The house I live in has an existing oil-based boiler for both heat and hot water. The hot water tank (50 gallons) will likely need to be replaced in the next few years as it is more than 10 years old, probably approaching 15. I am on well water without a water softener, and I assume that the previous owners never did any sort of maintenance with the current hot water tank. (A neighbor mentioned that there is some sacrificial part that can be replaced every so often to extend the life of the tank.)
I keep reading that the hybrid heat pump water heaters are incredibly efficient, and I hate having to burn oil during the warmer months just to heat my showers. My plumber tells me that it’s a really efficient system and that I should keep it intact as long as I can. He also seems a bit old school in his opinion and preferences, as he scoffs at the idea that I would eventually like to replace the whole boiler and system with a heat pump system instead.
Is there a good place to learn about how my existing system works, and any way to compare to possible savings (or pitfalls) of switching to a new system? Are there other options, such as tankless hot water heaters, that I should consider? I gather that recovery time with a hybrid heat pump water heater will be much slower than the existing system, so should I also calculate for a larger system (65 or 80 gallons)? Two adults live here full time but we frequently host guests and family gatherings, and we sometimes need enough hot water for 10 or so adults to shower. There are three full bathrooms in the house and one day we may add a fourth.
We swapped last year. Getting hit with several big oil bills every winter sucked, and the price doesn’t really go down.
Oil furnace hot water baseboard heat - yearly boiler cleaning and maintenance, oil filter changing, complex issues like valves, pumps or whatever that we’d had that probably averaged easily a couple hundred a year in preventative and actual maintenance. Roar under the floor when the unit kicked on. Negotiating delivery schedules and price contracts with heating oil services. Colder than normal and need an earlier delivery? Fee. Takes a while to warm the house up due to needing to heat the mass of water and circulate. Got rid of a big boiler, pipes, and fuel tank.
That said, I found the baseboard heat very comfortable and uniform during winters. I miss that slow, even heat sometimes.
Heat pump system - removed our built in AC handler and installed the heat pump unit, forced air, used existing ducting from AC. Got several thousand in incentive rebates from the State to install the efficient units. Covered installation costs easily. Maintenance is far easier, I swap a HEPA filter every 4 months or so myself. Quiet operation, quicker heating or cooling. Love the dehumidifying feature during summer, it gets really humid.
Downsides: drier air in the winter, we now run a regular ultrasonic humidifier in the winter, but could have installed a whole-house humidifier with the unit. That would have cost thousands more. The unit is the “extra” efficient version that is supposed to run down to -20. Wouldn’t you know it, this was the coldest winter for the longest stretch we’ve had in forever, and the unit struggled. We did not install the “heat strips” that would have added more heat in such a situation. Again, thousands $ more.
And of course the electric bill is higher. I would say that the additional electric cost compared to the overall oil cost, maintenance, and contracts for the oil furnace is lower. Not ridiculously lower, but the heat pump system is clearly a winner as far as cost to operate.
Summing up…Get a good heat pump for your climate. You will realize savings and a reduced headache for maintenance. However, it isn’t a miracle solution.