Heat Pump Water Heating - forum?

[CraziFuzzy]

I'm wondering if anyone else thinks there should be a forum added for heat pump water heaters (or perhaps one for water heating, in general). I know it's not specifically HVAC, but, at least in the heat pump variety, there is a lot of overlap.

semi-off-topic: What brought me to this conclusion was that I was working on spec'ing out a new domestic hot water system for one of our office buildings, and heat pumps are actually a reasonable option - just not much discussion of them here. I mean come on - fireplaces get their own forum...

[ChaseW]

CraziFuzzy- I like HPWH's a lot. I am the number two installer in the Northeast-at least according to A. O. Smith. They are efficient, cost effective, and have a great warranty. I am actually installing another one tomorrow. What size are you specing? Also what brand? If you have any specific questions, I'll try and answer them for you.

[CraziFuzzy]

CraziFuzzy- I like HPWH's a lot. I am the number two installer in the Northeast-at least according to A. O. Smith. They are efficient, cost effective, and have a great warranty. I am actually installing another one tomorrow. What size are you specing? Also what brand? If you have any specific questions, I'll try and answer them for you.

No real specific questions at this point - I'm a facilities guy and am not doing the final specs, but am the one pushing for the change-out (we currently have 80 psi steam from some aging inefficient boilers, running across the campus for the sole purpose of making domestic hot water in one large building, losing a ton of heat along the way). There is currently no gas in the building, so i need to weigh the costs of adding the gas in and cheaper water heaters, against the easier install of heat pump heaters, with slightly higher energy costs (during the day). Ultimately, i think gas is going to end up being cheaper, unless we can have enough storage to do most the heat-pump work at night (off-peak). I posted this not so much to solicit information, but to point out a missing section of the forum.

Ideally, I'd build a solar setup (I'm in southern california), with a decently sized tank, and use heat pumps for the backup - just not sure if it's going to pass the administration test...

I did look at the AO Smith line, and they really seem to be the only game out there in the size I'm looking at. Couldn't really find any full specs on higher temp operation (no real indication in the docs i was reading about their upper end effectiveness).

[CraziFuzzy]

CraziFuzzy- I like HPWH's a lot. I am the number two installer in the Northeast-at least according to A. O. Smith. They are efficient, cost effective, and have a great warranty. I am actually installing another one tomorrow. What size are you specing? Also what brand? If you have any specific questions, I'll try and answer them for you.

No real specific questions at this point - I'm a facilities guy and am not doing the final specs, but am the one pushing for the change-out (we currently have 80 psi steam from some aging inefficient boilers, running across the campus for the sole purpose of making domestic hot water in one large building, losing a ton of heat along the way). There is currently no gas in the building, so i need to weigh the costs of adding the gas in and cheaper water heaters, against the easier install of heat pump heaters, with slightly higher energy costs (during the day). Ultimately, i think gas is going to end up being cheaper, unless we can have enough storage to do most the heat-pump work at night (off-peak). I posted this not so much to solicit information, but to point out a missing section of the forum.

Ideally, I'd build a solar setup (I'm in southern california), with a decently sized tank, and use heat pumps for the backup - just not sure if it's going to pass the administration test...