Recent discussions about water heating technologies—particularly heat pumps and tankless systems—have left many partners feeling there's limited performance information available for different applications. To address these concerns and support decision-making, we're providing insights and resources to clarify the differences and benefits of each technology!

Through SoCalREN, agencies served by Southern California Edison can upgrade their gas water heaters to electric heat pump water heaters.  Overall, heat pump hot water heaters save energy by leveraging the principle of heat transfer, which is inherently more efficient than generating heat directly!

Interviewer: “So, what’s a heat pump hot water heater?”

Interviewee: [Pauses, looks a bit confused] “It’s just a water heater.”

The best explanation of how a heat pump water heater works, that I have seen, I found on energy.gov, “To move the heat, heat pumps work like a refrigerator in reverse.” This is a great visual but what exactly does it mean?