MassSave is offering a $1,000 rebate for customers who purchase and install a heat pump water heater as part of the Cool Smart program. A heat pump water heater is electric and can operate about 50% more efficiently than standard electric water heaters can. All of the eligible heat pump water heaters have a 10- or 12-year warranty on both parts and tanks.
Many homeowners are familiar with the heat pump as a piece of heating and cooling equipment, but similar technology can be used to provide hot water for a home. A heat pump water heater “moves” heat from one place to another to heat water stored in a tank, rather than applying heat directly to the water to raise the water temperature. By transferring heat to the stored water rather than trying to raise the temperature directly, the heat pump water heater becomes an extraordinarily efficient device.
The pump pulls heat from the surrounding air and transfers it to the water stored in the tank. Heat pump water heaters come in a number of different configurations. You can purchase a unit that features the heat pump, an integrated storage tank and a back-up resistance heater. Alternately, you can retrofit a conventional water storage tank to use a separate heat pump unit.
Heat pump water heaters don’t operate efficiently in a cold space, but they can work well if they’re situated next to a furnace or in a warm space in the house. Typically, the heat pump water heater will need to be located in a space that is normally in the 40°F to 90°F range. The heat pump water heater also needs to have a certain amount of open space around it to operate as designed. The heat pump water heater will exhaust cool air into the room. Alternately, the cool exhaust air can be vented to the outside of the house. If you’re looking for an all-season solution, you can install a combination unit that will provide heating, cooling and hot water year-round.
Heat pump water heaters cost more than conventional waters heater do, but in the right circumstances, homeowners save on operational costs and actually spend less over the life of the system than they would if they had gone with a conventional hot water storage system. With the MassSave rebate, you can decrease the cost of the heat pump water heater to about the cost of a conventional system. Unfortunately, these systems are not currently eligible for any energy efficiency tax credits.
For more information about the MassSave program, program rules, financing information or to determine whether heat pump water heater would work in your home, please give Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating a call at (617) 362-0377
. We’ll be happy to schedule a consultation.
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Categories:
DIY Blog, Water Heaters
