AO SMITH Faulty Hybrid hot water heaters

RIRED

I have read all the posts about the problems with this AO Smith hybrid hot water heater and its obvious AO Smith has produced a product that will not last more than a year or two if your lucky. Im on my second heater and its less than 2 years old and its already displaying the ECC error code. AO Smith just replaces heater if compressor goes bad they should be giving me my money back so I can buy a tankless water heater. Would a propane fired indirect cost more to operate? How about if I just use the electric mode vs heatpump mode I wonder how much more electricity it would use? If my current heater goes bad Im going to have to go thru the bother of replacing it again and then how long will that one last.This is ridiculous AO Smith should step up to the plate and own there problem~~! I do have solar panels so that`s` going to offset electric bill somewhat

Intplm.

You have solar panels.
Is all electric a better option considering you have solar panels?

RIRED

well maybe if the cost of just electic is cheaper than a on demand water heater running on propane and using very little electric. remember those elecric coils use a large amount of electricity but im not sure how they compare to propane costs which arent cheap either

Intplm.

As you can see from my post, I am asking that question as well.

Jamie Hall

To compare the cost of operating a propane hot water heater vs. a straight electric one is rather simple: compare the cost of a BTU of energy from propane to a BTU of energy from electricity. There are about 90,000 BTU in a gallon of propane, and about 3400 BTU in a Kilowatt hour of electricity. Simple arithmetic.

Now if you are looking at a heat pump (hybrid) water heater, the math is a little more difficult, as it is necessary to know the COP of the heat pump system -- which should be in the literature for the water heater.

However, as you now know, heat pump water heaters are considerably more expensive to buy than straight electrics or gas heaters, and more expensive to maintain, so that should be factored in.

Saving electricity costs with solar panels is a wonderful idea. It is also, most often, somewhat illusory unless you have a large enough array to cover most of the yearly cost of your electricity, and have a feed in tariff which closely matches the normal grid tariff. Not all areas do. Do NOT expect your array to power a straight electric water heater, unless you live in a very sunny climate and don't need hot water when the sun isn't shining -- and again, have a fairly large array -- it would take 220 square feet of array in full sun.

mattmia2

I'm sure it is the refrigerant leaking out, not a bad compressor. I now have 4 dehumidifiers where the refrigerant has leaked out.(speaking of which I need to contact Aprilaire before spring).

You have to factor in the efficiency of the boiler in your indirect calculation. If you select the right indirect, right size for your load and right stainless alloy for your water, it probably will have the lowest total cost given its lifespan.

Larry Weingarten

Hi, I'll throw in that electric water heating elements can be replaced with smaller and lower voltage elements, if you have a large tank to compensate for the slower rate of heating. Also, DC elements are made, so you can heat directly with solar PV.

Yours, Larry