GeoSpring electric hot water tank
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It runs a few times a day to maintain, and as needed when the faucet is on. I burn through a full 1/2 tank (175 gallons) from may - October. for strictly hot water. it's ridiculous.
I' just hit 3 years with my Geospring and no complaints. I posted the following 2 years ago in the DIY forum, but I'll paste it here in case it helps anyone.
A few updates since then... I've used the Vacation Mode several times, which is a nice feature. No issues with hot water when I come back from vaca. Also, I've only gotten the "clean filter" alarm once in 3 years... so very little maintenance. I stopped putting it in Hybrid Mode in the winter because I read that if it's in Eco mode (pump only) and it can't maintain the temp, it just kicks on the electricity anyway, so I wonder if there's much of a cost difference (???).
Anyway, like I said... no complaints what-so-ever.
I just stumbled upon this topic, and figured I'd chime in with my experience since I've had the Geospring for about a year now. I originally had an oil-fed hot water heater, which sprung a leak last year. After researching, I decided to replace it with the Geospring... less dependency on oil and all that jazz. My unit is in an unheated, unfinished, humid basement. The instillation went great... only took 2 or 3 hours. If anyone in central mass wants an experienced plumber, let me know... my guy was great and he did his research before he came to inspect my old setup. It was up and running mid-August 2010, and I had it set to Pump-only mode. My wife didn't notice any differences... so no complaintsAround November, I did start to notice a difference in water temperature. My wife showers first in the morning, and then me. The water was noticeably colder (but not cold... more luke warm). This is because of my low temp basement that houses the unit. To combat this, I raised the set temperature and put it in Hybrid mode throughout the winter... water was much better. When we have company over, I put it in high demand mode, just because I don't want my guests to notice anything. In may, I went back to pump-only mode. As for cost, since I didn't have a standard electric hot water heater before, it's hard to compare. But in the past year, I'm noticing a $50 dollar difference each month. But again, the flip side is I don't have to order oil every year, so you can do the math there
A few updates since then... I've used the Vacation Mode several times, which is a nice feature. No issues with hot water when I come back from vaca. Also, I've only gotten the "clean filter" alarm once in 3 years... so very little maintenance. I stopped putting it in Hybrid Mode in the winter because I read that if it's in Eco mode (pump only) and it can't maintain the temp, it just kicks on the electricity anyway, so I wonder if there's much of a cost difference (???).
Anyway, like I said... no complaints what-so-ever.
Great new's abrucerd!!, good to hear yours has been good as I've read so many problems with the heat pump part and error codes, mine says a march 2013 build date, I Installed mine sunday, I have not used yet a condensate pump yet as i'm just draining in a bucket on the side, so far 1" water a day in a 5 gallon bucket, I used sharkbites to install as I dont want to spend $200 for a plumber, But might as I really dont trust Bites in the long haul
We bought the GE GeoSpring two years ago and I tried to enough research on the product ahead of time. Of course, MassSave introduced a $1000 credit for the same unit the next year. Another sign that early adopters of cleaner, greener energy often pay the price. But I digress.
The first year, we were able to run the unit exclusively on heat pump mode, which is the most efficient. That was a warmer winter. The second year (last year) it would sound an alarm indicating that the ambient air temp was too low, which was about 50 or 52 degrees. The manual says it's good to 45 degrees, but I was told by the GE tech that this is approximate. I got the codes to reset the unit and it's worked fine, but I had to monitor the basement temp for the remainder of the winter season. The dehumidifying function is a definite bonus. And I use the condensate to water houseplants.
Efficiency is determined by both incoming water temp and ambient air. The warmer the incoming water and the ambient air, the more efficient the heat pump becomes. I wonder if you could set your oil boiler or pellet boiler to heat the water to a certain temp then have it enter the unit.
The different modes basically are designed to kick in the thermal resistance rods once a certain amount of heated water is consumed. Heat pump mode won't use any electric resistance; hybrid, high demand differ only by the amount of heated water contained in the unit. And then there's 100% electric resistance, which sucks juice big time.
The first year, we were able to run the unit exclusively on heat pump mode, which is the most efficient. That was a warmer winter. The second year (last year) it would sound an alarm indicating that the ambient air temp was too low, which was about 50 or 52 degrees. The manual says it's good to 45 degrees, but I was told by the GE tech that this is approximate. I got the codes to reset the unit and it's worked fine, but I had to monitor the basement temp for the remainder of the winter season. The dehumidifying function is a definite bonus. And I use the condensate to water houseplants.
Efficiency is determined by both incoming water temp and ambient air. The warmer the incoming water and the ambient air, the more efficient the heat pump becomes. I wonder if you could set your oil boiler or pellet boiler to heat the water to a certain temp then have it enter the unit.
The different modes basically are designed to kick in the thermal resistance rods once a certain amount of heated water is consumed. Heat pump mode won't use any electric resistance; hybrid, high demand differ only by the amount of heated water contained in the unit. And then there's 100% electric resistance, which sucks juice big time.
Would you mind posting what you are charged per KWH?
I know the oil savings offset the increase. 50 increase a month is a crap ton where I live. I already have electric water heater so don't know if it's worth it for me.
geez theres a good chance in Tennesee ( TVA at least ) you could heat with electric cheaper then wood pellets... Not quite but its probably not that far off specially if you dont have a good pellet source.. Most the northeast in somewhere in the range of .14 - .20c per kw/hr
6.89 cent's a kwh here, you will save alot of $$ if you already have a energy hog electric hot water heater, my basement does get down to 45ish in the winter, so I will switch it over to Hybrid mode by Nov.
