NG water heater vs heat pump water heater

[greggmiller]

Hi folks,

Love this forum. Learned so much as a homeowner just browsing this site.

Quick question. we're replacing our HVAC with an 80% Lennox furnace and Bosch heat pump for a dual fuel setup.

While the old furnace is decommissioned, we have an opportunity to replace out NG water heater. It's in a tight location so this is as good an opportunity as any to replace it, even though it's only about 7-8 years old.

Any thoughts as to whether it makes sense to replace it with a heat pump water heater such as a Rheem Performance model? We have a 19.5 DC ground mount solar system so it does greatly augment our electrical usage and I just assume limit the amount of NG I utilize for heating and hot water. Trying to weight the pros and cons of sticking with NG or converting to a heat pump hot water heater (50 gallons). We will have no access to the anode rod for replacement given the tight location and it is in a utility room abutting a bedroom. It is possible we could augment AC in that bedroom by ducting it to the adjacent bedroom which is currently subserved by a mini split. I guess the added advantage would be some additional dehumidification of a pretty humid basement (coastal location).

Welcome and look forward to some sage advice/input. Bottom line...stick with basic NG heater (I think we paid around $XXX to have it installed and assume it would be pretty similar to replace now) or spend the $XXXXestimated to migrate to a heat pump water heater.

Thanks all!!!

[HeyBob]

Hi Greg,

Please don't post prices here. We are here to assist you, but prices vary all over the country, so they become irrelevant. Good luck with your new system.

Carry on!

Bob

[kdean1]

Have you considered going all electric? The gas meter costs about $XX/month. Fossil fuel prices are projected to increase faster than electric prices.
Modern modulating, inverter heat pumps are capable of heating even at cold outdoor temperatures. Mine kept the house at 72* when it was 15* outside. In fact, these heat pumps are responsible for a new term being coined - "cold climate heat pump". That's because single stage heat pumps lose capacity rapidly below 40* but the new technology makes them effective even in frigid areas.

I don't have any experience with heat pump water heaters yet. From what I've read, noise an be an issue. I would be concerned about having one next to a bedroom. And I think having one in a closet will limit the available heat for it.

If you consider a tankless gas water heater, don't overlook the maintenance it will need. The heat exchanger requires cleaning to remove mineral deposits from hard water.

[greggmiller]

We have natural gas for cooking and heating and will migrate to dual fuel (gas when too cold for heat pump to function).

My main question is does anyone see any major downside to migration to the heat pump water heat from the NG heater? I like the idea of having more control of the unit, not having another appliance hooked up to gas and potentially leveraging our solar to fully power our hot water heater. We may see additional benefit from ducting the outlet to the adjacent bedroom. It's not really in a basement closet but in a utility room that's open to the air. The ambient temp year-round is about 68-70 degrees no matter what the season so it will definitely make it cooler in there. Just hard to decide whether or not to spring for a new water heater (before the current one fails) and risk an element of noise (although it's positioned such that I expect the noise to be of minimal to no impact) as well as any benefit that might come from keeping the NG as an option.

I am aware of pricing rules, but these are very broad generalities and I did not mention any brand name (except for the potential new heater) nor contractor names and realize that the pricing is irrelevant. What I was implying was that there is a roughly $ difference inXXXXX pricing between a NG and heat pump unit, although some of the heat pump cost might be lessened by the new climate bill just passed and to be signed by the president today? Maybe?

Thanks!

[HeyBob]

gregmiller,

NO PRICING!!!!

Bob

[dan sw fl]

Hi folks,

Love this forum. Learned so much as a homeowner just browsing this site.

Quick question. we're replacing our HVAC with an 80% Lennox furnace and Bosch heat pump for a dual fuel setup.

While the old furnace is decommissioned, we have an opportunity to replace out NG water heater. It's in a tight location so this is as good an opportunity as any to replace it, even though it's only about 7-8 years old.

Any thoughts as to whether it makes sense to replace it with a heat pump water heater such as a Rheem Performance model? We have a 19.5 DC ground mount solar system so it does greatly augment our electrical usage and I just assume limit the amount of NG I utilize for heating and hot water. Trying to weight the pros and cons of sticking with NG or converting to a heat pump hot water heater (50 gallons). We will have no access to the anode rod for replacement given the tight location and it is in a utility room abutting a bedroom. It is possible we could augment AC in that bedroom by ducting it to the adjacent bedroom which is currently subserved by a mini split. I guess the added advantage would be some additional dehumidification of a pretty humid basement (coastal location).

Welcome and look forward to some sage advice/input. Bottom line...stick with basic NG heater (I think we paid around $XXX to have it installed and assume it would be pretty similar to replace now) or spend the $XXXXestimated to migrate to a heat pump water heater.

Thanks all!!!

What makes sense is A REAL BASIS / SPECIFIC FACTS? _ EFFECTIVE $ / KW-HR
Effective kw depends on utility rate and Solar installed costs
gmail address: racingdan11
www.mysimplifiedhvac.com __ 5 pages

FUTURE $_ . _ _ / Therm Natural Gas

[firecontrol]

A heatpump water heater needs space around it to operate properly. The unit extracts heat from inside the home to heat the water. If the unit is located in a small cramped space with no access to fairly large square footage of air to pull that heat from........ it's not going to work very well.