The most problematic part of our electrification journey was installation of the heat pump water heater. We had anticipated it would require a major and expensive remodeling of our kitchen.
Our existing water heater was installed in 2010 after the previous one failed, flooding the kitchen. At the time I noticed the plumber had to struggle to get the 30-gallon Bradford White gas-fired unit into the cupboard-like space set aside for the water heater. He barely got the earthquake straps and the drip pan installed to meet local building codes.
To replace the gas water heater with a much bigger heat pump water heater would require tearing out a false wall in the kitchen. We’d also need to run a 240-volt circuit to the unit.
While interviewing contractors for the heat pump HVAC system, we were standing in the garage when one of us—I don’t remember who–asked why not put the water heater in the garage. We had hot and cold water lines to the garage and we could make space easy enough by moving the washer and dryer a few feet.
This wasn’t a slam dunk. We’d need to run a second 240-volt circuit to the garage. (There was one already for the electric dryer.) There was a buried 1-inch conduit for the garage we could use—if there was room in it for another circuit. And the garage was some distance from the house so it would take time for the hot water to reach fixtures in the house and those lines were not insulated. But it seemed doable and it would eliminate the need to remodel the kitchen.
Running the new circuit took some effort. The electrician first pulled all the existing wire out then pulled the old wire and the new circuit back through the conduit at one time. This wasn’t as simple as it sounds, requiring a lot of muscle. The electrician was working alone so I was drafted to “feed” the bundled cables into the conduit. I haven’t done this kind of work in 40 years and it reminded me why I didn’t become an electrician. We got it done but we were both spent when it was over.
AeroTherm
There are several brands of heat pump water heaters on the market. All the big box stores have them, at least here in California. Home Depot sells Rheem, Lowe’s sells AO Smith water heaters. Some are made in Mexico, others in the southern US.
At one time we were planning to use a $700 Golden State Rebate to subsidize the installation of the heat pump water heater. The program’s requirements seemed onerous at the time. Only much later did I realize that this was a separate program from California’s “Energy Smart Homes” that we were participating in. The latter doesn’t allow double dipping or using both programs at the same time. If we’d claimed the rebate, it would reduce the subsidy from Energy Smart Homes. Oy Vey!
It was about this time that I came across Bradford White and their AeroTherm heat pump water heater. Bradford White isn’t sold at big box stores. They cater to professional plumbers. That’s why we had a Bradford White gas water heater. That’s what our plumber used 14 years ago.
The AeroTherm model was relatively new and our installation would be one of the first in Bakersfield. AeroTherm is made in Middleville, Michigan, a small town southeast of Grand Rapids. The plant is a union shop where UAW Local 1002 represents about 1,500 workers.
As a former member of the UAW, I buy union when I can, so I opted for AeroTherm over the big box brands.[1] When I told our plumber, GameTime Plumbing, what we wanted, he concurred. He only uses Bradford White.
GameTime arrived in matching uniforms, installed the water heater in the garage in a professional manner, and then walked me through the settings.
Impressions
The water heater was the second largest user of fossil gas in our house. I don’t know how much the heat pump water heater will increase our electricity consumption. The Energy Guide Label (the big yellow sticker) shows our water heater to be one of the most efficient of those tested. The label says that a normal household with this particular water heater will consume about 1,000 kWh per year. At our cost of electricity, running the heat pump water heater could cost us ~$400 per year. I am monitoring both our electricity and water consumption daily, but it’s too early to tell anything.
The heat pump water heater is noisier than the gas heater because of its compressor and blower. It also needs more space than a gas water heater for the air intake and exhaust from the heat pump. But the heat pump doesn’t require a flue vent to exhaust gases outside the house. It does require a condenser drain. In our case, GameTime ran the condenser line through the garage wall.
Cost
Nothing about this electrification project has been cheap. The water heater was the next most expensive appliance after the HVAC system. We paid $6,500 for the water heater and installation. This wasn’t the low bid. We could have shaved another $1,500 off the installation by taking the low bid.
We also paid $1,000 to run a new 240-volt circuit to the garage.
The average cost of a heat pump water heater installation in California is ~$6,700. So our installation was well within the median cost, excluding the cost of the new circuit to the garage.
The water heater has been working without issue. It has a “hybrid” mode that uses an electric resistance element to heat the water during high demand. That would be useful when we have guests in the house. For normal operation we’ve set the mode to “heat pump only” to maximize efficiency.
Joe Wachunas has written a series of articles on heat pump water heaters at Cleantechnica that I found helpful during this project.
- The Workhorse of the Heat Pump Water Heater World — Bradford White’s Aerotherm
- Soaring Sales for Heat Pump Water Heaters in 2023. Let the Party Begin!
- Touring Bradford White’s Heat Pump Water Heater Factory Was a Dream Come True For This Efficiency Nerd
More in the Electrification series.
- Gas is Gone: PG&E Pulled the Meter
- Steps to Electrification: Dumping Fossil Fuels
- Electrification: Tracking Down a Mystery Outlet
- Electrification: Induction Stove
- Natural Gas Is Linked With Cancer — Not Wind Power
[1] While I did work for GM once, I wasn’t a member of the union then. I became a member of a UAW local when I joined the National Writers Union. They later split from the UAW.
