The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday proposed energy efficiency standards on water heaters it said would save consumers $11.4 billion on energy and water bills annually.
The standards on residential water heater efficiency, which are required by Congress, have not been updated in 13 years. Water heating is responsible for roughly 13% of both annual residential energy use and consumer utility costs, the DOE said.
I have a hpwh and , when the coils aren’t leaking coolant (repaired twice under warranty) it works well. I keep it in a room that has the washer/dryer, spare fridge, icemaker, and my espresso machine - all devices which would work against my A/C in the summer. It keeps that area nice and cool. In the winter I shut off the hp and run it in resistance mode or it really cools the basement excessively (which I’d also where my home office is).
The only other drawback is that the heat pump is very noisy compared to, say, a refrigerator or a good mini split heat pump - the little fans they use on the exchanger just whine.