WKB, why would you have to add a code to reset it?, why couldn't you just switch over to electric mode?
WKB, why would you have to add a code to reset it?, why couldn't you just switch over to electric mode?
I think if you took your final total and divided by number of kw used it would be much higher. Usually there is a delivery fee as well that is charged per kw as well.
Its amazing how relatively inexpensive just a straight electric water heater is. We pay about $35 - $40 a month with 2 adults and 2 small children with a 80 gallon straight electric tank. We are at 13.3 c kw/hr thats final bill total divided by kw used. Ive thought about getting one of these systems but we just had a geothermal system installed which will make a lot of the hot water in the winter.
So your saying your very expensive 13 cents is including delivery fee's?, 4 yr's ago we were at 12 cents
Most of Maine is 13c to 14c (supply plus delivery). Its a bit cheaper then the rest of NE.
Does anyone have any idea how effective these are at dehumidifying a room? My basement dehumidifier was part of the recall, so I need a new dehumidifier. However, my propane water heater is also 16 years old, and I'm just waiting for that to die.
I'm tossing around the idea of switching to a heat pump water heater. The downfall is that I'll have to have a wire ran, which isn't going to be cheap, and I think my propane supplier is going to start charging me rent on the tank if my propane consumption falls that far down, and the two of those could really negate any savings the heat pump gets me. I'm already under the amount on my contract, and going to electric water heating is going to put my propane consumption down to almost zero. Still need it for backup heat though...
I'm tossing around the idea of switching to a heat pump water heater. The downfall is that I'll have to have a wire ran, which isn't going to be cheap, and I think my propane supplier is going to start charging me rent on the tank if my propane consumption falls that far down, and the two of those could really negate any savings the heat pump gets me. I'm already under the amount on my contract, and going to electric water heating is going to put my propane consumption down to almost zero. Still need it for backup heat though...
ChadD
Burning Hunk
I turned off my dehumidifier after I installed mine and my 850 sq ft basement has been at about 50% humidity since.
I've been running my GE Geospring for a little over a month. I keep it in heat pump only mode, and have plenty of hot water for a family of 4. I shut down my dehumidifier when it was installed and have been able to maintain a reasonable humidity level. However, I also installed a ductlees mini-split system at the same time with dry mode as part of my basement finishing project. So I think it will depend on your individual moisture situation as to whether the Geospring will be adequate on it's own or not. Also keep in mind that opposite of the dehumidifier, the heat pump will cool the air around it.
And I have had no increase in electricity usage since I also shut down my dehumidifier and boiler at the time of install.
With a meter reading coming oct 2nd looking at my meter i've only used 600kwh so far, thats alot less than the 1900kwh i used in july because of non stop a/c's for a month, i just mailed in my rebate today i'm very pleased so far with this heater, our hot water is alot hotter than the old heater which was only 5 yrs old and my dishes come cleaner in the dishwasher also, best $199 after rebates I've ever spent
, better than that $120 i blew last night eating at Cheesecake Factory....was not impressed
, better than that $120 i blew last night eating at Cheesecake Factory....was not impressed
Dang it, I just replaced my water heater. Guess I should of read this before! 
Something that pays for itself in a just few seasons is an excellent RTOI.
Something that pays for itself in a just few seasons is an excellent RTOI.
Mine didn't totally remove the need for the dehumidifier, but it doesn't run as much as it used to. I keep it set at 55%, and most times the readout on the display reads 50%.
I thought dehumidifiers also cool the room. The one I have in my basement definitely blows out cool air when it's running. I have a 120 gallon saltwater aquarium in the basement, so I'll always have to run that in the winter. My GeoSpring water heater is in the garage, so I don't think it helps to dehumidify the basement.
heat seeker
Minister of Fire
Most dehumidifiers also blow warm air out, same as an air conditioner blows hot air outside. The difference is that the dehumidifier blows the warm air into the room it's in. The net effect is zero warming or cooling - except for the heat generated by the motors. So, there is a net gain in heat in the room.
LuvMyPellets
Burning Hunk
I bought the GeoSpring the first year it came out. It is the best investment I have made for the house energy wise other than the pellet stove. I never heated water with Electric. It was always the boiler and when the pellet stove went in we were running the boiler to get hot water. My boiler is incredibly efficient and I had a 40gal separate stainless hot water storage tank yet it still was using a crap load of oil. When I shut all this off and turned on the Geo the electric bill went up $7 a month. There is only 2 of us. GE is fantastic. My unit failed and was out of warranty. They fixed it for nothing. It seems they were made in China and they used cheap material for the condenser. The repairman informed me they turned out so successful they now have an entire GE division up and running over here and Mexico that is using only US made parts. On the plus side my basement is way cooler in the summer and much less humid.
That's the scary part. I've read a ton of reviews and they pretty much start the same "I had to have it repaired but now it works great." Sounds like these things are designed to have a breakdown.
The old units had problems with chinese made heat pumps. Current models are made in USA and have been reliable.
what rebates did you get? i'm in ct as well and can only find federal ones...With a meter reading coming oct 2nd looking at my meter i've only used 600kwh so far, thats alot less than the 1900kwh i used in july because of non stop a/c's for a month, i just mailed in my rebate today i'm very pleased so far with this heater, our hot water is alot hotter than the old heater which was only 5 yrs old and my dishes come cleaner in the dishwasher also, best $199 after rebates I've ever spent
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