Benefits of tankless water heater? We are building now.?

Question

Anyone have experience with tankless? Are the energy savings, etc. real/noticible? How much sq ft can a tankless system support?

Answer 1

My water heater went out the past friday so I wanted to research and make sure that I was getting the best thing I could (my income tax check just came back so why not splurge).

From the information that I could find, the benefits of the tankless were that there is no need for your gas to run constantly since the water is heated at the time that you use it. I did not go with it however because the local installers needed 3 days to put them in as a plumber and an electrician needed to be there for the installation.
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well that obviously did not work for us.
The initial outlay seemed to be a bit more expensive but I thought that that expense would be more than countered by the fact that you get an energy credit on your taxes and the savings from not having your water heated 24 hours a day 7 days a week......

The plumber that I talked with stated that the problem with them was that unless you get a fairly large one, you cannot run several applications at the same time.
(i dont know who does this anyway)
2 showers are the most that goes on at any one time in my house.....but if more than that go on with you then they claim that this would not be ideal as all the water would be warm.
The other thing that you needed to know is that you will need 200 amp service. I assume thatthat is standard in new houses but dont really know and that would be a bear to retro fit.
ANYWAY it really seems like it is the way to go
do some more research on line. I pretty much dropped the issue since i needed hot water immediately (finally got installed Monday)
but if I had more time I would have went with it.

I ultimately ended up with a powervented heater.
It did cost a bit more but apparently it is a bit more energy efficent than the standard.
Look into that if the tankless does not work out!
GOOD LUCK On your new house~

Answer 2

Gas tankless manufacturers often promote very high gallons per minute flow and this can be very deceptive when they are speaking of flows in which the water temperature can only be raised 50º F. If your incoming water temperature is 55º the resulting 105º is not hot water and after piping temperature losses the water arriving at the fixture will often lose 10º or more. 95º F is just luke warm water. BEFORE YOU BUY DETERMINE YOUR DESIRED REQUIREMENTS THEN READ THE SPECIFICATIONS

ALso, this is strange to explain but tankless heaters draw A LOT more instantaneous (sp?) power if your electric rates include a 'demand charge' operating this could be quite expensive!

Have your contractor 'ruff in' a space for one.
In 10 years it will be perfected and you will already have a space for it.

Answer 3

You can have the tankless heaters closer to where you need the water.
You never run out of warm water, but if the power is off, there is no hot water at all.
And you need a rather large electricity supply (unless you use the gas fired ones)
Savings should be considerable, since you don't lose all that heat to gradual cooling of a regular tank.
Check eBay for good pricing.

Answer 4

I have seriously looked into tankless heaters, and I came to the conclusion that they are not worth the cost for tank-heater replacement, but they ARE definitely worth it for new construction. You'll be able to amortize the (extra) cost in about 5 years (depending on energy costs, etc.)

If / when I build a new house, I will definitely be putting in a tankless heater (and an in-sink 190 degree hot water dispenser, also).

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Answer 5

I looked at them when we were replacing ours. I think they are way worth it. My husband didn't want to spend more money though. I have since taken over making the financial decisions. I think the best advantage is not running out of hot water while your having a nice relaxing shower. (and hiding from the kids)

Answer 6

they used one in a store i worked at it was ok - not sure how it will be for taking a bath or a shower - they are nice in that they dont break and flood the whole place and they take a lot less room then a regular one

Answer 7

Here's a page with information and additional links to help you make a decision:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13020