Water heaters
artisanfarms
| Posted in Energy Efficiency and Durability on
I’m looking at hot water heaters for my home and am considering an air source heat pump style water heater but am wondering why they all seem to have relatively large tanks? My household will be small – 1-2 people most of the time with occasional guests, and hot water use will be minimal compared to when I had 4 teenage boys in the house and yet the tanks on these water heaters are larger than what I had with six people in the house. Is the recovery rate glacial with the heat pump style water heater, or is something else driving the selection of a large tank?
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
What size did you have for 6 people and what was the fuel source? There are several 50 gal options, which I think is the de facto minimum size for a detached home. But yes, the recovery rate can be very slow unless you have it on a model that uses the electrical element. The heat pump on the Rheem unit is 4200BTU/hr, which is about 1/3 that of a 4.5kW electric heater. A gas heater will be 1/2 to 1/4 the recovery time of an electric heater.
Hey Andy.
You may find this article helpful in your search for the right water heater: Choosing an Efficient Water Heater