Tankless WH

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Another thing people do not think about in the north is they need a lot of air and need to be inside so they do not freeze.
Well in the summer they are pulling cool air out of the home and in the winter out goes warm air .
This is an added cost many never even consider.
I feel in the south great in the north Never .
... Cookie

[phinsperger]

Originally Posted by rcooke

Shower together save even more.
Try it, works for us .

.... Cookie

Hey Roy, I think you were asking before about timers for electric water heaters. Presumably because of the smart metering program underway in Ontario. I guess that means when the mood strikes you can just hop in to the shower with your spouse you have to wait until the rates go down.

[dgagneur]

I installed an ELECTRIC unit on our new house...5 months have gone by and we LOVE it. The plumber who did the underground shook his head in disbelief and said our bill would sky rocket. Compared to our other eletric bills (old house had electric w/h and stove and new house has ondemand electric water heater and stove) our bills are literally the same. Yes, I realize there are other factors involved but the moral of this story is we are very pleased with our ELECTRIC on demand unit.

P.S. the electric units can be installed about anywhere and are almost half the cost of the gas units...and are claimed to be more efficient (whatever).

Dave

[Douglas Cossar]

Regarding post 15

Brian:

The bills were for July and August.

Furnace was not running, obviously. Only gas consumption was for Hot water and the BBQ.

The gas bills are considerably higher in the colder months

[mthomas2]

Originally Posted by rcooke

Another thing people do not think about in the north is they need a lot of air and need to be inside so they do not freeze.
Well in the summer they are pulling cool air out of the home and in the winter out goes warm air .
This is an added cost many never even consider.
I feel in the south great in the north Never .
... Cookie

A lot of the units here are direct vent:

http://www.plumbingsupply.com/takagi_tkd20.html

I have four of them installed in rental rahabs, mostly because wall mounted across from the furnace they recover floor space that allows an additional 1/2 bath or larger closets.

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by dgagneur

I installed an ELECTRIC unit on our new house...5 months have gone by and we LOVE it. The plumber who did the underground shook his head in disbelief and said our bill would sky rocket. Compared to our other eletric bills (old house had electric w/h and stove and new house has ondemand electric water heater and stove) our bills are literally the same. Yes, I realize there are other factors involved but the moral of this story is we are very pleased with our ELECTRIC on demand unit.

P.S. the electric units can be installed about anywhere and are almost half the cost of the gas units...and are claimed to be more efficient (whatever).

Dave

How much did the electric upgrade cost as the tankless electrics can draw huge amperages?

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by mthomas2

A lot of the units here are direct vent:

http://www.plumbingsupply.com/takagi_tkd20.html

I have four of them installed in rental rahabs, mostly because wall mounted across from the furnace they recover floor space that allows an additional 1/2 bath or larger closets.

Since they are direct vent, do they need internal electric heaters to prevent freezing from cold air entry? If they do, this is an extra operating cost!!

[rwand1]

David G,

What is the make of your tankless water heater?

Thanks,

[rwand1]

http://www.e-tankless.com/

There is a comparison of electric v. gas.
http://www.e-tankless.com/gas-vs-electric.php

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by rwand1

http://www.e-tankless.com/

There is a comparison of electric v. gas.
http://www.e-tankless.com/gas-vs-electric.php

Raymond:

A well installed and insulated 40 gal (Imperial) electric tank can be be 95-96%+ efficicient with a very low standby loss. It costs about $300, installs easily in a 100 amp panel with some breaker space left. With conserving use such as low flow shower heads. its will be the lower overall costs in many areas.

The tankless argument is mostly smoke and mirrors as these units are very expensive to buy and install plus will require an entrance upgrade ($2000+ )
and still not deliver hot water if two or more appliances/uses want hot water at the same time.

Check the specs and the arguments against them will be obvious......some draw over 100 amps at 240 volts.......that's a whole 100 amp service for just the hot water!!!!! Hot many extra dams/power plants will we have to build ust for the high draw created mornings just for shower water. Electric utilities should ban them as they add to the "spiking" they are trying to "load-level" to cut costs and be more efficient......meaning less plants needed to serve the masses.

[Michael Larson]

Brian, Efficiency of the fuel source is hardly the be all and end all in determining wether to use gas or electric.

[rwand1]

Yes I saw the amps required, that was interesting.

Fwiw, I have a 60 gallon electric tank, with an exterior insulated blanket.
The tank is also on a timer which is programmed to come on for an hour twice daily. On/off 2-3 am, and on/off again from 5:30-6:30 pm. Have never run out of hot water.

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by mlarson

Brian, Efficiency of the fuel source is hardly the be all and end all in determining wether to use gas or electric.

Wasn't comparing electric and gas but electric storage versus electric tankless. That's why I highlighted "electric".....for people considering electric tankless over electric storage........unless some abnormal situation, stick with the electric storage.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by Brian A. MacNeish

Wasn't comparing electric and gas but electric storage versus electric tankless. That's why I highlighted "electric".....for people considering electric tankless over electric storage........unless some abnormal situation, stick with the electric storage.

Brian,
I must have missed something.
If it cost less to use gas or oil or whatever to raise the water temp why would I use electricity?

[sparksnmore]

I'll never forget the first one we installed, the family hated it because they could only use hot water from one fixture at a time.
On the other hand we have a single man that lives alone and he loves his.

Sometimes the initial cost for installing a gas fired tank-less WH can get pretty expensive because a larger flue pipe is needed all they way through the roof.