Explore how this proven technology works and why it’s a more efficient, electric alternative for New York homes.
Most homeowners and tenants don’t think about water heaters until they encounter a cold shower or a puddle of water in the basement. But these often-overlooked appliances are responsible for 20 percent of on-site GHG emissions in New York’s residential sector, and play an important role in the state’s path to cleaner and healthier homes.
Table 1
The majority of single-family homes in New York use gas-fired water heaters, while many others use oil and propane (Table 1). Despite being such common appliances, fossil-fuel water heaters come with significant downsides: low efficiency and health risks from emitting dangerous levels of air pollutants like carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOX), which are linked to high rates of asthma and cardiovascular illness.[1]https://www.nescaum.org/documents/24.12.13-TSD-1.2—Emissions-Standards-for-Space-and-Water-Heaters.pdf
Standard electric water heaters—often called electric resistance heaters—are found in about one-fourth of New York homes. While they don’t emit on-site pollution, they are only slightly more efficient than the highest performing fossil-fuel models and are expensive to operate in areas with high electricity rates.
Heat pump water heaters offer a clean and efficient solution
Like standard electric water heaters, these products don’t emit pollution, but they are far more efficient than fossil-fuel systems. In fact, they are over three times more efficient than Energy Star fossil-fuel models. And they typically require only about one-ninth of the power draw of standard electric water heaters, so they can reduce emissions and minimize strain on the grid.
Modern residential heat pump water heaters have been available and listed by Energy Star for the past 15 years. Now, you can even pick one up at most local home improvement stores. With increasing availability, nationwide sales have nearly tripled in the past five years!
Heat pumps are different from other water heaters because they use the refrigeration cycle to heat water, tapping into the heat in ambient air instead of generating it through combustion. Explore Figure 1 below to better understand this technology: