Green Hot Water to Save Yourself Some Green

I recently replaced the old water heater in my house. The old heater was, unfortunately, electric which is far less efficient, more expensive, and carbon intensive to run then a gas water heater. But, as retrofitting the house to accommodate a gas water heater was prohibitively expensive, electric it must stay.  I discovered an interesting new technology however, which is the only Energystar rated electric water heater, the electric heat pump. The top electric heat pump is the GE GeoSpring which uses less then half the electricity of a normal electric water heater by using heat in the ambient air temperature to warm water through a heat pump exchange. The Energy Guide rating of a GE GeoSpring says that its annual cost of running is $199, which is a huge improvement over the top rated standard GE electric water heater of $501 a year.

I also unfortunately discovered that the GeoSpring is not for everyone - it is just slightly larger then a standard water heater (which in my case made it impossible to fit underneath the old water hookups coming out of the wall) and since it uses surrounding air it requires at least 5 inches of open space on all sides of the heater and a well ventilated or open room to work efficiently. The heat pump works best when ambient air is warmer, so it will not be as efficient in cold regions, and it actually puts out cold air so you probably wouldn't want it competing with your heating system in a cold climate anyway. This however is perfect for typically warmer climates like California or the Southwest. The space requirements both for the size of the heater and the air flow means it would most easily replace systems that are already installed in the garage or other large space, and all of the hook ups are the same as a standard electric heater. Don't worry about 'energy efficient' meaning poor performance either - the heat pump actually heats water faster, more consistently, and more of it then a standard.

The biggest drawback most people see however, is the price tag. Currently the GeoSpring sells for $1400 to $1600. Up until the end of this year federal stimulus money will write off a third of that, and additional rebates are available through states and local utilities which could make the upfront cost competitive with a standard electric heater. All these rebates expire at the end of the year, however, and few people are willing to shell out $1500 when they could shell out $500 or less. A GeoSpring is still a good investment for any willing to do the math however.

If you use as much hot water as the Energy Guide estimates when they calculate average yearly cost of running a hot water heater, and large households use more, that means you would save $300 a year by switching to a heat pump. At that rate, the heat pump would make up the $1000 difference in just over 3 years, and its entire cost in 5. Add all this up over the lifetime of the pump and you can save thousands of dollars, about an extra $1500 after it has paid itself off if you only keep it for 10 years. The way todays stock market has been performing, I'd say a guarantee of at least doubling your money is a pretty good investment.

Learn more at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=heat_pump.pr_savings_benefits and http://www.geappliances.com/heat-pump-hot-water-heater/