Water Heater Heat Pump + Plug-ins = Win-Win?

[Pipcecil]

My wife we discussing replacing our current old water heater with a heat pump (or hybrid heat pump) system. And it occurred to me that because we own plug in vehicles (2 actually, a leaf and a volt) and our water heater is in the garage (its electric) that this set up would be a super win-win:

- Heat pumps take warm air from the surrounding environment and heat water and release back cooler air. They thrive and are more efficient when there is warmer air and add a slight "cool air conditioning" effect to their surrounding environment

- Plug-ins, when charging produce extra heat, especially at the top end of charging. The heat, as show, can cause premature degredation of the batteries.

So, the heat pump takes advantage of the additional heat produced when charging the vehicles while cooling down the garage to help nullify some of the heat damage to the batteries.

In the end, we would get a more efficient heat pump while helping keep the car batteries at a bettery temperature. Win-Win!

 

[RegGuheert]

Agreed that this is a good combination! We have both and I can say the 1200-cubic-foot room that houses the water heater can get rather cold! It would be nice to have in the garage in the summertime, but I don't think I would want it out there in the winter, at least not in this climate. In TX it makes good sense.

 

[TLeaf]

This symbiosis is one of the added perks that made me even more pleased with my switch from a natural gas hot water heater to a hybrid model; the electric car and scooter help provide extra heat for the heat pump in the winter and the heat pump helps provide cool air for the vehicles in the summer.

At 2 years old, the only "problem" we've had with our unit (a 1st gen GE model) is that we have to crank the temp up to 130º or more in order for there to be enough hot water when company stays over.