Hybrid Water Heater: Others experience & quote

[Tithis]

When we bought out house in 2020 it came with a 40 gallon .59 UEF propane water heater that was is orphaned, so I like for like replacement would involve the additional expense of a flue liner. It was installed back in 2010, so its going on 13 years now and due to be replaced.

Right now I'm sitting on two quotes to replace it with a 65 gallon Rheem Proterra hybrid water heater. The old water heater's location really limited its size as it was stuck in a tiny pit with the furnace, so no without the need to be close the chimney we're having the new one installed in the rear of the house near the kitchen, so there will be some re-plumbing done to facilitate this. Additionally we're having a thermostatic mixing valve added in, both for the whole house scald protection with our daughter being young, and to let us artificially boost our capacity by jacking up the tank temperature if needed.

Both quotes are within the same ballpark as each other, $5,300 and $5,175 before Mass Saves $750 rebate and 30% tax credit. So ultimately looking at around $3,100 for the install.

Curious what other peoples experiences are with these things in the northeast. Both my wife and I do like long showers and I'm hoping that the 65 gallons + setting the tank to 140f or 150f + mixing valve will help prevent us from screwing the other out of a hot shower. Has is saved you much vs propane or oil?

 

[brenndatomu]

Our 50 gallon HPWH is saving us almost $20/mo over the electric heater removed about 3 years ago...plus takes care of most of the basement dehumidification too.
I got a great deal on it and DIY installed, so by the time the 10 year warranty expires, it will have paid for itself, and depending how much the prices have gone up, it very well may have paid for the replacement unit too.

 

[woodgeek]

I've had a 80 gallon HPWH for 10 years now. Replaced a control board about 4 years in after a power surge, otherwise no problems.

My teens can shower for 60+ minutes before they run out of HW. This is a feature, not a bug.

I run mine at 120°F year round. I was never a fan of mixing valves, bc they always create big cold blasts when other users turn on the HW. So I don't have one. Do the math on your showerhead, and see if you need the mixer. The higher operating temp will cost you on eff and unit life IMO.

HP recovery on mine in a cold garage is 4-6 hours, but that is seldom a problem since 2-4 adults can easily shower without running out of water.

 

[3fordasho]

I have a 50 gallon installed in 2015. It's always run in heat pump only mode and we've never run out of hot water but it's just the two of us.
I'm not sure what the experience would be with a couple of teenagers added into the mix.

I'm about to replace it with a wifi enabled version so I can match demand to the output of my solar system. Nothing wrong with the 2015 model, that will get re-installed for my shop sink and other hot water use in the shop.

In the summer the dehumidification is a plus and in the winter the cooling effect in the basement is really not that big a deal. The fan does make some noise so you don't want it right next to a bedroom.

The one I just bought is $1649 at Menards, 11% rebate from menards and then a 30% federal tax credit on the unit and installation - makes it a no brainer.

 

[Tithis]

I run mine at 120°F year round. I was never a fan of mixing valves, bc they always create big cold blasts when other users turn on the HW. So I don't have one. Do the math on your showerhead, and see if you need the mixer. The higher operating temp will cost you on eff and unit life IMO.

HP recovery on mine in a cold garage is 4-6 hours, but that is seldom a problem since 2-4 adults can easily shower without running out of water.

From what I've been reading they generally only cause that issue in older shower fixtures that don't have a pressure balancing valve. With one of those the water pressure should just drop, but the hot + cold ratio should remain constant. I have no idea if we'll actually use the mixing valve to run the tank hotter than 120f. I figured we'll start there and raise it if/when we run into issues with the hot water running out when we want it.

The proterra does have the wifi connectivity that allows you the schedule the heating mode and temperature. So I would have the option of setting it lower during the week when my wife and I are unlikely to take a shower back to back because our work schedules are pretty different. Then on the weekend when we are more likely to take back to back showers I can have it run hotter for a bit of extra capacity. Ditto if my sister in law and her boytoy are staying a few nights.

 

[RockyMtnGriz]

I was never a fan of mixing valves, bc they always create big cold blasts when other users turn on the HW.

Just FWIW, I have a mixing valve in my system, because a previous wood DHW setup could produce water up to 180 deg, so I had to have it. My current setup can't do that, but I've retained the mixing valve because I have never experienced the cold blast problem, and actually appreciate the constant temperature it provides. So, a lot might depend on the particular valve.

 

[myusername]

We've only had our HPWH for a short while so I can't speak to longevity. However, it is doing the job effectively, with very low energy usage even when the space it is in if in the mid 40s. I bought a steibel-eltron 300E, 80 gallon. It doesn't have any of the smart/connected features but they thought enough about making it last to include an electric anode instead of a sacrificial anode. The recovery time is slow but adequate even for our family of 4 that likes long showers. I flipped the switch to be in HP-only mode so and never use the electric boost element as electricity is crazy expensive here in NH.
The unit is huge but, where we put it, space is not at a premium. The cost-delta from 50 to 80 gallon was not huge and, given the slow recovery time and excellent insulation, I would go with the larger unit even if we had much lower usage.
Assuming the unit turns out to be reliable over the long haul, I'd buy this again.
You can find the 300E for ~$2600 but install costs will vary based on complexity. Our was a more complex install as it was not replacing an existing water heater pushing the total, installed cost over $5k. The federal 30% and state $750 should all apply for us.

For reference, we use 7kWh/day with the HPWH. And, we probably go through a full tank of water each day based on the metrics it shows on the panel (estimated gallons of 104F water from the 150F 80 gallon tank). The tank, when full and at 150F, claims to be able to deliver 150 gallons of 104F water. Recovery has been about 15 gallons (of the rated 104F) per hour. I'm hoping the recovery time will improve as the temperature in the space it is drawing from rises in the spring/summer.

I was really hoping the Nyle E8 but it hasn't become available and has now disappeared from the Nyle website.