This is technically at our duplex, not the triplex. But it's an energy efficiency accomplishment, so we're documenting it. At the duplex there were two old, gas-fired water heaters. One was failing (leaking), and it needed to be replaced. We decided to replace both at the same time with heat pump water heaters. "This Old House" video does a great job describing what they are. Basically, a heat pump moves heat from the surroundings (our basement) and into a refrigerant that heats the water. It's much more efficient to "move" heat than to generate it via electric resistance.
We hired an electrician to run the new wiring, and Katie installed the plumbing. Here are the progress pics:
Project costs: Richmond® Wi-Fi 50 Gallon Electric Water Heater with Hybrid Heat Pump x 2 + delivery from Menards = $2900 Xcel Energy rebate x 2 = -$800 Electrician = $300 Plumbing parts = $300 Total cost = $2700 or $1350 per heater Never having to pay gas again for water heating nor have the associated emissions...priceless.