Water heater being installed as we speak... Goodbye oil!

[moey]

Should I switch over to a electric when I replace mine? I currently have a 16 year old propane WH. Ticking time bomb. It's gonna give up on Xmas day or something stupidly expensive like that. My WH is in a cold basement, so I'm pretty sure the heat pump water heater doesn't make much sense, but I'm still up in the air about replacing the propane unit or switching to electric? I'm paying about $0.13 Kwh for electric and around $2.00/gallon of propane.

$2.00 is your current rate if you needed propane today? If so propane is slightly more economical. Propane hot water heaters ( tank type ) have a .65 EF electric is about .92 EF.

Heres a spreadsheet to plug some numbers in:

www.eia.gov/neic/experts/heatcalc.xls

make sure you put in the correct EF for electric and propane. In your case propane is about 15% cheaper at that rate. I doubt your current system is at a .65 EF I suspect its much lower.

 

[Highbeam]

Here's a good one too.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/fuel_cost_comparison_calculator/

Shows the same results that the propane is currently slightly cheaper to run but there's more to it. The waste heat from an electric tank heater will enter the room where it warms the room and the home above. With LP that waste heat goes up the chimney.

Are your fuel costs all inclusive? The costs include all delivery and taxes. If by eliminating the LP tank you can eliminate LP completely then you save messing with that bill.

The price of LP is volatile and generally tracks heating oil and not natural gas. As such, it is going to go up over time.

I would install a marathon electric tank heater and be done with it. No worries about venting carbon monoxide, LP price fluctuations, running out of LP, etc.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Electric HW is very cheap .. My Electric bill barely budges when i switch over to Electric hot water in the summer when i shut my boiler down. I user a 30 Gal Electric water heater for 5 people household.

 

[moey]

Should I switch over to a electric when I replace mine? I currently have a 16 year old propane WH. Ticking time bomb. It's gonna give up on Xmas day or something stupidly expensive like that. My WH is in a cold basement, so I'm pretty sure the heat pump water heater doesn't make much sense, but I'm still up in the air about replacing the propane unit or switching to electric? I'm paying about $0.13 Kwh for electric and around $2.00/gallon of propane.

The GE GeoSpring hot water heater ( air source heat pump ) is $999 at lowes, if your state has a rebate many do you could get it for $299 ( + tax ) at lowes with a 10% off coupon more if you order it online getting cashback. Thats cheaper then some of the electric models. In the summer it would work quite well for a couple months it may just operate as pure electric if your basement is in fact that cold in the winter.

 

[semipro]

The GE GeoSpring hot water heater ( air source heat pump ) is $999 at lowes, if your state has a rebate many do you could get it for $299 ( + tax ) at lowes with a 10% off coupon more if you order it online getting cashback. Thats cheaper then some of the electric models. In the summer it would work quite well for a couple months it may just operate as pure electric if your basement is in fact that cold in the winter.

That 's a heck of a deal especially since the unit can operate purely in electrical resistance mode if needed (basically like a standard electric water heater).

 

[woodgeek]

The GE GeoSpring hot water heater ( air source heat pump ) is $999 at lowes, if your state has a rebate many do you could get it for $299 ( + tax ) at lowes with a 10% off coupon more if you order it online getting cashback. Thats cheaper then some of the electric models. In the summer it would work quite well for a couple months it may just operate as pure electric if your basement is in fact that cold in the winter.

I got $300 or 10% federal tax credit last year on a HPWH....don't know about this year...

 

[raybonz]

You wouldn't

Electric HW is very cheap .. My Electric bill barely budges when i switch over to Electric hot water in the summer when i shut my boiler down. I user a 30 Gal Electric water heater for 5 people household.

You wouldn't say your electric bill was cheap if you lived here lol..

Ray

 

[Seasoned Oak]

You wouldn't

You wouldn't say your electric bill was cheap if you lived here lol..

Ray

I pay about .12 a KW with all the fees and customer charge ect. But when i kick on the WH in the spring my bill just goes up a few bucks. Not a lot for 5 people. 3000 SF house 2 full sized Ref ,1 Deep freeze 5 computers ,2 TVs. Washer & Dryer going non stop. Avg bill is about $130

 

[mithesaint]

The GE GeoSpring hot water heater ( air source heat pump ) is $999 at lowes, if your state has a rebate many do you could get it for $299 ( + tax ) at lowes with a 10% off coupon more if you order it online getting cashback. Thats cheaper then some of the electric models. In the summer it would work quite well for a couple months it may just operate as pure electric if your basement is in fact that cold in the winter.

I don't have those rebates here. Best I can do is $300 off the regular price, which would take it down to $699. I think the 10% coupons are gone, although I can get another 5% off with my Lowes card. However, I can get a 50 gallon regular electric for $269, so it would take a loooong time for the heat pump to pay itself off, assuming the heat pump doesn't break at some point. I hate unnecessarily complex things.

I'm leaning towards an regular electric tank, mostly to be one more step removed from propane. Still have a propane furnace, but that sits mostly unused thanks to the pellet stove. Thanks for the advice.

 

[woodgeek]

I don't have those rebates here. Best I can do is $300 off the regular price, which would take it down to $699. I think the 10% coupons are gone, although I can get another 5% off with my Lowes card. However, I can get a 50 gallon regular electric for $269, so it would take a loooong time for the heat pump to pay itself off, assuming the heat pump doesn't break at some point. I hate unnecessarily complex things.

I'm leaning towards an regular electric tank, mostly to be one more step removed from propane. Still have a propane furnace, but that sits mostly unused thanks to the pellet stove. Thanks for the advice.

I'd figure the HPWH would save you at least 40% of your DHW bill, prob ~$200/yr for a family. Payback in 2.5 years is not so long, esp if there is a 10 yr warranty. And it is less complex than your refrigerator.

If you're a saintly bachelor, than rock on with the conventional WH.

 

[maple1]

If you use or are planning to use a dehumidifier, or A/C, you should consider in your evaluations that a HPWH also serves those functions as well (although limited, relatively speaking).