supplier, these are some of the best units available. prices range from $1400 for 50 gal, to $1600 for 65 gal. shipping is about $150 to east of Mississippi. going away for 10 days, post back later if interested. Paul.

I like dealing with Lowes and GE. I have a full warranty for 11 years. I also know there are GE service people everywhere. I also like the idea of an all in one solution.

traderfjp wrote:I like dealing with Lowes and GE. I have a full warranty for 11 years. I also know there are GE service people everywhere. I also like the idea of an all in one solution.

Thanks, trader, I am leaning toward GE also. Didn't know Lowes carried them, I will have to check them out.

No problem. I'm considering adding a 35 gallon tank to the equation so I never have to have the 4500 watt heating element turn on or run out of hot water. My plan is to only use the heat pump mode and install the GE heater in series with a holding tank. The holding tank is a tank I bought to experiment with some ideas I had with my stove and heating my basement. It turns out I didn't need the tank but now...........

I have a small brass taco that I will use to circulate the water between both tanks. This way I will always have 85 gallons of heated water on hand. I'm not sure if the stock 50 gallon tank will keep up with capacity, in the winter. My wife and daughter shower back to back and then I shower an hour later. The wife is at 10 minutes for her shower were my daughter is 15-20 minutes. I'm at 10 minutes. My shower heads are at 1.6 gallons. The tank does 63 gallons in the first hour and you can turn the temp up to 140 although all their stats are based on 130.

The recovery rate is terrible. I use oil now which gives unlimited hot water. The GE unit, in heat pump mode, recovers 8 gallons an hour while using the 4500 watt element recovers at 23 gallons an hour. In heat pump mode, the GE unit, puts out 6k BTU's and uses 600 watts. My plan is to put a 2nd smaller coil in my stove and to use it to help pre-heat the water for domestic. I'm going to give it a try first to see what my electricity bill does before I go to the trouble of buying and installing another coil.

The tank is steel with porcelain and is insulated with 2" of expandable foam. My plan is to get off oil. If my electric rates rise to much then I'll use my stove to help out.

Anyway,

rberq wrote:

traderfjp wrote:I like dealing with Lowes and GE. I have a full warranty for 11 years. I also know there are GE service people everywhere. I also like the idea of an all in one solution.

Thanks, trader, I am leaning toward GE also. Didn't know Lowes carried them, I will have to check them out.

Since you already have a tank take a look at the Nyle add on heat pump water heaters. They are simple to install and cost less than ones with a tank. See:
**Broken Link(s) Removed**I'm considering getting one as a summertime domestic hot water solution. It would be an add-on to my indirect hot water heater but with a twist. Instead of using it to heat the potable water it would heat the "boiler water" side of the indirect hot water heater. Ignoring capital costs, my guess is in summertime this is the least expensive way for me to heat hot water. Especially since it would provide some needed summertime A/C.

My oil fired tank is 20 years old so I need to replace it anyway. The Geyser is a good unit. It's easy to install too. I tried calling the company to ask questions and my only opiton was to leave a message. What happens if the unit breaks?? I paid 1,100 for the GE unit after a 15% discount taken off the already discounted price on the website. For the next 11 years I'll have full service on the GE unit.