The Home Ownership Thread - Page 43

Originally Posted by Ataturk 

Last I checked, tankless water heaters took a decade or more (often two decades) to pay for themselves. But in the meantime you get to enjoy water that's not consistently hot and doesn't flow enough to shower while washing dishes. A guy I know swears by them--but he has three in his house.

Around here the attics are so damn hot most of the year, water heaters don't have much work to do to keep their tanks hot.

Originally Posted by mike1445 

 tank style water heaters are $350-1000 with a lifespan of 12 years, tank-less are $800-1400 with a 20 year lifespan and energy cost savings of 30% or about $100/yr for a 2 person home, savings seem substantial enough for me. Price varies with volume for tank-style and output (gpm) for the tank-less. If your friend has 3 it's because he probably bought multiple lower priced units small outputs, 

Originally Posted by Medwed 

You only run out of hot water when you have a water tank to draw water from. Tankless water heaters by design cannot run out of hot water, unless of course they are broken and need replacement.
Tankless heaters also heat the house if you have water heating system like I do. No variation in water pressure or water temperature with tankless heaters.

Originally Posted by Medwed 

You only run out of hot water when you have a water tank to draw water from. Tankless water heaters by design cannot run out of hot water, unless of course they are broken and need replacement.
Tankless heaters also heat the house if you have water heating system like I do. No variation in water pressure or water temperature with tankless heaters.

Originally Posted by mike1445 

 tank style water heaters are $350-1000 with a lifespan of 12 years, tank-less are $800-1400 with a 20 year lifespan and energy cost savings of 30% or about $100/yr for a 2 person home, savings seem substantial enough for me. Price varies with volume for tank-style and output (gpm) for the tank-less. If your friend has 3 it's because he probably bought multiple lower priced units small outputs, 

Probably not. Gas tankless water heaters, which use high-powered burners to quickly heat water as it runs through a heat exchanger, were 22 percent more energy efficient on average than the gas-fired storage-tank models in our tests. That translates into a savings of around $70 to $80 per year, based on 2008 national energy costs. But because they cost much more than storage water heaters, it can take up to 22 years to break even—longer than the 20-year life of many models. Moreover, our online poll of 1,200 readers revealed wide variations in installation costs, energy savings, and satisfaction.

....

Tankless units might need more care
During our long-term testing, an indicator on the tankless model warned of scale buildup. We paid $334 for special valves and a plumber to flush out the water heater with vinegar. Many industry pros recommend that tankless models be serviced once a year by a qualified technician. Calcium buildup can decrease efficiency, restrict water flow, and damage tankless models. Experts suggest installing a water softener if your water hardness is above 11 grains per gallon. Ignoring this advice can shorten your warranty.

Since water heating represents about $20 of the average FPL bill, the savings for a tankless water heater would be less than $2 per month for a typical customer.

Originally Posted by Douglas 

I'm as skeptical on tankless heaters as anyone, in particular 20-year-lifespan claims that are, at the moment, essentially completely unsubstantiated...

...but that article is 5 years old. That's an eternity when we're talking about evolving technologies and markets.

EDIT: I was honing in on the CR article - but the Green Building Advisor article is from April 2012, put out by what is obviously a green building advocate, and is pretty damning.

Originally Posted by otc 

I dunno..I can run my parents tank style heater down in a single shower.

Not to where it goes completely cold, but I have to keep turning down the cold water more and more. Seems like it is using up the hot water and replacing it with lukewarm water that hasn't been fully heated yet as the tank refills itself. And even with the tank, you can lose temp when someone uses the other taps (well maybe not with a 1.5gpm showerhead, but certainly with a higher flow setup where turning on a top cuts the flow rate and means you get more cold water in the mix).

A tankless system might still have problems when multiple people use the taps (which...how often does that really happen?), but at least it can keep pumping out hot water forever.

Originally Posted by Douglas 

This just sounds like your parents' water heater is undersized or is turned down too low (for the energy savings!).

I hope you own your own home, and are just bringing your folks' house in as an anecdotal counterpoint.