Keep an eye out on Craigslist, SHW panels pop on occasion for cheap. Good quality panels made with copper piping and metal absorber plates rarely wear out. As long as they hold pressure you should be set. On occasion they do need the glazing needs clean up.
5 Years Solar PV
- Thread starter jebatty
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Just realized my 80 gallon AO Smith HPWH is turning 8 years old in a few months.
I had the control board go bad after a big power surge, and they fedexed me a new one for free, which took 10 minutes to install.
Otherwise, ZERO maintenance and trouble. Two teens girls taking a LOT of long showers.
I had the control board go bad after a big power surge, and they fedexed me a new one for free, which took 10 minutes to install.
Otherwise, ZERO maintenance and trouble. Two teens girls taking a LOT of long showers.
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
My old AO Smith HPHW took a crap a month or so ago. It was 5 years old. They gave me a new one for free. The new ones supposedly have a 51db noise level. I'd be interested to know at what distance they are measuring it. It is a lot quieter than my old one though.
IMHO - if I were to buy a new one I'd look at the Richmond. According to the couple guys that have put them in, they say you can't even hear them run. The AO Smith is not near that quiet. You can buy the Richmond cheaper at Menards than the AO Smith too. I think you get more bells and whistles for the money with the Richmond too.
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The old unit I have is quite loud, mostly fan and air noise, not the compressor. I take the air filter out in the winter and it get quieter, and I figure gets a bit more COP from the higher CFM.
I can hear it in the finished space over the attached, tuck under garage where it lives. I joked with the wife that it was like the low thrum of the warp engines on the Enterprise. Not annoying really.
I can hear it in the finished space over the attached, tuck under garage where it lives. I joked with the wife that it was like the low thrum of the warp engines on the Enterprise. Not annoying really.
A new one for free is not bad. They had a 10 year (limited) warranty. What failed if you don't mind me asking?
I would love a new one .... with SCOPs of ~3.4 versus the 2.3 of our first gens.
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
Yep, our old one was like that. More fan noise than compressor. The new one is more compressor noise now instead of fan.
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
AO Smith HPHW Error Code
We've had our AO Smith 50 gallon HPHW for about three years now. It has run flawlessly since we've put it in until this past month or so. A few weeks ago the HPHW had an ECC error code on the display. I reset the breaker going to the HPHW and the compressor kicked back on and I thought...
www.hearth.com
Yep, the new one has a higher COP.
I'm currently installing about 9.5 kW of solar PV and I installed the hybrid inverter in a basement room shared with our 9-year-old, original blue-top Geospring HPWH last weekend. I like that the heat generated by the inverter will be harvested by our HPWH.
The Geospring just keeps going. I wash the air filter often and clean the condenser/evap coils every few years. Its definitely one of our better investments. I wouldn't hesitate to replace it with another HPWH should it fail and would look forward to the higher efficiency and quieter operation of the replacement unit.
One of the advantages of a HPWH that you rarely see mentioned is that its peak power requirement is much lower than a resistance unit if running in dedicated HP mode. In our case, it helps us better manage the loads that will be powered by our battery storage or generator during power outages or if we go off-grid entirely (something I'm considering after encountering some BS restrictions in Virginia's net metering program).
The Geospring just keeps going. I wash the air filter often and clean the condenser/evap coils every few years. Its definitely one of our better investments. I wouldn't hesitate to replace it with another HPWH should it fail and would look forward to the higher efficiency and quieter operation of the replacement unit.
One of the advantages of a HPWH that you rarely see mentioned is that its peak power requirement is much lower than a resistance unit if running in dedicated HP mode. In our case, it helps us better manage the loads that will be powered by our battery storage or generator during power outages or if we go off-grid entirely (something I'm considering after encountering some BS restrictions in Virginia's net metering program).
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Looks like Richmond is made by Rheem. Is this big box store or economy version of their Platinum unit or vice versa? Looks like the Richmond has 1/2" more insulation and wifi connectivity. I don't care about the wifi, but like the added insulation.Both the current Rheem and Richmond are rated at 49db.
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My 2nd Gen Geospring has been running for 6 years in heat pump only mode. Just basic maintenance like cleaning filters, coils, and anode rod replacement. I got lucky and the utilities in CT had like $900 instant rebates on them when I purchased it. I walked out of lowes paying like $200 for it so this thing probably paid for itself in the first year.
It seems like these things are finally catching on and most reports and reviews online show tjem to be pretty reliable now.
I don't think people really realize how cheap these things are to run. I monitored mine and it can usually recover in an hour running at 500 watts. At New Englands high electricity prices of .20 kwh it cost like 10 cent's to run it for a hour. If you are using an oil burner for hot water that would cost you that in probably minutes. I can run my geospring for like 26 hours compared to the cost a gallon of oil.
It seems like these things are finally catching on and most reports and reviews online show tjem to be pretty reliable now.
I don't think people really realize how cheap these things are to run. I monitored mine and it can usually recover in an hour running at 500 watts. At New Englands high electricity prices of .20 kwh it cost like 10 cent's to run it for a hour. If you are using an oil burner for hot water that would cost you that in probably minutes. I can run my geospring for like 26 hours compared to the cost a gallon of oil.
