Let’s set the scene; It’s late—probably too late for most folks—but the day had been longer than a dimly lit downtown alley. You tossed back a cold one, the kind that burns going down but keeps you honest. The only thing on your mind now was steam—plenty of it—and a hot shower to wash off the city’s grime.
But here’s the rub: can that clunky old water heater of yours still cut it? Or is it time to wise up and go for something newer, slicker… smarter?
All 1930s detective noir styling aside, water heating is typically a home’s second-largest energy user after space heating and cooling, accounting for nearly 20 percent of energy consumption in the average household. It is due to this high energy consumption that water heaters are front and center in the future of utility programs offerings as a major energy efficiency change agent.
Most homeowners who have heat pumps use them to heat and cool their homes. But a heat pump also can be used to heat water, either as a stand-alone water heating system or as a combination water heating and space conditioning system.
Heat pump water heaters use electricity to move heat from one place to another instead of generating heat directly. Therefore, they can be two to three times more energy efficient than conventional electric resistance water heaters. To move the heat, heat pumps work like a refrigerator in reverse.
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. 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. You can also retrofit a heat pump to work with an existing conventional storage water heater.
CMC fully expects to see heat pump water heaters make an expanded push into the programs we service over the next five to ten years. By switching to a heat pump water heater, the average home can expect approximately $200-$550 in annual savings, depending on their current water heating equipment.
As for our story, the bed’s calling, a soft, familiar friend waiting for you at the end of the long day. You kill the lights, stare at the ceiling and let the silence settle in. Tomorrow’s waiting on the other side of the night, same as always, but you’ll be more ready to handle it with an energy-efficient heat pump water heater.