EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Product Reviews
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-20-13, 01:33 PM   #1
hikerjohnson
Submarine Renovator
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Southern Maine
Posts: 35
Thanks: 4
Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Default Review: Rheem HP50RH Water Heater

I decided to take advantage of a lovely combination of events and get myself a brand-new heat pump water heater!

First, Home Depot was having a sale, and marked down the 50-gallon Rheem HP50Rh to $1200 from $1500.

Second, they sent me a 10% off coupon.

Third, Maine offers a $500 cash rebate for heat pump water heaters.

Fourth, the Feds give back another 10% ($120) in tax credit.

Fifth and final, Home Depot offered free 18-month financing!

So, for around $460 when all is said and done, I have a new, shiny toy! I figure that amount of cash will be recouped over the life of the heater. Also, I get a perfectly good 50-gallon electric water heater to use for some unspecified purpose in the future... (solar??)

Now, it turns out that this model is being discontinued in favor of a higher COP model that will be coming out sometime soon, so that tempers the usefulness of this report.

Installation was straightforward, with one pointed difference from a normal water heater: the cold water inlet is down onthe bottom, and the hot water outlet it about 3/4 of the way up on the side. This thing, by the way, is almost 7 feet tall (Heavy, too!). It looks a bit like a Dalek sans arms and eyestalk.





You can see the temporary nature of the install, the control panel is around the backside right now, and the condensate line runs down to a small condensate pump on the floor that also serves my dehumidifier, at the foot of the water heater.

It has been installed for about two weeks now, and just looking at the daily energy usage reports from the power company, I can see that power consumption is down noticeably, but I will have to wait until month's end to see what my month-on-month numbers are for electric usage.

The experience has been very positive so far. It has a stated COP of 2.0, though I have no hard numbers to back that up. I'd like to know, but I'm still thinking about how I can datalog to do it.

The heat pump, when operating, blows a fair bit of cold air into the basement, and sounds like an old dehumidifier, with a noticeable noise through the whole basement. In the living spaces, you can hear it in the kitchen, but it sounds like the refrigerator is running, nothing more. It's not audible anywhere else in the house.

It takes a chunk of the dehumidification load off my basement dehumidifier, which cycles noticeably less since I installed the water heater. When operating, you can see a steady trickle of water streaming down the drain tube and into the condensate pump.

All in all, I am very happy with it!

If anyone has specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

Future plans for this include installing an electric meter so that I can totalize energy consumption for hot water. Also, I will be moving it to another spot in the basement, as all my copper lines are rotted, and will be replaced with PEX this winter.


Last edited by hikerjohnson; 08-23-13 at 07:26 AM.. Reason: noting temporary installation, added photos
hikerjohnson is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to hikerjohnson For This Useful Post:
Daox (08-20-13)
Old 08-23-13, 03:18 PM   #2
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Wow thats a steal at that price. Nice find.

Thanks for the review!
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-23-13, 07:54 PM   #3
NiHaoMike
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
NiHaoMike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,154
Thanks: 14
Thanked 257 Times in 241 Posts
Default

I'm surprised it only has a COP of 2, which is 6.8 EER. A cheap window A/C has 9.7 EER or more. (2 is not bad for a solid state unit, which that one is not.)
__________________
To my surprise, shortly after Naomi Wu gave me a bit of fame for making good use of solar power, Allie Moore got really jealous of her...
NiHaoMike is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-23-13, 08:44 PM   #4
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Perhaps the COP of 2 is due to the higher temp of the water?
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-23-13, 09:45 PM   #5
hikerjohnson
Submarine Renovator
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Southern Maine
Posts: 35
Thanks: 4
Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Default

That would be my guess as well with regard to the low COP. In a few weeks I will be re-wiring the electric to the water heater, I am going to route it through a refurbished electric meter, so that I will be able to know for certain what my energy consumption is. I am also looking for a cheap water meter to plumb into the water line; then I would know quantitatively what my energy input was per gallon of water out.

Anyone know of a source for cheap water meters?

I just ordered 3 electric meters from Hialeah Meter Company, they were about 30 dollars each for an EZ-Read meter and meter socket, shipped. Seems like the most economical way to submeter, though it does require me to physically go and record the meters. For the price, I can deal with that.
hikerjohnson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-23-13, 10:34 PM   #6
Ryland
Master EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Western Wisconsin.
Posts: 913
Thanks: 127
Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts
Default

Have you ever put a watt hour meter on your dehumidifier? I'd like to know how much it's saving you in that area, my dehumidifier is one of the largest electrical loads in the house, costing $10 or more per month and a water heater like this should take care of most of the dehumidification.
Ryland is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-24-13, 01:19 AM   #7
jeff5may
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA
Posts: 2,428
Thanks: 431
Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts
Send a message via Yahoo to jeff5may
Default

They should call that unit the lighthouse.
jeff5may is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-24-13, 06:38 AM   #8
hikerjohnson
Submarine Renovator
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Southern Maine
Posts: 35
Thanks: 4
Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Default

Funny you should ask, Ryland. I am in process of cataloging electrical loads in my house this weekend; I'll update with that value when I have it.

Unfortunately, my basement is very damp in the spring and early summer, so the dehumidifier is a necessary evil. I am very curious to find out what fraction of the dehumidification load the heater will take, but I suspect it will be small, due mostly to the fact that we are a 2-person household, and just don't consume enough hot water daily to make the heater run all that much.

Last edited by hikerjohnson; 08-24-13 at 06:39 AM.. Reason: Typo.
hikerjohnson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-13, 10:55 AM   #9
blahname
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 10
Thanks: 0
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default

Do you mind me asking a dumb question about that water heater - the heat pump is directly on top of the tank?

Wonder if it might be possible to separate the two without too much piping hassle, or if I would need to maybe circulate outside air past the unit.

I've been looking for ways to heat hot water to circulate under my floors, but haven't found anything fantastic so I'm still hauling wood every year to the woodstove.
blahname is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-13, 08:11 PM   #10
NiHaoMike
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
NiHaoMike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,154
Thanks: 14
Thanked 257 Times in 241 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by blahname View Post
Do you mind me asking a dumb question about that water heater - the heat pump is directly on top of the tank?

Wonder if it might be possible to separate the two without too much piping hassle, or if I would need to maybe circulate outside air past the unit.

I've been looking for ways to heat hot water to circulate under my floors, but haven't found anything fantastic so I'm still hauling wood every year to the woodstove.
The condenser is probably going to be copper tubing bonded to the outside of the inner tank, which you cannot easily remove. You might as well just modify a window A/C.
__________________
To my surprise, shortly after Naomi Wu gave me a bit of fame for making good use of solar power, Allie Moore got really jealous of her...
NiHaoMike is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:12 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design