Martha Walden
Thanks to the ample rebates and tax credits provided by the Inflation Reduction Act, Humboldt appliance dealers should stock up on heat pumps, hybrid water heaters, electric stoves (including induction stoves), and heat pump clothes dryers. The time to buy these items starts as soon as California implements the IRA rebates program in 2023 – I’m guessing pretty early in the year – and continues through 2031. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check rewiringamerica.org online for information about eligibility for energy efficiency improvements.
I plan to buy a hot water heat pump, which is also known as a hybrid water heater. The IRA rebate is $1750 – about enough to cover the entire cost of the thing itself though not the installation. I’ve been thinking a lot about what to do with our old one once we have the new one installed. It goes against the grain to throw away something that still functions even though it is an energy hog. I could probably donate it to someone who needs a water heater. Cheap or free obsolete equipment has always played a big role in my life, but passing along an energy hog poses an environmental and financial dilemma. The hybrid heat pumps use 70 percent less energy than conventional ones and can save up to $500 a year. At that rate it wouldn’t take long for the new owner to pay more money for using the free one than they would for buying and using an energy efficient one if they take advantage of rebates.
Recycling is certainly the easiest option for old equipment. Water heaters are mostly made of steel with brass and copper attachments, all of which are quite recyclable. Most new appliances contain 25 percent to 90 percent recycled steel. Steel is one of the most valuable recycled materials on the planet because it can be endlessly recycled and turned into anything.
Humboldt Waste Management Authority (HWMA) used to recycle appliances, but its recycling center has shut down in order to make room for organic waste processing. Eel River Recology charges $12 for drop-off of any appliance that doesn’t contain refrigerants, and North Coast Appliances in McKinleyville will take your appliance to a recycling center for you for $25 if it doesn’t contain refrigerants. Humboldt Sanitation in McKinleyville will charge you $20 to crush most appliances with an excavator, extract the unrecyclable parts and bale the metal.
I don’t know how thorough the recycling process is, or how much of the materials are still wasted. Recycling is not yet the sophisticated industry it deserves to be – at least around here – because we’re still running on capitalism’s delusional ability to manufacture stuff cheaply. Of course, this is accomplished by offloading the true costs onto taxpayers and future generations.
Repurposing saves more energy than recycling. So instead of recycling that old water heater, turn it into a passive solar water pre-heater. It’s called a batch heater. You need a sunny outdoor location and some basic carpentry and plumbing skills to route water through the passive solar collector to your new hybrid heat pump. You just need some actual instructions instead of a summary that makes it sound easier than it actually is. But think of all the energy you would save.