How does a "hybrid" Water Heater work?

[taztaz79]

ehhh this is nothing new.. we have had heatpumps for many years (at least 10-15 years)... The heatpump heats water for shower and wash and also heats the house... What is the new thing with this one? It only heats the water too!!

[WinterHaven]

How "efficient" is it going to be when the moving parts quit working and having to call a repairman. Another thousand dollars?

[malachy1847]

@WinterHaven How often have you had to replace your Refridgerator compressor... in our larder.. as this if that main part of same,...

[WinterHaven]

@malachy1847 Except it's a heat pump-not just a cooling unit.

[malachy1847]

@WinterHaven Well it wouldn't be much good if it was cooling the water....Just this time it's heat being moved from a warmer place to a cooler place [that's the similar heat coming off your condenser located externally at the back of your fridge...once again 'the Compressor' is the heart of this system, allied with the outher usual required items found within the loop... condenser, evaporator and associated sundries such as Expansion Valve, and controller / invertor...etc...

[WinterHaven]

@malachy1847 so that means you cannot compare it to a refrigerator. I have a heat pump air conditioner and it did have some service work done over the past four years. in fact I have someone come over every 6 months to service it and it's a pain in the ass..

[WinterHaven]

@WinterHaven "service" i mean by "maintaining" it.

[MrEnergyCzar]

@WinterHaven Expect the tank to leak a decade or so before the heat pump goes...after the tax credit a brand new on was only $1,100....

[WinterHaven]

@MrEnergyCzar I have a water heater over 15 years old and it's like brand new, but it's a conventional heating unit.

[124dsa]

So, either you have a nice,cool mechanical room in your home or a water heater in your livingroom? WTF?  Not practical. In Canada, it's cooling the air you pay to heat during the winter.

[malachy1847]

@124dsa Im sure one could find a place best suited to locate... same say for cooling in an area like a storage Larder... A cool place for vegs and outher items that favour low reliative humidity...the principle reason to buy same is it's serious coeficient of efficiency... it'sa not going to create Artic conditions in your house the thing anyhow shuts down when it's up to temp set point! ..... it seems to be a no brainer..

[MrEnergyCzar]

I own this and it works great...It helped make my solar powered home a net-zero energy home....using it in eheat mode uses only 500 watts per hour....

[taztaz79]

@MrEnergyCzar I have a heatpump that delivers warm water AND heats my house and it only uses 650 watts per hour when it is running.. Now we have autumn here and its still sufficiant to heat the house and deliver warm water. During nights we have around 0 degrees (C) and during day 7-10 .. . Inside we have 22-23 degrees....