Hybrid water heater advice

[chiraldude]

I am considering updating my electric water heater to a Hybrid Electric.
I have done the research and I am a perfect candidate for a Hybrid.

The water heater would be located in a heated basement, where it would be near the wood furnace in winter and add nice cool dry air to the basement in the summer.

My question is about brands. I am really having a hard time deciding. I can get Rheem, GE, Whirlpool, and Kenmore at local retailers but are there others out there I should consider?

The GE hybrid has about 200 reviews on the Lowes site none of the others have much info. The GE is a screaming deal on sale for $999. With a $300 energy credit! There are a number of complaints about the GE though.
Rheem is rumored to be higher quality and I can get a comparable Rheem for $1200. Would the Rheem brand name be worth an extra $200?

 

[johnjh2o]

Those are big numbers even with the energy credit. You can get a standard tank heater for half the cost. To me it looks like the pay back is almost none existent. Just my opinion.

 

[chiraldude]

I have run the numbers and I spend about $100 per month to heat water with a standard electric tank. A hybrid is a no brainer because it gives you twice as much hot water per watt compared to a standard electric tank.

 

[johnjh2o]

In my area the cost to run an electric water heater for a month is between $25.00 and $ 30.00 a month. At that rate it would take 5 years to make up the difference in the cost of the two heaters. You would be far better off if you switched to gas.

 

[chiraldude]

Ah, yes, in Florida, a hybrid would be pointless because your cold water supply temperature is 70 degrees. In Michigan, my well water comes out at around 57 degrees.
I also have a family of 5 with 2 teenagers that love to spend time in the shower.

 

[phishfood]

Do you have a way to drain the condensate that a hybrid produces?

 

[chiraldude]

Yup, T it into the the furnace condensate line.

 

[phishfood]

We have installed a lot of them in apartment units over the last few years, all GE units. We haven't had a lot of problems with them, but then our warranty only goes for one year. We have had a few with problems right out of the box, but haven't had too much trouble getting warranty service. I don't like that I don't have the tools and knowledge to work on them myself, unlike a standard electric.

 

[chiraldude]

I'm curious. Why would you install an expensive hybrid in a rental unit? I see you are in Florida so maybe people like the fact that it puts out cool dehumidified air? As touched on previously, Florida electric rates are lower than the national average and the incoming water temperature is higher than most so the payback time is several years.

 

[phishfood]

A builder that we do a lot of work for builds all of the projects that a particular developer builds. The developer uses a lot of government financing and/or tax credits to build with, so they often need the energy efficiency that hybrid heaters give them to qualify for the various government programs.

 

[chiraldude]

I purchased the GE water heater and so far so good. Running it for 2 days on heat pump only mode for now to see how it works. One interesting thing is that I was in a hurry so just put a short piece of pipe on the condensate drain over a bucket. So far, not a drop of water out the pipe. I guess there isn't enough humidity in the winter.

An additional note: I have been without power for several days and running on a generator. The generator was not able to provide enough power to run my old electric water heater (4500 watts). In heat pump only mode, the new water heater uses about 800 watts so now I have hot water.

 

[phishfood]

What kind of climate do you live in? The units we are putting into operation this week are emitting a steady drip of condensation.

 

[chiraldude]

Ah, yes, I should have added my location to my profile. I am in Western Michigan.
You are in central Florida so you have humidity all year round.
In Michigan it is late Fall so the humidity is low. Of course this will change in the summer but I will have the drain pipe finished long before then. I am still surprised that I am not even getting
I must say that my situation is not typical in Michigan. Almost all basements I have seen in Michigan have much more moisture than mine.