Where can I put a heat pump water heater (HPWH) if it won't fit inside my home?

Do you need to put your HPWH outside? Learn about your options.

When upgrading from an old-fashioned gas water heater to a modern, safe, and efficient heat pump water heater (HPWH), you may discover you don't have space inside your home for the HPWH.

This can occur for various reasons, including:

• Your current water heater is a gas "tank" style heater, located in a closet or other tightly enclosed space that simply won't fit the somewhat larger dimensions of a HPWH.
• Your space could fit a HPWH, but the space is still very compact, and it is located in the "center" of your home, so the HPWH cannot access enough air.
• There is space for a HPWH inside, but the slight sound of the HPWH is unacceptable in that location.
• You are upgrading from a tankless gas or electric water heater that is located inside your home, in an area too small for a HPWH.
• Your old tankless water heater is on the outside of your home, and you'd like your new HPWH to also be outside.

QuitCarbon is delighted to help you assess your options:

• A HPWH can be installed in a new enclosure attached to the outside of your home. These enclosures are typically prefabricated, and made of galvanized metal, or they may be more like a storage shed (though taller and narrower than a typical "shed"). 
• There is a new HPWH option that offers a tank that is fully weatherized, with a separate compressor (that looks like a small suitcase). The compressor must go outside, and the tank can go inside (it can fit in some remarkably small spaces!) or outside (in an enclosure if you like, though one may not be required). 

Above is a photo of a compact HPWH tank in a "split system." This tank is in a little closet under some stairs. The original gas water heater was in a different location. The compressor portion of this system is located just outside. 

Above is a photo of QuitCarbon CEO's mom with her new HPWH in a metal enclosure on the side of her home — she loves it! Her old gas water heater was in a storage room inside her home. Now she has more space to store things in her storage room, and plenty of hot water, with no gas burning and lower utility bills.

Above is QuitCarbon client Cliff - QuitCarbon helped him get a new HPWH, in a new shed on the side of his home. Read more about Cliff's successful upgrade.