91视频

While Northwest residents pride themselves on their efforts to live sustainably, one of the biggest foils to those claims can be found in 55 percent of Northwest homes, where electric water heaters are installed.

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance estimates that if all those electric units were replaced with high-efficiency heat pump water heaters, the region could save enough energy per year by 2025 to power all of the homes in Seattle and Boise annually.

Getting consumers to make the switch to heat pump heaters hasn’t been easy, though. Even though the technology for heat pump water heaters has been around for more than three decades, the heaters don’t necessarily operate well in cool, rainy climates like the Northwest.

That’s why the NEEA has spent the past several years working to convince water heater manufacturers to build heat pump water heaters designed specifically for colder climates.

The first heater in that next generation, the GeoSpring Heat Pump Water Heater by General Electric, will go on the market in early January, according to Jeff Harris, director of emerging technology for the NEEA.

The heater design is the result of several years’ worth of work by Harris’ group to help manufacturers and distributors understand the climatic conditions in the Northwest that can negatively impact the energy efficiency of heat pump water heaters.

The biggest problem: the heat pump water heaters currently found on the market traditionally work best at warmer temperatures. But in the Northwest, water heaters are often located in garages.

鈥淭hose garages get cold in the Northwest,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淔or a heat pump water heater to work effectively, it needs to work at the cold, rainy temperatures we have in the Northwest.鈥�

In its Northern Climate Specifications, created five years ago, the NEEA determined that heat pump water heaters would need to be able to function down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit in order to operate efficiently in the Northwest.

General Electric’s new heat pump water heater, though, is actually capable of continuing to operate efficiently down to 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

鈥淭wo years ago, we added what we called a third tier of efficiency, a stretch goal, (to the specifications),鈥� Harris said. 鈥淲e wanted to put a marker out there. GE took up the challenge and came up with this product.鈥�

Although GE’s product is the first to be designed with the Northern Climate Specifications in mind, Harris thinks it soon will have company in the market.

鈥淲e expect to see more manufacturers step up now,鈥� he said.

Convincing manufacturers to create heaters designed specifically for cooler climates is just one step in the number of homes switching out electric water heaters for heat pump ones, Harris said. While the NEEA focuses mainly on those manufacturers and their distributors, the nonprofit is working with groups such as Energy Trust of Oregon to help spread the word to consumers not just about the GeoSpring heater, but about the efficiency of water pump heaters when compared with electric resistance heaters.

The cost savings with the GeoSpring heater are realized long term, Harris said. Initially, a heat pump heater runs $500 to $1,000 more than a conventional electric resistance heater. When the GeoSpring heater hits the market, though, its price will be comparable to other heat pump water heaters, Harris said.