Me vs. Propane Guy and a new fandangled water heater

[jasoutside]

Me vs. Propane Guy

So I am always trying to figure out how to win against the LP guy. Over the last couple of months I have kinda, sorta on purpose let my 500 gallon tank run out. I had already decided to swap out a couple of my appliances so the timing was fine to do so. I was so excited to see that big pig hauled away

I called a new LP company and got a better deal on LP at $2.40/gallon, free set up and LP delivery, $12/year tank rental. Better than what I was paying. The only thing I'll have on LP from here on is kitchen stove and back up furnace as I heat 100% with wood.

I currently have a nice big 80 gallon LP water heater with power vent. With what I was paying in LP to run it I'm guesstimating that it was costing me in the $650ish/year range, give or take. I figured I'd spend that, or maybe less on an electric water heater.

I was just getting ready to grab the good old fashioned stand by run-of-the-mill water heater when this fancy pants thing caught my eye and I started doing some research...

http://www.geappliances.com/heat-pump-hot-water-heater/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut2l...y_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

It was $1600 on sale $999. 1000 bux, ridiculous right? Well I did some math...

$1000
-$300 tax credit from the gubment
-$75 credit from local utility
-$300 after I sell my perfectly good LP 80 gallon water heater

=$325 which was what I was going to spend on a new electric water heater anyway. With the energy saving numbers they are touting I'd recoup that after year one too. Even if the thing poops out on year 10 I figure I should save $3000ish (maybe more) over that time vs. a regular electric water heater.

Couple of other advantages I am thinking...

-Since I heat with wood the basement is hot 8 months out of the year (wood burning furnace is in the basement). This thing uses ambient air to heat the water and the hotter the air the more efficient the water heater is (as I understand it). That said, my savings might be even a little better.

-My dehumidifier bit the dist this summer (it's like 25 years old) so I needed to grab a new one. Those things are expensive at $200ish. This water heater basically has one built in to take humidity out of the air. So now, I don't have to buy a dehumidifier, that's good.

Couple of things I am a little concerned about...

-I just hope the savings calculations are true. Based on what I have been reading, I think so, could be wrong.

-Little concerned with the new technology. $$$ if it breaks. It does come with 1 year parts/labor, 10 year parts so that helps the cause.


Anyway, long winded sorry...

I know some of you guys around here are into energy on the cheap when you can find it so I thought I'd post up if you are in the market.

Anybody out there use one of these things? Good? Bad? Terrible? Great? $$ savings? Not so much?


I'll post back my findings in 2021

 

[RandyJ]

Re: Me vs. Propane Guy and a new fandangled water heater

I'm a plumber. Have never installed one. I've heard of them but don't know much about them. If you don't use hot water frequently you might be more interested in tankless water heaters. Another very good site you may wish to research this question or ask questions about it is terrylove.com. I used this site quite a bit for plumbing and electrical questions and the discussions are very informative and generally exceptionally knowledgeable.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Me vs. Propane Guy and a new fandangled water heater

Well, I installed it yesterday morning, super easy. Took me longer to get it out of the box than it did to hook up. The only thing that is (basically) different from a standard electric water heater is the drain from the dehumidifier. For my set up that was cake to handle as my sump pump is right next to the water heater. Just drop the line in. That, plus it's much bigger than a standard electric water heater.

I have it set to "eHeat Mode" (heat pump only) which is the most efficient but also takes the longest to recover the hot water. We'll see if it can keep up.

Yah Randy, I haven't heard super things about the tankless water heaters. Especially with big, busy families like mine. Having LP blasting at 150,000 BTU (with the tankless) every time the faucet turns would get pricey in the short and long run for my situation I think.

I know, pretty boring topic eh guys.

But, I was running some numbers in my head again yesterday and I think I might have been a little conservative up there^^^. I may be closer to $400 - $500 range per year savings which will certainly add up over time. And, I'm pretty sure LP won't be getting any cheaper Of course, only time will tell.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Me vs. Propane Guy and a new fandangled water heater

Okay, but did you read the FAQ's at their website?
That energy savings falls away as the air temperature goes down.
If your heater is outside in the unheated garage, at 45 degrees it switches to heating with elements and turns off the heat pump.
If it is inside your heated space, the heat pump pulls heat from the air forcing your furnace to replace the heat that has been concentrated into your water.
If your running a furnace.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Me vs. Propane Guy and a new fandangled water heater

Yup, I read all that. The water heater is in my basement which is a huge advantage for my setup. See, I heat with a wood burning furnace that is also in the basement. It's HOT down there roughly 8 months out of the year. The basement is coolest actually during the summer but I don't think it ever gets below 65.

Water heater in the garage, pretty sure that is a warm weather state thing eh Jeep?

Update: The "eHeat Mode" couldn't quite keep up so I moved it to "Hybrid Mode" which is the recommended mode anyway.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Me vs. Propane Guy and a new fandangled water heater

In your setup, it sounds like you will get the best benefit out of it.
But if you have to heat the house with fuel you pay for, then it wont be saving as much.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Me vs. Propane Guy and a new fandangled water heater

Yah, all the wood is free right on the property so all good there.

The cool air it blows off would be just about the same as what a dehumidifier blows, so not all that bad.

Cheers!