[reyoz]

I put in a Sanden heat pump to replace an old electric gravity water heater 1.5 years ago. Based on power meter data it uses 30% of the energy of the old system on average. This is probably understated as hot water consumption has gone up as the new system and new pipes increased pressure and flow. I say on average as there is seasonality to the energy consumption. I live in a temperate climate, no snow.

We run it at night to take advantage of cheaper separately metered electricity rates ('controlled load'), it could be run even more efficiently during the day, but at higher cost. This and replacing the old gas ducted heating with reverse cycle air conditioning has allowed us to stop using gas, saving the fixed $~30/month service charge. Eventually the additional of solar will further increase our use of renewables.