Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

mistersausage t1_je5lkgy wrote

It will be fine. At worst it runs the resistive heating coils like a normal electric water heater.

Electric resistance heat is slower to heat than gas, so if you take long showers or do shitloads of laundry, buy a bigger tank than you have now.

13

pcurc t1_je5tcvp wrote

I actually have one and can echo that it will be fine. Replaced a gas water heater with a Rheem ProTerra model a little over a year ago, installed in our basement by Gen3 Electric. In everyday use (household of 5), the only times we might run short on hot water is if kids take baths back-to-back, and even then it doesn’t take terribly long to recover.

A side benefit is that it will cool and dehumidify your basement in the summer as long as there’s enough air flow in and out of the space where the unit is installed.

The only caveat is that Rheem had an issue with some units that caused it to make an ungodly loud hum when running the heat pump. The solution was a new fan which they provided and Gen3 installed for free, though it does require taking the top casing off the water heater so adequate space above it helps a lot - but I think by this point this problem has likely been resolved in more recent production runs.

Happy to answer any other questions you might have!

7

MrTipps OP t1_je7eut0 wrote

Did you upsize for the heat pump model or go with the same size that you had previously? This wasn't the coldest winter that we've had by any stretch, but I'm assuming you didn't have any issues this winter? Nothing that got you thinking "I've made a huge mistake"?

1

pcurc t1_je7j90w wrote

I think I went up by like 10 gallons, nothing major. The only thing that made me think I made a mistake was the humming, but once that was fixed it’s been smooth sailing. Obviously it uses less power in the summer but hot water availability was not perceptibly impacted by the winter weather.

1

Unhappy-Climate2178 t1_jecq0qj wrote

Unique indoor heating is a good company for this. Also make sure you get you PECO rebates

1

MrTipps OP t1_je5p4kl wrote

That's pretty much what I was thinking. Do you have one or are you just making the same assumptions that I am?

3

mistersausage t1_je62uj4 wrote

I don't have one but 30 amps of resistance heat is 30 amps of resistance heat regardless of what form factor it's in. Look up the wattage of the resistive heating elements in it.

2