This is not a separate heat pump add-on that you install on the water heater. The heat pump is actually integrated with the unit. Cost is around $1500.
Shane ----- Original Message ----- From: Dale Leavens To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 7:50 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] hybrid water heaters I don't know much about them, the little bit of research I have done has been on geothermal heat pumps. The heat recoverable is relatively low, about 110F so these are really pre-heaters. You can certainly save some money but the cost is very high and unless you are using the heat pump equipment for other things like heating or cooling the home so that the capital cost is expressed over more intensive and varied applications it doesn't seem to me to be very effective. The emersion heater is needed to raise the water temperature another 20 degrees all of the time and much more than that during heavy water use. As a pre-heater though warming the water entering the tank with heat generated from the air conditioning for example serves water heat savings as well as improving the efficiency of the air conditioning. The cost of a single purpose heat pump system must be relatively high, just think of a small room air conditioner. It is very similar technology. If I was Han Solo I'd probably pet my wookie ----- Original Message ----- From: Alan & Terrie Robbins To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 7:11 AM Subject: RE: [BlindHandyMan] hybrid water heaters And what do they cost relative to a gas or electric unit? Al -----Original Message----- From: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com [mailto:blindhandy...@yahoogroups.com]on Behalf Of Shane Hecker Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 11:54 PM To: blindhandy...@yahoogroups. com Subject: [BlindHandyMan] hybrid water heaters Has anyone seen the hybrid water heaters? If so, what do you think of them? If you have one, how do you like it. For those who don't know, the hybrid water heaters use a combination of a heat pump and electric elements to heat the water. This is supposed to result in significant savings, making it cheaper to run than a natural gas unit. Shane. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]