New tool helps with selection, installation of heat pump water heaters

A new web-based tool by the Department of Energy offers comprehensive information about how to size, select, and install electric heat pump water heaters (HPWHs).

HPWHs can be two to four times more efficient than standard units. The benefits are maximized when installers follow best practices and choose the best model and size for the home. The HPWH Installation Tool provides customized guidance for installers, sales associates, and homeowners to help overcome barriers to HPWH adoption.

A HPWH resembles a traditional water heater, but rather than using a gas-fired burner or electrical element to warm the water in the tank, the HPWH extracts heat from the surrounding air. Both HPWHs and traditional water heaters last for about 15 years, but HPWHs require a certain amount of airflow to operate effectively, so the location of the water heater needs to be evaluated. It’s important that HPWHs are sized correctly because an undersized heater could, under certain conditions, result in lukewarm water.

The installation tool also helps determine whether a home’s electrical panel needs to be updated—a common situation when replacing a fossil fuel-fired water heater with a HPWH—or if a HPWH that plugs into a standard 120-volt electrical outlet might be a viable option.

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.