The Rheem HP50RH Heat Pump Water Heater is coming on the market to become a member of the highest efficiency class of water heaters recognized by Energy Star. Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy which claims the average family could save around $300 per year by upgrading from a conventional electric water heater to an Energy Star Heat Pump Water Heater. Energy Star also says, “If everyone buying an electric water heater this year chose an Energy Star qualified heat pump model instead of a standard model, we would avoid 19.6 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s the equivalent of taking 1.6 million cars off the road.”
The Rheem HP50RH Heat Pump Water Heater joins the product line this fall when Rheem a company started in the 1920’s that has since grown into a leading global producer of water heaters, central warm air furnaces, air conditioners, swimming pool heaters and commercial boilers, is planning on it’s arrival in the supply system. The Rheem HP50RH Heat Pump Water Heater is Energy Star approved making it eligible for Appliance Stimulus Program Rebates, Weatherization Assistance Program Grants if you are eligible, various State and Utility Rebate Programs in about 50% of the states, and a Federal Income Tax Credit. The time is never better to consider getting rid of the old water heater and start saving money.
The Rheem HP50RH Heat Pump Water Heater features a heat pump mounted on top of the water heater that functions like a refrigerator in reverse. The heat pump takes warmth out of the ambient air surrounding the unit and pumps it into the water in your water heater much like a refrigerator takes warmth out of the refrigerator and pumps it into your home. The Rheem HP50RH Heat Pump Water Heater draws cold water from the bottom of the water heater circulates it through the heat pump heating it and then puts it back into the water heater at the top. The Rheem HP50RH has 3 operation modes, Energy Saver (heat pump), Normal (heat pump with element backup), and Electric Heat Only (two elements). This Energy Saver mode provides an industry leading 2.0 energy factor (EF) and a first hour delivery of 67 GPH which is comparable to a standard 50 gallon electric model. The heat pump will provide beneficial side effects also as it will assist in cooling the area where it is located and provide dehumidification as well.
The Rheem HP50RH Heat Pump Water Heater features include a 50 Gallon Model with a 10-Year Limited Warranty, 2-1/2″ Non-CFC foam insulation, resistored anode rod protection to extend tank life, a Rheemglas® lined tank, factory installed T&P valve, brass drain valve, side access connections, 3/4″ NPT water inlet, outlet and condensate drain connections, 21″ diameter which fits through access doors, replaces a standard electric water heater, stainless steel resistor elements, heat pump operating range 40° F to 120° F, built in freeze/overheat protection, and a top mounted washable air filter.
This fall as a near perfect scenario of Appliance Stimulus Package Rebates, Weatherization Assistance Program Grants, State and Utility Rebates, and the Income Tax Credit all come together making this the right time to replace the inefficient water heater and save on your energy bill while cutting back on your carbon footprint and being Green.
Mike,
Sounds to me that the hot and cold connections are reversed or the dip tube is defective.
Well, i don’t know that it is worth $1500. I installed it and it was about the same level of trouble as any water heater. I had to do some plumbing and some electrical. The thing has never heated well. I called Rheem on the 800 number and got a tech that walked me through disassembly and diagnostics, yes, yes, over the phone. He sent me a new controller board and a new thermistor in case the cold inlet unit had died. I replaced the board and it is still not working. There is a circulation pump on the front of the tank and I believe it is seized up. It began to stink after about 2 days of operation. It does not run now. That will the next call into Rheem. When the system is powered up that pump gets scorching hot in about two minutes. The tank water is cold. It smells like burning paint. I suppose I could swap one in if they send me one. Strange warranty action.
Hi David,
If the water pump is not operating you will have the heat pump not operating. The pump is used to circulate the tank water through the heat pump condenser to heat it.
Redwood
People who use propane to make hot water should seriously consider taking advantage of the 30% tax credit for this Rheem hybrid heater. My old water heater consumed about 307 gallons of propane a year (“energyguide” yellow stickers). This was costing me about $900 a year for just hot water. A new ge “energy saver” water heater, for example, would still use about 260 gallons and “energy saver” standard water heaters don’t qualify for the 30% tax credit. A tankless water heater would still consume about 200 gallon a year of propane, but entail significant installation costs. Switching to this heat pump water heater would save me about $700 a year in energy costs (propane v. electric).
That is, while it cost me $3000 for the water heater, installation and bringing high voltage electricity to my furnace room, for a fair analysis, this big investment figure needs to be reduced by (a) 30% ($900) tax credit for the water heater and its entire installation costs and (b) the $800 I would have to spend to replace my old water since it was getting old; thus, my net after tax, additional investment came out to (3000 – 900 -800) to $1300 — which equals two years energy savings.
All of the work was performed through my local Home Depot (my local Lowe’s didn’t want to touch running an electric line from the fuse box to the furnace room). I’ve got a 12 year extended protection plan. Using the heat pump alone mode, we all had very hot showers in an hour. When the heat pump compressor kicks it, it makes a quiet buzz that does not disturb me. In fact, if the a/c fan is running, I can’t even hear the Rheem compressor, when it kicks in, unless I put my ear to the water heater. It does just fine in the furnace room of a three story townhouse and its compressor doesn’t kick in that often.
Without the tax credit, next year you might want to also give consideration to a standard electric water heater. But, if you can utilize that credit this year. I’ve also learned that putting in an electric line for a water heater isn’t that difficult or expensive. While I expect the cost of the heater to decline in the coming year, I would take advantage of the tax credits this year.
For me, there is the additional benefit of getting away from depending on oil and the propane produced by refining oil. Since there are so many alternative ways to generate electricity, as compared to making transportation type fuel, I don’t mind using a little bit more electricity (2200Kwz a year) from the power plant. In fact, I think I’ve save that much electricity energy by simply switching to low power light bulbs. We are living in interesting times and I’m waiting for the day that I can replace my furnace which consumes about 500 gallons a year of propane.
Home Depot ended up “price adjusting” the installation charge that the contract installer charged. IN the long run I only paid an extra 100 dollars above the original quoted price.
Thanks Tom!
Redwood
I have the Rheem HP 50, got it March 2010 and it worked fine for two months and now it doesn’t work on the two higher settings 135 and 140 degrees. I have had a repairman here once a week at least for the last month and a half and Rheem has had him put in a new thermister and a new control board and niether has fixed anything. He gets a different tech to talk to each time he calls and each one of them gives him a different answers. They read a trouble shooting guide as they direct him and he has to sit here and wait for the heater to run somtimes up to 45 min. a time to trouble shoot it. He can’t get Rheem to send a repair or troubleshooting manual to him so that he can study it and figure it out for himself. There is a lighted diode on the circut board and it flashes a code when the unit stops working or that is what he was told and he says that makes sense as a lot of other circuit boards have the same feature. The last person he talked to from Rheem told him that it wasn’t a code and it was indicating that it was working properly and of course it isn’t. I am just glad that the repairman is working under warranty or I would have the price of two or three normal water heaters in repair bills.
I think the water heater worked good when it was running and it does make noise and I would compare it to the noise of say a window aircondioner more than say a dehumidifier. It does cool a basement some but also takes out dampness but it isn’t enough to consider it for purchase on these properties. It doesn’t save much energy when run at the135-140 degree settings. It saves the most when run at 130 degrees or less and of course it will run a lot when set at these lower settings but still uses less energy. If you like your water very hot this water heater isn’t the best choice. It recovers slower than a conventional water heater so if you use a large amount of hot water back to back it isn’t the best choice. It can save some money but it will take time as the up front cost are very high.