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voltex hybrid electric water heater

hi everyone
need to be educated on these water heaters. Flipping a house on Long Island (north east climate) local town ordinance requires these heaters as replacement for existing typical electric water heater to be install in a 7ft x 5ft laundry room closet. need to pic your brains on this thanks so much Dave

Comments

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 5,271
    What town is requiring that?
  • DaveM
    DaveM Member Posts: 53
    Southampton 
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 23,224
    Going to need more space, or access to more space. The heat needs to come from somewhere in the building
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    mattmia2
  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Member Posts: 3,576
    Hi @DaveM , From the installation instructions for a fifty gallon unit...

    "INSTALLATION
    2 The location has adequate space (clearances) for periodic servicing. For optimal water heater efficiency, the unit must have unrestricted airflow and requires a minimum installation space of 700 cubic feet. As an example, a room that has an 8 foot tall ceiling and is 10 feet long by 8-3/4 feet wide would contain 700 cubic feet."

    Yours, Larry

    PS. By ducting the heater, you may be able to get around this limitation.
    Alan (California Radiant) Forbeskcopp
  • DaveM
    DaveM Member Posts: 53
    Thanks going to find out if I put a louvered door to pull in air 
  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Member Posts: 3,576
    Hi @DaveM , A louvered door is fine, bur experience has shown that you must direct airflow so cooled air cannot simply get back to the intake of the HP. This means building a box that seals against the closed louvered door, so that the cool exhaust air is pushed out of the closet.

    Yours, Larry
  • DaveM
    DaveM Member Posts: 53
    real interesting technology, comfortably room air is 70* how does it draw in that degree of air and heat water to 120 degrees
  • ratio
    ratio Member Posts: 3,777
    There's lots of usable heat in 70° air, it just needs to be pressed into the water. That's what the compressor does.
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 6,528
    DaveM said:

    real interesting technology, comfortably room air is 70* how does it draw in that degree of air and heat water to 120 degrees

    The same way a refrigerator can get down below zero degrees while it's sitting in your kitchen, but in reverse. My Rheem water heater I have set to 130F and I believe it is operational down to like 55 degrees. It costs me 25 cents per day.

    NJ Steam Homeowner.
    Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
    See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 5,271
    DaveM said:

    Southampton 

    Amazing

    Friday afternoon during the summer the power dips way down due to the influx of weekenders starting their A/C's and now they require these!
  • fentonc
    fentonc Member Posts: 276
    I think the heat pump in these hybrid water heaters is like 4500 BTU/hr, so the power demand is probably much lower than if they were the regular electric kind.
  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 5,271
    fentonc said:
    I think the heat pump in these hybrid water heaters is like 4500 BTU/hr, so the power demand is probably much lower than if they were the regular electric kind.
    4500 X what
    100,000
    250,000

    It adds up for a grid that’s already taxed!
  • JakeCK
    JakeCK Member Posts: 1,477
    edited May 2022
    The grid is and has been already over taxed by the old fashioned resistance electric water heaters. Replacing those with HPWH's reduces the load. He didn't say gas water heaters needed to be replaced with these, just electrics. 

    Hold your horses, not all mandates are bad.

    Edit: You mentioned everyone cranking up their ac when they get there. A HPWH works with that if it shares the same same air space. Let me tell you, when I'm working in my server/network cabinet I have to wear a coat when it is running. It blasts it's exhaust air right at the server cabinet and it's 🥶. Lol which is actually a win for servers and network gear! 
    GGross