Upgrading to a Heat Pump

December 10, 2024Uncategorized0

Written by Community Sustainability Advisory Committee (CSAC) Member Nilofer Motiwala.

I have lived in Foster City for 12 years in a house with a 100 amp electrical panel. In November 2023, our water heater started leaking. Below, I share our journey of replacing the old unit with a Heat Pump Water Heater.

The short version:

  1. You can get a same-day loaner in case your water heater goes bust. Ideally, if your current water heater is close to 10 years old, you should plan ahead and not wait for a leak like I did!
  2. You can get a 120V plug-in heat pump (i.e., one that plugs into a regular outlet). This option doesn’t require additional room on the panel.
  3. Various rebates from Foster City, Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE), the State of California, and the federal tax credit make the purchase more affordable (check out SwitchIsOn.org for more related info).
  4. QuitCarbon can help you with the process. They provide free expert guidance, refer contractors, and help evaluate bids.

Full story:

Our gas water heater sprouted a leak during the winter months. Given the age of the appliance, I was expecting this to happen, but I still had not done all my research!

Over the last few years, I’ve learnt that 40% of greenhouse gas emissions originate from households (across transportation, heating, cooling, food & waste). In addition to having climate-related concerns, I had air quality concerns with burning gas in the home. This motivated me to research alternatives to gas appliances. As a result, I learned about heat pumps and, specifically, heat pump water heaters. Here are my three key takeaways:

  • Heat Pumps are three times more energy-efficient than electric water heaters.
  • Heat Pumps extract heat from the surrounding air and pump it into the water—think of a refrigerator's function in reverse. So, you still need a tank to store the hot water.
  • The tank acts as a thermal battery and can do smart things like heat water when electricity prices are low (or when your solar panels are generating electricity). It also makes the hot water supply last longer by storing water at a hotter temperature and mixing in cold water when dispensing.

Luckily, we found a plumber who provides a same-day gas loaner water heater. This was very helpful as it gave me more time to finish my research and consider the electrical situation. (Pro tip: don’t wait for the leak; start planning. If your gas appliance is close to the 10-year mark, it's a good time to replace it.)

Since I didn’t have room on the panel, we went with a 120V plugin (which plugs into a regular outlet, like your toaster!) and an 80-gallon tank. In hindsight, from a weight and attic installation perspective, a 65-gallon tank would have been fine for our family of four (two adults and two preteen kids).

A new rebate from TECH California launched in November 2023, and we were able to stack it with additional rebates from PCE and Golden State. The cost, post-rebates, and tax credits was cheaper than simply replacing the old unit with a gas water heater. We paid a little extra for the convenience of a same-day loaner, so I encourage folks to make the switch or at least do some research before it becomes an emergency!

Plumbers I recommend connecting with:

  • Sun Work - leverages volunteers and experts to make the installation affordable
  • Awesome Plumbing - responsive, experienced, and very straightforward, good price
  • Shoreway Plumbing - great communication and very responsive
  • Barnett plumbing - highly recommended, very responsive and professional, provides a same day loaner. We worked with them because our water heater was in the attic and they were willing to work with that setup.
  • Emerald Eco - received many glowing recommendations

The next appliance I am working on to switch to electric is our heater. I will be replacing the gas heater with a heat pump based heater and ventilator (which automatically comes with air conditioning!). Other items on my list include adding solar panels with batteries, switching to an electric dryer, and switching from cooking on gas to cooking on induction.