Looking for some comments/reviews regarding Tankless Water Heater.

If you use one to provide water for entire house - voice your opinion

Thanks

gas or electric?

My house doesn't have gas, so electric tankless water heater was the only
option.

Unfortunately, I didn't think it was worth it, after getting a few quotes
from installers. (again, this comment only applies to electric tankless
water heaters)

Electric only actually.

What was the quote like?

I looked into it a few years back when I had to replace my tank. Basically, it was not worth it. It would have cost so much to re-route the gas and water lines that it would have taken many years to recoup my costs. If I were building new I might consider it.

I was thinking about putting it right where my current tank is.
Its all located inside the laundry room.

Electric ones are a bit easier to install

My house is appx 3500 sq ft...

Current electric water heater tank is located in the basement.
To replace it with a similar model(or even slightly bigger) unit
would have cost less than $550, parts & labor.

To supply my whole house with tankless electric water heater,
the cheapest quote I got was almost $2100. (got the quote in 2006)

Yes, it would have saved me some money on the electric bill, but
will take at least 4 to 5 years. Also, a tankless water heater
is less reliable than the water heater tanks, according to the
installer. In the end, I chose to stick with the water heater tank.

One other reason is that we're techinally in the northern part of the
country. The water that comes into your house is usually 50 to 55
degrees, or colder. The colder the incoming water, the less efficient
the electric tankless water heater.

But each house is different... I suggest getting a quotes and do
the math and see if it's worth it for your house. :)

Kiev Wrote:
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> I was thinking about putting it right where my
> current tank is.
> Its all located inside the laundry room.
>
> Electric ones are a bit easier to install


I was going to put mine in the same location as the tank as well. I would call around before you decide. Maybe prices have come down in the past couple of years.

The paragraph below is from Consumer Reports:

You may have heard about tankless water heaters, which save energy by heating only the water you draw. Those savings can add up to some $50 per year compared with conventional heaters. But even at that rate, it will take more than 25 years for an average household to recoup the extra $1,300 or so those units cost to buy, install, and maintain.

I looked into them a couple of years ago too, but decided against it not because of the cost, but due to the performance.

What about the performance?

Performance should be fine, if you know your GPM usage.

Read for youself...

I needed more than one unit installed, they required too much power and I could not guarentee that my showers would be warm enough...

http://www.tanklesswaterheaterguide.com/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2007 10:03AM by Tia2.

Had one installed three years ago. Cost over 2K and took about a month to install.....but WELL worth it. The poor installation guys from United Air Temps finally had to put it in my attic. I have three teenage daughters and the issue wasn't cost but the need for a supply of hot water sufficient for five people showering every day at the same time. No need to worry about who showers when and whether the hot water will run out.

The only complaint is from my husband who swears that it cuts out on him from time to time and he has to jump screaming from an icy shower. We girls shower (at least) four times more and have never had it happen. Do water heaters have souls?!

Do it.

What I hate about tank type heaters is capacity.

I ofthen run out of water...

That's why I insisted on having one. We had just bought a house with one of those ginormous tubs and I couldn't fill it up with hot water. That wasn't really the deal-breaker but running out of hot water every morning was. I think the emotional energy saved in not having to police when and how long we stay in the shower is well worth it. (Did I mention three teenage daughters? I thought so.) The supply of hot water is smoking hot and lasts as long as you need it. It's awesome.

I was enlightened about the concept of "hot water on demand" during a holiday in Europe. I asked permission to take a shower from my hosts and they thought I was mental. I had to explain that at my home there was a limit to how much hot water was available at one time. They felt really sorry for me.

I've thought about getting one for the same reason as ShowerDiva...I don't care what it costs to install or run...I want UNLIMITED hot water.

But I like a HOT shower...do these things get the water really hot? At all times of year, even when the incoming water is pretty cold?

I wonder if you could "gang" them....hook up two in series?

duh Wrote:
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> I wonder if you could "gang" them....hook up two
> in series?

You could probably attach two of them in series, provided that the temperature setting of the first water heater does not exceed the maximum inlet temperature of the second water heater. So, you could have a small tankless water heater that warms the water to 50F, and then a larger one that warms the water up to the desired temperature. Also, you could switch your cold water over to the 50F outlet of the small water heater, so that your cold water comes out warm during the winter instead of ice cold.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2007 09:28PM by joe.

I had a new water heater put in about 3 years ago and I made sure it was a high effiency unit and big enough for the place. I've had a packed place with both showers and tub running and never ran out of hot water.

If your running out of hot water your hot water heater is to small or set to low. When my unit get lows it acts as a tankless water heater. The only drawback is if I go on vacation and forget to flip the switch to the unit.

ShowerDiva Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was enlightened about the concept of "hot water
> on demand" during a holiday in Europe. I asked
> permission to take a shower from my hosts and they
> thought I was mental. I had to explain that at my
> home there was a limit to how much hot water was
> available at one time. They felt really sorry for
> me.


That's funny, because about the only thing I look forward to coming back to the US for is long, hot showers thanks to gigantic American water heaters. Everywhere across Europe and the rest of the world they use tiiiiiiny water tanks. Brasil, however, had widespread use of electric water heating shower heads, which were actually really awesome, except sometimes they would be scalding 2 seconds after turning the water on.. and oh yeah.. the exposed power lines in the shower......