Heat pump water heater advancements tackle install obstacles

During an all-stakeholder online meeting in December, members of the Advanced Water Heating Initiative (AWHI) — a group that promotes the adoption of heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) — reviewed the state of the market for the appliances. 

The big picture: With Navien having introduced its first HPWH this past fall, there are now 12 manufacturers selling the appliances in the U.S., while some recent advancements may make them more attractive to homeowners and easier for contractors to install.  

What’s happening: Participants in the meeting outlined recent improvements in efficiency, noise, and design.

• Many new models, they noted, have Uniform Energy Factors (UEF) of 3.5, effectively delivering water 3.5 units of heat for every unit of electricity they use.
• Meanwhile, decibel ratings in newer fans have come down to the 40s — quieter than dishwashers — and some manufacturers are moving intake and exhaust vents to the top of the appliances to address space concerns. 

Between the lines: OEMs are also increasingly offering 120-volt options, aimed at preventing homeowners from needing to upgrade electrical panels to accommodate 240-volt systems. 

• GE, for instance, in June introduced a 120-volt model HPWH that is field convertible to 240-volt. 

What they’re saying: Noah Gabriel, a project manager at the New Buildings Institute (NBI), lauded LG for its stainless steel heat pump water heater, which won a slew of design awards when it was unveiled in 2020. 

• “Having heat pump water heaters be more of a visible appliance in your house, having them be more aesthetic, is just going to do great things for driving adoption,” he said. 
• Gabriel noted several manufacturers are incorporating tanks that, while smaller, store water at higher temperatures — 150 to 160 degrees — to be mixed with cooler water via a mixing valve. 
• Such systems fit into smaller spaces and still allow for substantial capacity. “A bigger tank is going to be a little more costly to install, because you often need two contractors there to carry it up and down stairs,” he added. 

Go deeper: NBI’s senior project analyst Vidhisha Moopnar heralded the development of split heat pump water heaters by manufacturers, including Eco-Logical, Daikin, and A.O. Smith. 

• “As the word suggests, they’re split up,” she said. “The compressor is outside; the storage tank is within the residence.” That frees up space inside the home and moves noise outside, and can be ideal for mobile homes.
• She noted that Daikin’s ‘Altherma 3,’ which provides space heating and cooling as well as hot water and is popular in Europe, could come to the U.S. market in early 2026. 
• Carl Uthe, VP of business development at Eco-Logical, added, “We just believe split systems are almost the norm, and towers should be the exception. But we’ll see — us split guys have a while to catch up to everybody else.”

Full meeting recording