One Midwest Contractor Surfing The Wave Of Heat Pumps To A Thriving Business - CleanTechnica

For my next stop on my heat pump water heater tour across America, I visited a large water heater installer and servicer who has created a thriving business model around heat pump water heaters — US Water Heating Solutions. This company is based in Arlington Heights, Illinois, but provides service to 25 states nationally. US Water Heating Solutions both installs and fixes water heaters and has embraced our favorite efficient heat pump water heaters (HPWH) in a big way. This in turn has led to lots of business which is helping this company grow and expand as it rides the heat pump tidal wave into the future.

US Water Heating Solutions sees the opportunity inherent in the heat pump market disruption that is upon us. Heat pumps are growing rapidly for both space heating (substantially out pacing gas furnaces over the last five years) and water heating (increasing sales by 35% in 2023 alone). When I visited their headquarters, CEO Jim Eggert told me how his company views heat pump water heaters as an “innovative, technologically advanced product line” and wants to “grab a surfboard, jump in and catch this (heat pump) wave.” They see heat pumps as the way of the future and are excited by the business opportunity of specializing in this equipment early.

This attitude is unique in the plumbing world though, as installers are often too busy with standard water heater installations to care about HPWHs and/or generally resistant to change. In many parts of the country it can still be difficult to find a heat pump water heater installer.

US Water Heating Solutions views this gap in installer availability as an opportunity and is embracing heat pump water heaters to differentiate itself from other contractors. The company created a unique training lab at its headquarters in Illinois with all types of water heating equipment on display, including a whole row dedicated to HPWHs. Jim and his team use the lab to simulate many potential issues with water heaters so that their technicians can practice installing them correctly along with diagnosing and repairing them. They even had one HPWH that had been partially disassembled to show techs all the different components inside the water heater jacket.

Jim reported that this investment in his employees was a big opportunity to get ahead of the competition. By educating his technicians on the ins and outs of heat pump water heaters, US Water Heating Solutions is able to corner a lot of new business, winning contracts to install heat pump water heaters for utility programs and becoming one of the largest contractors servicing Rheem water heaters nationwide.

Servicing water heaters in 25 different markets means US Water Heating Solutions has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in water heating installation. One of the most common mistakes the company sees related to HPWH installations is that installers don’t allow for enough make-up air. HPWHs need 450-700 cubic feet of air, so can’t be placed in a small closet without adequate ventilation. For the many water heaters located in basements and garages this isn’t an issue, but for water heaters located in utility closets, it’s key to make sure the equipment has enough air to breathe.

This stop on my heat pump water heater tour across America was both fun and informative. Contractors like US Water Heating Solutions give me hope because they see the market disruption happening in water heating and rather than resisting or ignoring it, have grabbed a surfboard and started to successfully ride the wave.

Check out a video I took of the US Water Heating Solutions training lab with CEO Jim Eggert.

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