X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Heat Pump Water Heater after Solar?

    Hi,

    I am mulling over getting an add-on heatpump water heater vs sticking with the standard 50gal tank I have. This is an add-on unit I can get for a good deal. Down side is I had one of those GE GeoSpring heatpump water heaters and it was crap; got rid of it after about 5 years. If I buy this add-on supposedly I will get payback in two year but lets call it three. Is it worth it get this HPWH or just stick with solar? My sense meter estimates my yearly cost at ~300.00/yr and the sticker on the current water heater says ~500.00. I live in Florida and this is in my garage so it will have plenty of hot air and it does cool off the garage nicely as an added benefit. I have a vent I open up when I'm doing stuff out there now. My solar is a 11.3 Kw system that maxes at 10Kw and I'm on track to possibly break even on the usage - but I've reduced consumption everywhere except the hot water I have to add that I have a tendency to nerd out so there's always that!

    The main thing is I haven't gone a full year with the solar and I doubt I will see this kind of deal again; couple hundred dollars and I'll install vs. the 1500.00 they want for the full hybrid hot water heaters.
    Last edited by frankge; 08-14-2018, 01:17 PM.

  • #2
    Why do you say the Geospring was crap? I've heard they were noisy, but that's not true of all HPWH. I installed an AO smith 50 gal in my previous house. I had a garage under configuration, so the heatpump cooled my basement and garage during the summer. I had no complaints at all for the 2.5 years before I moved.
    In FL I think it would be a no brainer. Cheaper hot water, and free AC for the garage.

    Comment


    • #3
      Constant failures, replace the coil twice, system board went out, they finally said labor is on you and at 300.00 per visit I had to get rid of it. GE should have had a class action against them on this low quality made in China appliance. They took the manufacture back here and redesigned. Mine bricked in about five years. My comment was not about all heat pumps - where did you get that in my post... my concern is will any of these make it to a 10yr lifespan. The Geospring was a notorious piece of crap. I'm still a little pissed about it to the point where I will probably never buy another GE product again - and all my stuff since day one was GE.
      Last edited by frankge; 08-15-2018, 09:28 AM.

      Comment


      • #4
        Which add-on heat pump are you considering? Only one I am aware of that is in my price range is the discontinued Etech. Someone is selling some new old stock in various places.

        Came here about five years ago and a heat pump type DWH was one of the
        top suggestions for me to start with. Real life intervened... Current water heater is now 23 years old
        so need to make it happen soon.

        Comment


        • #5
          yep, E-Tech is the one - I can go with Ebay and get the warranty from Square Trade for under $400.00 - figure about $75.00 or so for the parts and pieces to install. Not a lot about them on the web.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by frankge View Post
            yep, E-Tech is the one - I can go with Ebay and get the warranty from Square Trade for under $400.00 - figure about $75.00 or so for the parts and pieces to install. Not a lot about them on the web.
            These heat pump water heaters are expensive, complicated, and not likely to last as long as a conventional electric water heater.
            I would personally prefer adding PV over conversion to the heat pump.

            I agree that reduction in consumption is preferable in most cases with addition of insulation in the home (low tech) etc, or upgrade of an inefficient home heatpump to a more efficient unit, particularly if the inefficient one is older and needing more repairs anyway.
            But in this case you are moving from a very simple water heater with very few parts to a very complicated one. Its expected lifetime is significantly less than the expected lifetime of a conventional water heater as well as less than the lifetime of additional PV.
            OutBack FP1 w/ CS6P-250P http://bit.ly/1Sg5VNH

