The Stiebel Eltron Accelera 300 Heat Pump Water Heater enters the heat pump water heater race a little late but with a big bang! Stiebel Eltron unveiled their effort behind GE, Rheem and Ruud with a totally different design that offers an 11 to 15 gallon higher 1st hour delivery above competition with a 2.5 energy factor. Stiebel Eltron is a German based corporation that was founded in 1924 by Dr. Theodore Stiebel in Berlin, Germany. Today they are worldwide with approximately 3,000 employees in plants located in Holzminden, Germany; Eschuwege, Germany; Slovakia, Thailand, and China and other facilities as well. The sales, service, distribution, and parts facility for North America is located in West Hatfield, Massachusetts and is supplied by the Holzminden, Germany plant.
The Stiebel Eltron Accelera 300 Heat Pump Water Heater carries the Energy Star Rating and is eligible for Rebates in the Appliance Stimulus Package of up to $200, Grants in the Weatherization Assistance Program of up to $6500 if you qualify, and a 30% Income Tax Credit up to $1500. These incentives can greatly offset the cost of installing the Stiebel Eltron Accelera 300 Heat Pump Water Heater and allow the energy savings to get into your pocket quicker. Heat pump technology uses a reverse refrigeration process that takes heat from the ambient air and moves it to water inside the water heater. The process does not require making heat and is only moving the heat, which makes the process efficient. The Stiebel Eltron Accelera 300 Heat Pump Water Heater uses 1kWh for its compressor and fan to pump heat into the water in the tank that would have had a heating element use 3-5 kWh to generate.
The Stiebel Eltron Accelera 300 Heat Pump Water Heater is based on an 80 gallon tank designed specific for this application and is not an add on type unit. The heat pump unit is mounted on the top of the tank and that is where the similarities end. The Stiebel Eltron Accelera 300 wraps the tank with the condenser coil to put the heat into the water where the competition is circulating water through the heat pump. This design is simpler and eliminates the use of a pump and its energy draw. When the heat pump cannot keep up with the water use demand there is a 1,700-watt electric element that will automatically turn on to help deliver the hot water that you need. The Stiebel Eltron Accelera 300 requires 220 – 240-Volt electrical power but only requires 15-Amp. circuit breaker with a maximum current draw of 9.16-Amps. This is a drastic reduction in comparison to the competitors that have a maximum current draw of 18.75-Amps. and require a 30-Amp. circuit breaker. The Stiebel Eltron Accelera 300 Heat Pump Water Heater comes with a 10-Year Warranty.