Hot Water, Reimagined: New Products and Progress at WaterDrop Systems
- Eva Rooks
- Jan 13
- 5 min read
As buildings electrify and codes continue to push toward lower-carbon solutions, domestic hot water systems are emerging as a critical—and often underestimated—piece of the decarbonization puzzle. For multifamily, hospitality, and large commercial buildings, the shift away from fossil-fuel-based water heating requires not just new equipment, but a fundamentally different system approach.
In this interview, we sat down with Albert Rooks, CEO of Dynamic H2O/WaterDrop Systems, to discuss the company’s latest product introductions, recent progress, and where CO₂ heat pump water heating is headed next. Albert shares insights on system design, market adoption, and why WaterDrop’s full-system philosophy is helping project teams deliver reliable, high-performance hot water at scale.
Q: Over the past year, how has WaterDrop Systems evolved as a company, and what milestones are you most proud of?
Albert Rooks: One of the most significant milestones for us is that our product line is now UL listed for both the U.S. and Canada. That was a long and rigorous process involving extensive documentation and certification work with Underwriters Laboratories.
Late last year, we achieved that certification, which allows us to offer customers fully UL-listed systems—both our Droplet units and fully packaged skids. That’s a major step forward for our customers and for our internal confidence in the product.
“Achieving UL listing is a major milestone—it validates the system for real-world deployment across North America.”
Q: What differentiates WaterDrop Systems now compared to when the company first launched?
Albert Rooks: The biggest difference is production efficiency and sales volume. When we started, we were essentially building the production process from scratch—developing our bill of materials, setting up welding and sheet metal shops, and creating assembly cells.
After several years of refinement, production has really matured. We’re now operating efficiently, consistently, and at scale, which puts us in a very different position than where we began.
“We’ve moved from proving the concept to operating a mature, efficient production system.”
WaterDrop is introducing several new product offerings. What problems were you most focused on solving?
“With DHW Optics, as soon as the system is powered up, it’s online—and visible to everyone who needs to see it.”
Albert Rooks: The most exciting development for me is cloud connectivity. After extensive R&D, we’re now producing systems with industrial-grade LTE routers built in. As soon as the system is powered up, it’s online.
That means building owners and our engineering team can immediately see how the system is operating. Startup becomes much clearer and simpler, and long-term operation improves dramatically because we can fine-tune performance once the building is occupied.
This level of connectivity allows us to adjust operation based on real usage patterns. Every building is different, and with data, we can optimize how and when heat pump energy is used, reduce reliance on electric resistance, and lower operating costs for building owners.
We’ve also introduced predictive diagnostics. Instead of reacting to failures, we can now monitor system behavior and anticipate service needs before issues arise.
All of this is delivered through our data platform, DHW Optics, which gives owners visibility into what is often one of the most valuable long-term assets in their building.
Q: Are there any other new products you want to highlight?
Albert Rooks: Absolutely. We’re incredibly proud of our expansion kit for the Droplet product line. Traditionally, designers place storage tanks very close to heat pump arrays, especially with smaller CO₂ heat pumps. We’ve effectively removed that limitation.
With this expansion kit, tanks can be located virtually anywhere—many floors away, horizontally distant, or in completely separate areas of the building. Our control logic compensates for those distances and keeps the system operating efficiently.
This gives designers far more freedom to place equipment where it makes the most sense architecturally and operationally—without sacrificing performance.
“We’ve essentially shattered the limitation of where tanks need to be located.”
Q: Can you share an update on the Water Sizer? What it is and why a customer would want to use it?
“With real data, we can size systems correctly instead of guessing—and that saves money.”
Albert Rooks:
The Water Sizer is a product we’ve been developing for some time and will be released soon. It’s designed specifically for existing buildings, where converting from gas boilers to heat pump water heating can be difficult to size accurately.
Instead of relying on assumptions, the Water Sizer uses strap-on flow meters and data collection to measure actual hot water usage, distribution losses, and real heating loads over time. That data allows us to right-size a system—avoiding both over- and undersizing.
Q: WaterDrop often emphasizes a full-system approach. Why is that so critical?
Albert Rooks:
Heat pump water heating isn’t just about individual components—it’s about how everything works together. Tanks, heat pumps, swing tanks, recirculation loops, and controls are all interconnected.
To get reliable, efficient performance, you have to step back and design the entire system as a whole. That’s where good outcomes come from.
“To get buildings working properly, you have to look at the system as a system.”
Q: What should engineers and specifiers understand about CO₂ systems that may differ from conventional water heating?
“CO₂ systems work reliably across climates—and that predictability changes how we should think about sizing.”
Albert Rooks: CO₂ systems are incredibly reliable. In our experience, they work from day one, across a wide range of climates, and deliver exactly what they’re designed to produce.
Because of that predictability, there’s less need to oversize “just in case.” Oversizing leads to unnecessary cost, especially in storage. What we often see today is conservative design with extra storage, and while that’s understandable, data gives us the opportunity to optimize and reduce first costs over time.
Q: What trends are you seeing that signal growing confidence in this technology?
Albert Rooks:
We’re seeing a huge uptick in projects moving forward. Systems we quoted years ago are now being built, and the overall confidence level across the industry has increased significantly.
Once teams see these systems operating successfully in the field, momentum builds quickly.
“The industry confidence around these systems is real—and it’s accelerating.”
Q: What does the next 12 to 24 months look like for WaterDrop Systems?
Albert Rooks:
Our primary focus is market growth. Product development is largely complete, and we’re very happy with what we’re producing today.
We have a full production schedule that continues to grow month by month. The next phase is expanding across North America—adding new markets, new representatives, and new opportunities.
As WaterDrop Systems continues to expand its product offerings and refine its system-based approach, one theme remains clear: successful decarbonization requires more than replacing equipment. It requires thoughtful design, reliable controls, and data-driven operation.
With new products like WaterDrop Systems, DHW Optics, DHW Sizer and DHW Optids expanded design flexibility, and tools for existing buildings,
Dynamic H2O is helping project teams move beyond theory and into proven, scalable solutions for low-carbon domestic hot water—today and into the future, with confidence and performance.
If you’re exploring CO₂ heat pump water heating for a multifamily or commercial project—or want to learn more about WaterDrop Systems’ latest offerings—the WaterDrop team is available to support early-stage design, specification, and project planning.
Connect with WaterDrop Systems to start the conversation and explore what’s possible for your next high-performance building.
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