Evaluate Your Energy Use

[tvguy]

Do you have to have a heat pump for this to be practical?  I have a modern air conditioning unit outside on a small slab, but it is not a heat pump,  My heat is from a standard electric forced air furnace.  Would this benefit me?

The water heater comes with a heat pump built in to it. It's on top. It uses the heat in the room to heat the water the same way a heat pump works off the outside air when it's above about 40 degrees.
 


"Heat pump water heaters use electricity to move heat from one place to another instead of generating heat directly. Therefore, they can be two to three times more energy efficient than conventional electric resistance water heaters. To move the heat, heat pumps work like a refrigerator in reverse"

So does this sit in your house?
It would cool the air around the tank.

Yes house or garage. I think they said in a room that is 40 to 90 degrees. It has to be so many cubic feet.It can't be in a closet. And yes it will cool and dry the air somewhat. Not much I don't think.

So the money you save on heating water, is from heat you take out of the room.
You now have to pay more to heat the room.  If you use electricity to heat the room, it's a wsh and you save nothing.
If you heat with wood, then you have a wood burning hot water heater.

Yes they will cool the room somewhat. I said as much before. That's why they recommend installing them in an Unconditioned room. Like a garage.

 If you heat with wood, then you have a wood burning hot water heater.

Exactly and that's a hell of a lot better than using a 4500 watt hot water heating element.
The same is true with my pellet stove or if people have natural gas heat or oil.

But if you have the heat pump water heater in a conditioned room It would be like having another air conditioner in the summer