On 01/12/2015 07:19 PM, Michael Ross via EV wrote:
PV is simpler you don't have to do anything at all different to get the power into the heater (or heat pump). I actually have never talked to anyone who uses a heat pump water heater. Everyone just goes with resistance heating. It is by far the lowest cost method and that wins the day with developers.
There are some developers who are building net-zero or LEEDS certifiable properties who are using them, but most developers look for the least up-front cost since they're not the ones who will be paying to operate the equipment.
I put 9.3kW of PV on my roof and have converted my house to all-electric. Part of my efforts to minimize my power use has been to install a GE GeoSpring heat pump water heater. The savings are considerable--it only uses 35-40% of the power of the old water heater. I also installed a high-efficiency air-source heat pump for space heating. That effort is somewhat less successful. It makes a GREAT air conditioner. My electric use in the summer is half of what it was with the old central air system. But I'm paying as much or more in electricity during the winter than I paid for oil before and the thing is noisy. I like that I'm not using oil any more but I'm not sure I'd recommend this solution to others.
--Rick _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
