A heat pump water heater… Googled it but could not see why lines are coming off the side of the tank…
This might help…
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Condensation drain for the heat pump.
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I agree with Roy that it is a condensation line.
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Don’t work that good to heat the house; why would I think it would work better with my water? 
Here in TN and GA our climate is mild and electricity is cheap (less than 12 cent per kWh) so lots of homes are heated and cooled with heat pumps.
Up in New England like VT and MA the rate is over 30 cents/kWh and winter temps often dip under 20F so basic residential heat pumps are not the best choice.
for the same reasons, Heat pump WH (aka Hybrid WH) will make more sense in warmer climates.
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Are you referring to the PVC or the hose? I’ve never seen one of these in the wild.
Both, to me it looks like the PVC line is the “main” condensation line with the rubber hose being a sort of a “secondary” overflow in case the main line cloggs.
I’m not real familiar with these systems but that’s what been able to conclude from what I’ve found online.
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That’s because they only work well where year round temperatures range between 40° and 90° fahrenheit. If you go below freezing no hot water for that month. How you decide efficiency is another concern. There is a big difference between energy efficiency and comfort provided.
Suffering is part of the new religion 
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I’m impressed there is a bollard.!!!
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They were all the rage here for awhile, then dropped off the radar. Don’t see them as much as I did 10 years ago. Doesn’t help that they cost 3-4 X a standard tank.
Still slightly noisy if it’s in an interior utility room, but takes some of the warm air out of the surrounding air, so that’s a nice benefit.
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Thank you for all the insight everyone…
Not the drain diagram on the unit.
Does not look like it is hooked up to the heat pump.
The pics attached above are not the same water heater you’re asking about.
As for the comments that the HP does not work well; these things are not designed to heat water to 120F. You may get it in the summer, but not in sub-freezing winter. However, they raise the incoming water from underground water supply temps to whatever outdoor heat it can use to raise the temp. The amount of fuel needed to raise it from there to 120F is significantly less. A heat pump is near 100% efficient, regardless of their output capacity. Actually in the great white north, with low water supply temperatures, they may work better than in the deep south. 
In the context of an air source HP water heater, it would be more correct to say they use whatever heat is in the air where they are located, rather than specify outdoors.
At least in my area, water heaters are always indoors. And if they are in a garage, the garage is typically insulated. With or without a heat source, an insulated garage is usually warmer than the outdoors.
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Didn’t think I had to define “outdoor”. Sorry!
How many do you see actually inside the (conditioned) house?
Make and model number please.
99% of them in MN.
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Same here in Maine.
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So they are taking heat from the house to heat the hot water? Basicly they are running an air conditioner inside the house for hot water?