Our next home energy purchases will be a heat pump water heater

Heat Pump Water Heater diagram from energy.gov

What is a heat pump water heater?

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.

Energy.gov

Some of the newer models have a ratio of 4:1, meaning they can provide 4 units of heat for one unit of electricity. The costs are a bit more than conventional water heaters. We currently have two methane gas tankless heaters. Given the extra electricity we generate in the spring and fall from our solar panels, and the high cost of methane gas on our utility bill, these will be our next purchase.

To offset the higher cost, the Inflation Reduction Act authorizes a 30% credit and a maximum amount of $2000 credited back to you. With the credit and extra efficiency, heat pump water heaters can repay their initial investment in a few years. That makes them an excellent investment for dollars and carbon dioxide saved.

Be careful of the noise generated by the unit when working. Another consideration is how much hot water can be generated in the first hour. You want good warranties, longstanding products, and reputable companies. Cleantechnica has some good articles on heat pump water heaters. We don’t recommend any model. With any major purchase contact many installers to get the best price and most information for your location. Speak to a qualified tax professional on the tax credit.

How does a heat pump water heater compare to other energy saving purchases? We’ll compare in our next piece.

Sincerely yours,

smilingdad

Copyright © 2023 smilingdad. The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by and do not necessarily represent the views of smilingdad, its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.

Published by smilingdad

My story is one of tragedy and redemption. We've made many mistakes along the way regarding our money. Our goal here is to show you how to take care of your money life long, and as much as we can, help the Earth along the way. I call it sustainable personal finance and ethical capitalism. Currently, I am a part time writer for Cleantechnica and part-time licensed financial professional, along with being a full-time dad.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: