Anyone have an electric Tankless Water Heater?

[DAXhound]

I had one, while living overseas. A Panasonic 3500 watt. Cost 80 usd. I installed it DIY. works on a 20 amp dedicated circuit. Cost about 10 Dollars per month for long, hot showers. Was just looking at a tankless black and decker for a small house.. 269 usd, requires dual pole 30 Amp. Most of the world uses tankless water heaters and ductless ac.

[Nik4me]

Electric tankless has a lot of pluses.
So I mention minuses.
1. One need to change user’s behavior:
You don’t use the cold water faucet at all. If you do- you will waste water and energy. You set your water heater to the preferred temperature ( digital- easy)- no need to dilute the just heated water with the cold water.
2. If you shut water while in the shower, then turn it on again- you will get so called “ cold water sandwich” for a few moments - if your hot water pipes are not insulated.

3. If you live in a cold climate and have a large house: you better off with several “point of use” electric tankless heaters- like a small one under the sink, larger one for tubs and showers- to avoid wasting water while the heated water reaches the shower due to length of your pipes, not the heater

3. For more powerful heaters you need to wire a dedicated circuit- upfront cost of electrician.

4.If you live in the areas of hard water and have no water softener- you may need to flash it with vinegar more often?
Look into Stiebel Eltron to familiarize yourself with different kinds and their nuances- they are in the US now.
Read the manuals before buying.

Think about it: you use hot water maybe from 1 hour a day to maybe 3? hours total if you have a large family ( a few showers, hand washing, dishwasher? laundry could be done with cold water?)
The tank is heated 24/7 at recommended 140 to prevent legionnaires disease, some heat goes out through venting, then you dilute water you just heated to making it bearable for skin.
A lot of waste and other issues.
I have electric tankless for more than 6 years now- will never go back to gas- YMMV

[VA Yankee]

I ran the numbers for a gas tankless HWH and with the unit, installation cost and alleged larger gas line some said I would need its not worth it. My gas bill is low on the budget plan and a savings of $10-20 a month is not worth the 20-30 years it would take to recoup the investment.

[nm9stheham]

Tankless units tend to show up in vacation rentals which sit unoccupied a lot. Makes better economic sense. And for larger houses, they benefit by putting separate tankless heaters in major areas, like a kitchen unit, one for a cluster of bathrooms, etc. Gets rid of some of the delays in getting hot water. But that is more cost put in each location.



I don't believe the claims of better reliability, as I can't see what would change to make them so. They still have heating elements and need flow switches or sensors, which standard WH's don't need. More parts, so like hot tubs, which have similar designs, they will probably need more servicing. The only advantage may be that they don't have a big holding tank that will eventually get eaten out by minerals and chemicals in the water. Having the sacrificial rod in the WH tank changed every 10 years or so will help that problem, but that too is maintenance cost for most folks.

[Nik4me]

If someone is more comfortable sticking with the tank electric water heater (in the absence of the gas or if you don't like using gas) - please look into heat pump water heaters- they are still more expensive to buy, but they definitely will save you a lot of monthly electricity costs and will dehumidify and cool the heater's location as well

[KathrynAragon]

I have never had an electric tankless water heater. Several plumbers have told me they are problematic. I have however, had a tankless gas water heater and LOVED it. The biggest issue though was that it took a long time to get hot water to the other end of the house.

Currently I am about to replace two water heaters (one gas, one electric) with two gas tankless water heaters - one on either end of the house. Yes, they are expensive, BUT both my current gas water heaters are in my freaking attic which makes no sense to me at all and I can just imagine the hell in my life if either of them leaked. They are also both over 15 years old so hasta la vista, baby. (I just bought this house.)

Long story short, I could have gone with two more - in the attic apparently because there is no place for them downstairs - or I could have converted some closet (that I'm using) downstairs to house one of them (God only knows what I'd do with the other - and then of course I'd be down a closet too), or just pay to have two tankless gas water heaters installed. So I'm having two gas tankless water heaters installed, one at either end of my house. I'm OK with it. I LOVED my former one and it didn't freeze up even when we had record low temps and ice and snow this past year.

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by ersatz

Does Anyone have a tankless water heater?

I do. Last year, I replaced my elderly water heater tank with a tankless version.

The tankless version does take up significantly less room. I have a bunch of hot water on demand. And, my gas bills have dropped significantly.

On the other hand ... I had to pay a more lot replacement costs for tankless heater than a tank version. I used to get hot water within a minute or two of turning the hot water tap. Getting hot water now takes several minutes more of running water to crank up to speed. And, though the advertisers don't tell you about this, the tankless water heater requires a lot more service checks/maintenance, which costs more money.

If I had to sum it all up, I would say it's close to a wash, except the tankless version costs slightly more money overall.

So you are saying the tankless heater takes longer to deliver hot water?

I thought the point of tankless was instant hot water immediately from the heating coils. Tankless takes longer?

So then what is the advantage? Higher outlay for a longer wait while you waste more water. I am suddenly not seeing any advantage to tankless.

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by Igor Blevin

So you are saying the tankless heater takes longer to deliver hot water?

I thought the point of tankless was instant hot water immediately from the heating coils. Tankless takes longer?

So then what is the advantage? Higher outlay for a longer wait while you waste more water. I am suddenly not seeing any advantage to tankless.

It creates hot water instantly but that water has to travel the length of the pipe from the tank to the faucet. A traditional tank has convection especially overnight where the waters warmth has traveled up the pipe reducing the time it takes for it to reach the faucet.

I have priced the installation cost for a Gas Model and the savings per month would take decades to break even, its not worth it for me and my Gas costs are low.

[mojo101]

when we were kids,we dont have hot water,someone in the family will boil a large pot of water and thats what we have to take a bath.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Igor Blevin

So you are saying the tankless heater takes longer to deliver hot water?

I thought the point of tankless was instant hot water immediately from the heating coils. Tankless takes longer?

So then what is the advantage? Higher outlay for a longer wait while you waste more water. I am suddenly not seeing any advantage to tankless.

It's not INSTANT hot water. It's ENDLESS hot water. There's a big difference. You can get INSTANT hot water if you want, I believe, but you'll pay dearly for it.

For the record, the tankless water heater I had before was near my bathrooms. I got hot water just about instantly there, faster than with a conventional water heater. But it took a longer time to get hot water across the large house (2700 square feet) to the kitchen which was on the other end of the house.

This time I am doing two - to replace the two tank hot water heaters I have now - one at either end of the house. One will be near the kitchen and one will be near the two bathrooms so I should be fine. It just works out that way - I'd still go with a gas tankless water heater even if it did take a little extra time to get the hot water to the faucet somewhere.