The first HP-50 installation in America. The untold story-told.

Ok, so we didn’t install the first HP-50 in America, but we did install the first HP-50 heat pump water heater in Connecticut and quite possibly, the entire East Coast. WaterHeatingInfo.com & Bruce Somers Plumbing, together, installed the first HP-50 heat pump in Connecticut on Saturday, Jan/23/2010. This blog will post in detail the installation process with pictures.

HP-50

Other than prices and brief descriptions about HP-50’s, there is not much “real” information about them and nothing like this on the web today. Waterheatinginfo.com is owned, run, and written by real plumbers. So, here is the inside scoop to the newest, most talked about, water heater on the market today . The Rheem HP-50 heat pump water heater.
Two days earlier, we went to pick up the HP-50 from Bender plumbing supply in New Haven, CT. Now, normally picking up a water heater wouldn’t be something worth talking about, but the HP-50 was different. The HP-50 is the first water heater of its kind. The HP-50 is also one of the most efficient water heaters in the world today, by being the first water heater with an integrated heat pump fixed to it. (I wrote a story about the HP-50 about 3 months ago when I first found out about this new, super efficient, electric water heater. To find out how it works read this story.
We went to pick up the HP-50 two days prior to installations, at Bender plumber supply, just to make sure everything was fine. Since this would be the first HP-50 installation in Connecticut, we especially wanted to make sure everything went smoothly.

HP-50 pics

In the first picture, you can see Justin in the fork lift bringing the HP-50 to the truck. You can also see Scott Shore, who is one of our main contacts at Bender, out of his office and next to Bruce’s truck so he could see the first HP-50 being sold. We got a bunch of congrats from the sales and counter guys, as well as being the first company to install one. You can see Jay standing next to the HP-50 in the middle picture. New in the box, the HP-50 is very tall at around 80 inch/6.5 feet tall. Bruce Somers, in the 3rd picture, was making room in his truck so we could pick it up. However, this heater was to tall to fit in his truck and since the HP-50 has sensitive refrigeration mechanisms built into, we did not feel comfortable lying it on its back, as would be fine with traditional water heaters, until we spoke to Rheem factory representatives. This was not a problem as our supplier, Bender plumbing in New Haven, CT, provides free delivery, as many suppliers do for their regular contractor customers, which we are. We set the delivery time on the schedule and had the HP-50 brought back in the supply house.
Saturday comes along and the man from Benders delivers the HP-50 right on time, nine o’clock in the morning, on the dot. So then we’re set to install the first Rheem HP-50 in Connecticut for our new client, Mike from Fairfield County, CT.

HP-50 in box

Installing the HP-50 is pretty straight forward and very similar to installing a traditional electric water heater, but with a few differences.
1. It’s tall, at 75 inches high, plus needs another 12 inches of makeup air space above it. Basically, you’ll need at least a 7.5-8 feet of total height, from the basement floor to the ceiling, to meet the proper installation requirements. The location of the old electric water heater, during our installation, didn’t have enough height for the new HP-50. The result, was that we had to install the HP-50 on the other side of the client’s basement.

2. It condensates.  The heat pump produces some condensation water that needs to go somewhere.  That must be taken into consideration before the installation process.

HP-50 condensation lines

For our installation, we had to move the old water heater location to the other side of the basement, for two important installation reasons. The first, to get the height we needed, and second, for condensation. On deliberation, we put it right next to a sump pump that was in the basement, which was the best place in our case.
You will need to consider the condensation water for the HP-50 before the installation. Most basements will have something usable nearby; a sump pump, floor drain, slop sink, laundry waste line, or if there’s nothing nearby (close enough were gravity can take the water where it needs to go), you can get a condensation pump to pump the water “up & over” to the nearest drain.

HP-50 water lines

Another thing that makes the HP-50 different than other water heaters, is the cold water feed and hot water supply lines that are on the side of the tank, like an indirect water heater. The reason is, the heat pump fan is on top of the HP-50 where the water lines would normally be, the result of this = the lines are on the side. The other reason is the HP-50 is very tall. Its actually a good thing the water heater feeds cold and hot water lines on the side of the tank, due to the fact that a ladder isn’t necessary for the installation process.
If your lucky, you won’t have to do any modifications with your HP-50 installation. Although, if a few are necessary, as there was with our installation, any extra fees like we encountered (electrician to run the eclectic line to the new installation location), the return on investment makes everything still worth it. The HP-50 is so efficient, that in the right conditions, it uses less than half the energy as that of normal electric water heaters. The $1,500 federal tax credit makes this heater so affordable. It’s almost crazy not to make the investment for this water heater. It comes with a ten year warranty, which is longer than the industry standard 6 year warranty.

HP-50 temp pad

In energy saver mode, the heat pump does all the work, at this time the water heaters heat pump does make some noise, but it’s not to loud. I’d say the HP-50, when operating on energy saver mode, is about as loud as a large freezer, something a bit louder than the refrigerator in your home. The sound is a hum, just like a commercial grade freezer would make.
Note: The HP-50 will not start heating water in the energy saver mode for 45 minutes after a new installation. We found that out the hard way as we stood around the heater wondering what was wrong, because we couldn’t hear the fan on the heat pump kick on. We knew that we installed it correctly, so we waited and tried to call the factory reps, but 45 minutes after the installation, the HP-50 just kicks on by itself. We weren’t sure what to make of it at the time, but the next day an HP-50 rep told us that a 45 minute delay is normal. Surprisingly, we didn’t see this information in the installation manual, possibly because it’s so new that it was left out by mistake.

Prices for the HP-50 varies greatly in different areas of the county. The rock bottom price for the HP-50 is around $1,500. This is the rock bottom, lowest level, discount pricing from a large plumbing supply store with the top level contractor discounts. If you’re just a normal home owner walking in a plumbing store, don’t be surprised to see prices as high as $2,550. These water heaters are extremely rare; plumbing stores don’t even have them in stock. WaterHeaterInfo.com and Bruce Somers plumbing are two of a few companies getting these heaters at reasonable prices.

HP-50 Top cover off

Here’s a picture of Bruce next to the new HP-50 heat pump water heater that he and I installed.

Buyer’s warning and advice. DO NOT BUY a HP-50 online from some shady discount plumbing website, that is nothing more than low prices and dozens of fake testimonies!   Those kinds of sites are fine for buying T-shirts, books, and other small ticket ideas, but HP-50’s are very expensive, and sensitive because the entire thing is filled with brand, spanking new technology. So don’t take the chance with a company you don’t know or looks too good to be true. I don’t think you should take the chance on buying one of these expensive HP-50 water heaters that could have been mishandled. Saving a couple hundred bucks is a great idea if you ask us, but not if it gets damaged in any way, because these heaters are not easily replaceable!
That being said, we do sell HP-50’s for $1,890, as well as offer free and careful delivery for CT residents. Out of state residents will have to come pick it up, as we don’t offer shipping and wouldn’t trust one of these heaters to a shipping company, so please don’t ask us to.

Hopefully this was helpful. If you have any questions about the HP-50 just ask away, we’re always glad to answer any of your questions. If you would like more information about the new Rheem HP-50 electric heat pump hot water heater from Rheem’s official HP-50 website, just click this link.

On behalf of the entire WaterHeatingInfo.com team, thanks for reading.
If you’re interested in having a HP-50 for yourself, go to the contact page and see if we can help you find a trusted installer near you. If you’re in the Fairfield or New Haven county in Connecticut, you’re in luck, because Bruce or I will be over in person in about hour or two.

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