When you turn on the air conditioner in your car or in your house, you are turning on a heat pump. A heat pump takes the heat from one location and moves it to another. In the process of cooling your home, the heat pump takes the heat from the living space and moves it outdoors. 

A heat pump water heater takes heat from the surrounding space (i.e., garage, basement, living space) and moves it into a water tank to heat up your domestic water. The advantage is in the efficiency by which it performs this task.

A standard electric water heater costs the average family of four about $450 a year to operate. A standard propane water heater costs about $500 a year. A heat pump water heater costs about $150 a year. Over a 10-year period, that’s $3,000 to $3,500 in savings. Those savings more than make up for the additional cost of a heat pump water heater.

Generally speaking, a heat pump water heater costs about $1,000 more than a standard electric unit (prices have drastically fluctuated in the last two years). Rebates are available through PowerMoves.com for LaGrange County REMC members, and federal tax incentives are available for everyone. These incentives and rebates get the cost of a heat pump water heater down to nearly the same price as a standard electric unit. 

Contact our office if you have any questions about the best water heater for your application.

JAKE TAYLOR is the energy advisor for LaGrange County REMC