Pros and cons of heat pump water heaters
Research suggests that heat-pump water heaters are by far
the most energy-efficient option for most households. They're approximately
three times as efficient as ordinary electric water heaters since they
don't create warmth...they merely move heat out of the air and into the
water.
(A gas, point-of-use device at each hot-water faucet approaches the
same efficiency. But we're not on a natural gas line and didn't have to
make that choice. Electric point-of-use hot-water heaters can't come
close to heat-pump technology.)
Downsides of a heat-pump
water heater include the high initial price tag (but look for rebates!)
and the hum of a fan. Heat-pump water heaters also cool the air around
them (great in summer, not so great in the winter). And they need a
large, open area with a temperature that doesn't drop below 45
Fahrenheit for optimal performance.
I decided to give up a bit of square footage in my writing space for
optimal, energy-efficient hot water. More on what we think of our high-class heater in a later post!
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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Hi Anna, I have been running the Nyle stand alone heat pump attached to am 80 gal Marathon Hot water tank. I shut the heat pump off during the winter and run on the resistant elements, in the summer I switch back over to the heat pump. There is some maintenance involved like cleaning the air exchange filter, also the condensation drain needs flushed with bleach using a turkey baster but it has been working for eight years now with no problems.
I have been very busy installing a wood gasification boiler and just got it up and running, perhaps you and Mark can drop in sometime when your in my area. Welcome to Ohio.