Heat pump water heater sales soar

In 2023,  heat pump water heater sales saw their largest increase ever. That’s according to new data released in September by ENERGY STAR, which reported that more than 190,000 heat pump water heaters were shipped in the United States last year, representing a 35% increase over 2022.

“Replacing inefficient fossil-fuel powered water heaters with efficient electric appliances will reduce the amount of energy we need to heat water in our homes dramatically,” said Johanna Neumann, senior director of Environment America Research & Policy Center’s Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy. “In most homes, heating water is the second biggest use of energy, so the collective impact of switching to efficient electric water heating technology is massive.”

Data collected by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) suggests that electric water heaters have opened an unprecedented and potentially permanent lead over their fossil-fuel powered counterparts. In 2023, electric water heaters claimed a 53% of marketshare, continuing a trend of electric water heater sales outpacing gas water heater sales since the early 2020s.

The growth in heat pump water heater adoption is likely to continue. In June, Clayton Homes, which manufactures 42,000 homes every year, committed to installing heat pump water heaters in nearly all new homes they sell.  Policy will help too. Federal tax credits passed in 2022 incentivize the switch to heat pump water heaters, and the Biden administration finalized efficiency standards that require the most commonly sized electric water heaters to use heat pump technology starting in 2029.