This analysis found that, in most cases, gas water heaters are the lowest-cost systems.Ĭonsumer Reports also did a study on the costs of various water heaters based on a heavy use test and found that payback time is longer for tankless units when they replace storage tanks. So with so much to consider, how do you determine which hot water heater is worth investing in? Well, luckily for you, you don’t have to! Other people have already done it.
If you switch types - for example, from a tank water heater to a tankless water heater - you may have to pay to have your whole plumbing and electrical systems changed. It also usually works out much cheaper to replace your existing water heater with the same type of water heater. Tankless heaters could save you around $100 per year but, again, have a higher purchase cost. Heat pump systems can save you around $300 per year on energy bills but are more expensive than storage heaters to purchase. However, solar water heaters are also more energy efficient and will save you money on your annual energy bills. Solar water heaters are the most expensive. They use a separate heat exchanger to meet all of a household's hot water needs.Generally speaking, storage heaters are the cheapest type of water heater to purchase and install. Some manufacturers also offer triple-function geothermal heat pump systems, which provide heating, cooling, and hot water. With frequent operation during the summer, the geothermal heat pump may provide the majority of your hot water needs.ĭuring the fall, winter, and spring - when the desuperheater isn't producing as much excess heat - you'll need to rely more on your storage or demand water heater. In the summer, the desuperheater uses the excess heat that would otherwise be expelled to the ground. This hot water then circulates through a pipe to the storage water heater tank in the house.ĭesuperheaters are also available for tankless or demand-type water heaters. A desuperheater is a small, auxiliary heat exchanger that uses superheated gases from the heat pump's compressor to heat water. For water heating, you can add a desuperheater to a geothermal heat pump system.
HOT WATER HEATER INSTALL
Homeowners primarily install geothermal heat pumps - which draw heat from the ground during the winter and from the indoor air during the summer - for heating and cooling their homes. Because they remove heat from the air, any type of air-source heat pump system works more efficiently in a warm climate. These combination systems pull their heat indoors from the outside air in the winter and from the inside air in the summer. You can also install an air-source heat pump system that combines heating, cooling, and water heating. Installing them in a space with excess heat, such as a furnace room, will increase their efficiency. Heat pump water heaters will not operate efficiently in a cold space since they tend to cool the space they are in. Air passing over the evaporator can be exhausted to the room or outdoors. Heat pump water heaters require installation in locations that remain in the 40º–90✯ (4.4º–32.2✬) range year-round and provide at least 1,000 cubic feet (28.3 cubic meters) of air space around the water heater. You can also retrofit a heat pump to work with an existing conventional storage water heater. You can purchase a stand-alone heat pump water heating system as an integrated unit with a built-in water storage tank and back-up resistance heating elements. While a refrigerator pulls heat from inside a box and sends it into the surrounding room, a stand-alone air-source heat pump water heater pulls heat from the surrounding air and transfers it - at a higher temperature - to heat water in a storage tank. To move the heat, heat pumps work like a refrigerator in reverse.
Therefore, they can be two to three times more energy efficient than conventional electric resistance water heaters. Heat pump water heaters use electricity to move heat from one place to another instead of generating heat directly.