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Hybrid heat pump water heater in a cold basement

R_Wotzak | Posted in Mechanicals on

Hey all,

I’ve got a Rheem 50-gallon hybrid electric water heater in an unconditioned basement in an old house in Western Connecticut.  I have been running it in the recommended “energy saver” mode since I installed it last spring,  But with this recent cold snap, the basement is getting down below 50°, and my family is complaining about recovery time and temperature during showers.  Also, in energy saver mode, it seems like the heat pump is trying hard to extract heat from the basement, which I’m not sure that it really can.

The manual recommends always keeping it in energy saver mode, but I’m wondering if during the coldest month or two of the year, it’s not a bad idea to just leave it in full electric. I realize I will likely use more electricity, but from a functionality standpoint, are these hybrid water heaters happy to run like a conventional electric heater when you put them in that mode? And am I potentially saving some wear and tear on the heat pump in electric mode, because it seems to run for a really long time when it gets cooler in the basement?

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Replies

  1. walta100 | | #1

    You can select one of the other operating modes but understand the heater will use up to 4 times as much electricity.

    Consider air sealing the basement from the outdoors and adding insulation to the basement walls to warm the basement.

    Walta

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