An Affordable Heat-Pump Water-Heater RetrofitThe engineers at AirGenerate (previously Beyond Pollution) appear to have done something remarkable: create an affordable, effective, heat-pump water heater that can be retrofit onto a conventional gas or electric water heater(from: http://www.building-materials-china.com/buy-water_heater/), more than doubling the energy performance compared with a standard electric water heater. The AirTap A7 water heater has a rated output of 7,000 Btu/hour (7.4 MJ/hour), a first-hour rating of 42.5 gallons (160 l), a maximum water temperature of 135°F (57°C), an efficiency of 240% (coefficient of performance of 2.4), and an energy factor of 2.11. (Energy factor is a standardized measure of performance of water heaters; the higher the number, the better.) All this is in a unit that measures only 18" wide by 14" deep by 14" high (460 x 360 x 360 mm), weighs only 48 pounds (22 kg), and sits on top of a standard water heater. The list price is $499. The energy factor and first-hour rating of the AirTap are certified by GAMA (previously the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association and now a broader association of appliance and equipment manufacturers). Heat-pump water heaters have always been a good idea, but most efforts to design, build, and market（from：http://www.building-materials-china.com） them have failed. With today’s high energy prices, however, consumers should be more receptive to heat-pump water heaters, according to Harvey Sachs, Ph.D., the buildings program director at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. “The economic savings potential is so much greater than before, with the run-up of energy prices,” Sachs told EBN. AirGenerate initially produced its AirTap A7 water-heater kit in Houston, Texas. After selling a few hundred units in late 2007, the company began sourcing the product from an offshore supplier. The outsourcing of production will allow the company to significantly ramp up production. The first of the new (offshore-manufactured) AirTap units were received in January 2008, and about 200 had been sold through May 2008. Of 400 units scheduled to arrive in June, almost all were pre-sold by the end of May, according to Sunil Sinha, chief scientist at AirGenerate. Skyland Falls, a Tennessee developer, has installed 30 AirTap units since January 2008 in a 70-unit subdivision currently under construction. Houses （from：http://www.building-materials-china.com/buy-Houses/） in the subdivision are 2,000 ft2 (190 m2) each and sell for an average of $230,000. “The AirTap is doing a fantastic job,” according to Skyland Falls president Gary Alexander, who told EBN that he also intends to use the product in a 100-unit subdivision that is in the works.
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