            Comment


            • #7
              yeah, I would never buy another HPWH at ~$1500.00 again, they just don't last IMO. This was $400.00 and I can get it warranted for 3-4 years where it will break even so its low risk. I'd add more solar but I'm at the Florida Tier 1 Max with slight clipping at 10Kwh. Already upgraded to the 2-stage variable HP with Air Handler. Will add more insultation after the last chick leaves the nest and takes all the junk in the attic being saved for him. If I knew my yearly PV output I might not even be concerned.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by frankge View Post
                Constant failures, replace the coil twice, system board went out, they finally said labor is on you and at 300.00 per visit I had to get rid of it. GE should have had a class action against them on this low quality made in China appliance. They took the manufacture back here and redesigned. Mine bricked in about five years. My comment was not about all heat pumps - where did you get that in my post... my concern is will any of these make it to a 10yr lifespan. The Geospring was a notorious piece of crap. I'm still a little pissed about it to the point where I will probably never buy another GE product again - and all my stuff since day one was GE.
                You had the 1st generation that was made in china and was total crap.The second and third generations made in the usa were solid. Mine has been running in heat pump only mode for 5 1/2 years flawlessly. Also, lowes and home depot sell dirt cheap 10 year coverage plans on hpwh tanks which I bought.

                Mine has saved me a fortune. I analyzed its power usage thoroughly. Heat pump is 500 watts vs 4500 elements. Mine usually runs less than an hour after a shower. Full recovery in about 2 hours.

                I got mine for$200 through a huge utility rebate. The local lowes has the ao Smith listed online for 899 right now.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by frankge View Post
                  yep, E-Tech is the one - I can go with Ebay and get the warranty from Square Trade for under $400.00 - figure about $75.00 or so for the parts and pieces to install. Not a lot about them on the web.
                  Those etech heat pumps are surplus from a Connecticut utility program from the early 2000s. They experimented installing those for free for customers and stopped because of huge failure rates. There is report from Connecticut Light and power on the failure rate of them out on the web somewhere. They switched to installing the Geospring.

                  Why not just get the ao smith for $899 from lowes and add the warranty for $59?

                  Edit. Found the report on those etechs.


                  Last edited by BFW577; 08-15-2018, 10:07 AM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Screenshot_20180815-100504_Drive.jpgScreenshot_20180815-100454_Drive.jpg

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      ...cause I'm a cheap bastard

                      I saw the report you posted that's why I'm so on the fence about it. I have a 3 year old AO Smith water heater I'd hate to replace right away. My sense monitor predicts I spend about $300 a year on hot water so $899.00 (cost at Lowes here is $1549 where did you get $899?) with no rebates and after being burned the first time is a tough decision. I thought the Geospring was great and agree with everything you said until it puked.
                      Last edited by frankge; 08-15-2018, 10:19 AM.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by frankge View Post
                        ...cause I'm a cheap bastard

                        I saw the report you posted that's why I'm so on the fence about it. I have a 3 year old AO Smith water heater I'd hate to replace right away. My sense monitor predicts I spend about $300 a year on hot water so $899.00 (cost at Lowes here is $1549 where did you get $899?) with no rebates and after being burned the first time is a tough decision. I thought the Geospring was great and agree with everything you said until it puked.
                        Lowe's prices can vary by store. Looks like $1249 around me, but you can also easily get 10% off coupons to bring it down more.
                        I also had a $500 utility rebate when I installed mine. At the time I did a lot of research, and found that the GE had poor ratings, and was quite a bit less efficient than the AO Smith. The AO Smith also comes with a 10 year warranty, and has dual electric elements, so even if the heat pump fails, it'll still work as an electric heater until it's repaired.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          yeah, my kid works at Lowes so I can get 10%... I decided to Guinea Pig it and spring for the E-Tech new-old HPWH. Ebay was 365.00 delivered and I went for the 3 yr no questions asked warranty up to the value of the item if it pukes. I have a 3 yr old AO Smith WH already. I'm off to Jamaica so it will be here when I get back - I'll post pics when its done.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            sure, I wouldn't say my ghetto fabulous DIY qualifies of knowledge
                            Attached Files

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              IMG_0733.jpgIMG_0735.jpg ok, so its in and running. Have to figure a couple things out... circulation pump is always on and cant seem to keep them temp below 140, still messing with it. The elements have not come on since the install per my sense energy monitor. Will complete the insulation when I get home from trip.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X