Heat pump DHW?

Going over my year end usage and costs today I was thinking of my summertime DHW. I'm currently burning year round, and now I'm questioning if I really should. My current DHW setup is a 40 gallon Vaughn storage tank off of the boilers' tankless coil. I'm averaging 450-500 pounds a month from May-September. I also fight the July and August outfires when I lose draft. I was thinking of one of those hybrid water heaters when the power company rebates were good, but that's a lot of money for a crap 5 year tank and a Chinese heat pump. I'm thinking of getting one of those Nyle Gyser heat pumps and pipe it into my existing storage tank. I'd valve it so I'd have two loops, one loop to the boiler and the other to the heat pump. It's a pain to keep the boiler going in the summer, and seems like a waste of coal. I never run out of hot water though, but my basement is HOT!! It's unusually warm down there without the boiler running, so a heat pump would have no problem getting a source.
Anyone here run one of these? I'm wondering what it would cost a month to run and if I'd have enough hot water.

my 50 gal elec. hot water heater cost approx.$35.00 a month for one person,it's not one of those fancy hybrid thingy

I've got a family of five, so I go through a decent amount of hot water. I'm averaging $55 per month for DHW in the summer.

plumber wrote:I'm currently burning year round, and now I'm questioning if I really should.

I agree with Dennis, even if it costs you $75 a month in electric, look at all the work and worry it would save you. I also considered a boiler or stoker for year round water heating but the cost is nearly a wash and coal requires tending to. SO, I'm just gonna be happy to save money heating water while I'm heating the house

Others will argue the benefits of keeping it lit thru the summer, such as no corrosion problems but there are ways to combat that too.

I installed a GE hybrid water heater to free me from the nuisance of screwing with my boiler all summer. Met Ed gave me $400 in rebate on a $1000 unit. It was a great deal for me. If your basement is warm your unit would probably heat your water on straight heat pump mode. Really cheap to run in that mode. You have three modes to choose from. Out of those you will have no shortage of hot water.

Of course they give you a rebate to put in a heat pump water heater, to them that's the gift that keeps giving them money.

O-K, whatever, I installed a 50 gallon hybrid for $600 plus wire and pipe. I guess if you think I got taken, then it must be so .At any rate, when you're lighting your stoker on a 90 degree day, I'll be having a beer.

plumb-r wrote: to them that's the gift that keeps giving them money.

If it saves you money, who cares?

I burned all summer also, but it's just not efficient for me. Last Spring I looked at the Nyle and I looked at the GE hybrid.(The Nyle is built 5 miles from me, but the GE is built in the USA) Approx the same price, but the Nyle was much less warranty time. I think it was 2 ys, vrs GE's 10 yr. So, I got the GE. I leave it in hybrid only mode & with just the two of of we never run out of water. It also does a nice job keeping the humidity out of me cellar. I used to run an AC down there once in a while, but no longer need to.

After empty ashes & vacuuming I put a 60 watt light bulb inside my boiler ( I did the first year, then went to a 40 watt.) It keeps it dry.

Hey Freddy! Would you have a pcture of that GE heat pump you installed. That looks like something that would work for me also.

I can vouch for the GE Hybrid water heater as well. I got it in 2011, so it's the model made overseas, not here in the USA, but with the rebates at the time, I got it for $399. It sits about 12 feet from the DS Machine circulator, so it doesn't even run very much this time of year to keep my hot water hot. In the summer, I only need to kick on the dehumidifier if it's exceptionally damp and rainy. I live by myself, and my winter months electric bill usually ran from $70-$80 with the standard electric water heater. For comparison, last month was $40 and this month was $43.

I was looking at getting a heat pump hot water as well. I already have an electric hot water heater, so hooking it up would be a breeze. I am very interested in the de-humidification that the unit will perform as the Binghamton, NY area gets very humid in the summer (70-90+% very common). My weight lifting equipment in the basement developed a cold slime on it when the moisture sits on the bars.

I would get a dehumidifier, but I'm afraid it will run all the time and kill my electric bill. I wonder if the GE would have any noticeable effect on the humidity in my basement? I definitely need to do something this year. I was looking at smaller commercial dehumidifiers that I could route around the house as well. They seem to be much cheaper than AC units, but wouldn't be as comfortable of course. Any help would be appreciated...sorry for the thread hijack

Joe

I've got a new "Geyser" brand heat pump hot water heater on my installation schedule. I had hoped to install it last summer but didn't get to it. My installation will be a bit unique. I've got very acidic well water. I don't treat it but instead have switched all that touches it to plastic or stainless. My domestic hot water heater is an indirect with a stainless steel tank. It's the only kind that survives my acidic water. So, my Geyser will heat the boiler water loop not the actual potable water.

For those of you that live in areas with central A/C and use it a lot there is a way of using the heat produced by the compressor when it compresses the refrigerant. It's called a de-superheater. A proper installation requires considerable new hardware and control systems. It's a very economical way to heat domestic hot water, especially when there is frequent use of the central A/C. Unfortunately, there are considerable installation costs and most residential A/C companies know nothing about them. You need a company that services super markets for technical people that know something about them. All large supper markets use them to produce hot water. For residential use it's not something really practical for the non A/C season. For a coal burning home, a well engineered system would be heat and domestic hot water from coal in the heating months and domestic hot water from the central A/C in the cooling months. I would have such a system but it's just too much work to retrofit what I have now.

Any such system would be custom designed, likely void the A/C manufacture's warranty and surely not have any eligible government rebates. A lot of negatives puts it in the skilled tinkers or dreamers class of projects.

I'd like to know how that Geyser works for you, I'm leaning in that direction. That's an interesting take on the install, it may just work real well. Now I'm intrigued on using the heat from the A/C compressor. I'm planing on installing central air, and obviously we only need the DHW at the same time we use A/C.