Anyone have a heat pump water heater?

[iaJim]

We're looking at the GE model, and I'm wondering if anyone has any feedback on them.

http://www.geappliances.com/heat-pump-ho...hp_wh_ext4&cid=goog

[bruceko]

At $1700 it is 3 to 4 times the cost of a regular 50 gallon electric.
You are probably looking at 5 years to break even.
Also I haven't heard anything good about the reliability of Ge water heaters.

[iaJim]

Lowe's has them for 1600 bucks. We have a 10% discount coupon, so that brings us down to $1440. Our power company will give us a $100 rebate, and we can get a 30% tax credit on the water heater and installation. so, subtract both of those and we're a little over a thousand bucks. That puts payback in just about 3 years I think.

Rheem makes one too, but we don't have a 10% coupon for one of those.

[AllGold]

I really don't know the numbers and am just making a wild guess, but it seems like even this heat pump version wouldn't cost much if any less to operate than a gas water heater (which would cost less to buy). But maybe gas isn't an option for you.

[iaJim]

No, gas is not an option. We are a 1970's all-electric home. If we had gas, I'd go with a tankless water heater.

[AllGold]

Have you looked at solar?

[Speedy]

When we last had our gas water heater replaced we asked the plumber about putting in a heat pump version. He calculated it would take twenty years to recoup our costs.

[bruceko]

Do you live in a warm climate?
If you live in a cold area you need to figure the haet loss in the house from the heat pump. Since you are heating the air in the hour the the heat pump water heater is pulling the hat out of the air.

if you are in a warm climate then the heat pump will help cool your air.

[Grateful11]

How loud are they? I saw them install one on "Ask This Old House" but they didn't start it up.

Home Depot has a Rheem for $1500:

http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances-Wate...?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

[iaJim]

They say they are about like a water cooler.

We live in Iowa, so we have both climates, warm and cold. This will be in my utility area, which is in the basement, so it should be fine.