Richmond® 50 Gallon Electric Water Heater with Hybrid Heat Pump any good?

[brenndatomu]

I didn't look at it real close because I am not interested in it, but I think there is something on this Richmond that has to be bought to make the whole cellphone communication/control thing work...back when I was reading reviews on this unit I remember people whining about having to buy an extra optional part that they felt they were mislead into believeing that it came with everything needed for the wifi to work...I dunno...having the touchscreen readout is good enough for me...

 

[mellow]

That touchscreen readout is nice, wish my AO smith had that. It took me about 5 hours and 3 trips to lowes for parts to swap out my WH to the hybrid. Its in a tight spot and had to redo all the plumbing and add the condensate lines which was a pia as it barely fit in the spot I had to put it in.

 

[brenndatomu]

I'm just looking forward to seeing how much of a dent this thing puts in our electric bill.
My guess is $15 per month less in the winter, and $5-10 per month more than that in the summer (due to decreased dehumidifier usage)
I have it set to run in "heat pump only" mode for now, just to see how well that works out for us...might try "hybrid" mode out at some point too...

 

[brenndatomu]

So I finally got around to measuring the power consumption on this beast tonight. Running in heat pump mode it was only using 312 watts!
I never thought I would be eager to see the next electric bill...

 

[Brian26]

So I finally got around to measuring the power consumption on this beast tonight. Running in heat pump mode it was only using 312 watts!
I never thought I would be eager to see the next electric bill...

Your measurement is off. I think you need to double it. They all draw around 500-650 watts.

 

[brenndatomu]

Your measurement is off. I think you need to double it. They all draw around 500-650 watts.

1.3A x 240 (ish) volts...

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I'm just looking forward to seeing how much of a dent this thing puts in our electric bill.

Our old WH used to cost about $35 a month to run (family of 4) . The HPWH closer to $10 $300 savings per year So after the first yr savings and the rebate its all money in the bank. I think im in my 4th yr with it.

 

[sloeffle]

Your measurement is off. I think you need to double it. They all draw around 500-650 watts.

I have mine on an Efergy and it draws around 300 watts when running.

 

[sloeffle]

@brenndatomu how much did your electric bill drop by ?

 

[brenndatomu]

The last bill was still a combination of the old and new heater...the next bill should be here any day...I will update when I get it.
I have a rough idea just from looking at the KWH on the meter, that it is going to come in around $20 month...but it is going to take a full year to get the whole picture since it may eliminate the need to run an additional dehumidifier...

 

[Brian26]

I have mine on an Efergy and it draws around 300 watts when running.

I still think that's off. Each line of the 240v circuit should be pulling 300 watts so its using 600 watts. I have the Efergy system as well with 5 sensors. Do you have CTs on both legs and it set to 240?

Almost all these hpwh use around 500-600 watts but the Richmond doesnt list the compresor wattage specs. Is looks like a rebadged Rheem? The Rheem compresor is listed at 4200 btu drawing around 500 watts.

 

[brenndatomu]

. Is looks like a rebadged Rheem?

Yes

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Almost all these hpwh use around 500-600 watts but the Richmond doesnt list the compresor wattage specs.

Correct my GE uses about 550 Watts in heat pump mode.

 

[Z33]

What make and model do you have ?

Rheem eco net.

 

[Z33]

Rheem eco net.

My solar app tells me mine pulls 660 watts when it runs in heat pump mode.

 

[sloeffle]

Do you have CTs on both legs and it set to 240?

Yep. My Efergy doesn't allow me to set the voltage. I see it in the manual of the current Classic model.

 

[mcdougy]

How do these prices compare?

 

[Kiotick4010]

I have two , in different houses. One three years old and the other two.

No problems, and even if they are in heated areas of the basement or house, getting rid of the dehumidifier is a major cost savings..

Our utility and stathad a great rebate program when I bought. One ended up costing me $50 after the rebates and the other was actually free.

I would buy another even at full price.

 

[brenndatomu]

@brenndatomu how much did your electric bill drop by ?

My bill came today, looks like I'm down 121 KWH from the same period last year...not that the two can be directly compared, but best I can do until I have a full 12 months to compare.
The billing cycle was 32 days, so that's 3.78 KWH per day...and I'm betting that not running the dehumifier as much this summer with make even more difference than this too...plus I'm hatching a plan that may even limit using the AC as much...we really don't run the AC that many days per year anyways.
Oh, and our total price is $0.117 (taxes and fees in) per KWH, so 121 KWH saved means $14.16 less per month...which means this machine will take a while to pay for itself...but 1 month worth of data is hardly conclusive, and as I said, I think the big money savings will come this summer.
After I have it long enough to establish a track record, I will try it in hybrid mode...it is in heat pump mode only now, which I assume will be the most cost effective way to run it...hybrid mode has been working fine though, save one night when my wife had a less than hot shower (and she likes it steamy hot!) after both the kids bathed (using too much water in the tub IMO!)
All in all so far, I am not disappointed with it.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

After I have it long enough to establish a track record, I will try it in hybrid mode...it is in heat pump mode only now, which I assume will be the most cost effective way to run it...hybrid mode has been working fine though, save one night when my wife had a less than hot shower (and she likes it steamy hot!) after both the kids bathed (using too much water in the tub IMO!)

I have mine turned all the way up to 140. If you have a tempering valve in your system you wont even notice. It increases the available hot water as it adds more cold to the usage to bring the water at tap back down a bit. I normally keep it in Heat pump mode but still need hybrid mode when company is here or sometimes on laundry day. Mine saves about $9 per person ,per month for a houshold of 4 .

 

[brenndatomu]

I have mine turned all the way up to 140. If you have a tempering valve in your system you wont even notice. It increases the available hot water as it adds more cold to the usage to bring the water at tap back down a bit. I normally keep it in Heat pump mode but still need hybrid mode when company is here or sometimes on laundry day. Mine saves about $9 per person ,per month for a houshold of 4 .

I get what you are saying...but I think you will have higher standby loses though too...plus I don't want to take a chance of one of the kids burning themselves since I don't have a tempering valve...

Got the second full months bill today...down 99 KWH from last month...and 198 KWH from the same time period last year...so that's $23.44/mo. less...heading in the right direction!

 

[brenndatomu]

Got another electric bill today...this one is down a whopping 171 KWh from the same period last year...that's worth $20.48...and we are still in heating season here...I think once cooling/ dehumidifing season starts it will drop even more...

 

[JRHAWK9]

Is electric hot water -that- much more than LP? We use around 100gal of LP a year for both our water heater and clothes drier (use between 125-150 gallons total a year for all LP appliances). At today's LP price of $1.20/gal that means it costs us a total of $10 a month to heat our water and dry our clothes.

 

[brenndatomu]

Is electric hot water -that- much more than LP? We use around 100gal of LP a year for both our water heater and clothes drier (use between 125-150 gallons total a year for all LP appliances). At today's LP price of $1.20/gal that means it costs us a total of $10 a month to heat our water and dry our clothes.

Well, I didn't think so, but apparently it is...we are also still using the electric dryer, running a smaller freezer, electric stove/oven, and 2 refridgerators, so with having only used a total of 565 KWh in 29 days, I'm saying those appliances are responsible for 80-90% of my bill...

 

[brenndatomu]

Oh, and can't forget the Kuuma blower motor and well pump too...