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Electric tankless water heater

17 years ago

I am looking to replace our old natural gas water heater with an electric tankless model. Our natural gas rates are going up and up and I am not willing to pay that much just to heat our water. We use a heat pump during the winter so we have no other need for natural gas.

I live in the Louisville area and have not confirmed with anyone locally what our incoming water temperature is during the winter. I know this is important.

What I am looking for is a model which will allow two showers running simultaneously in the winter months and also have a low minimum flow rate to turn on.

Can anyone recommend a certain brand/model for me? Looking at various websites it appears that there are models which meet my requirements however I take manufacturer's descriptions with a grain of salt.

Thanks!

Comments (11)

  • 17 years ago

    Don't neglect to check out wattage requirements for the flow-rate and heat-rise you require. If you haven't yet done that, you may be surprised. Your gas line is already in. Assume you will need to add new circuit and breaker for this changeover -- 220 or 440. Will your existing service handle it OK?

  • 17 years ago

    I will check into the electrical requirements; however I will need an electrician to give me the proper answer. The house is only 5 years old so I am guessing with a new circuit and breaker the existing service will handle it.

    There is no way I am staying with natural gas. I pay over $10 a month just for having the gas turned on and our rates are up over 60% in the past six months. Our electric rates are far more stable. People need to reconsider their belief that natural gas is the better choice as the spike in natural gas price has made a dramatic change in the cost/benefit of using gas. We have a high efficiency natural gas furnace as a backup to our heatpump and it will not be turned on at all this coming winter unless gas prices fall.

    If you have any advice as to which electric tankless water heaters I should look into I would appreciate it.

  • 17 years ago

    Gas is s till cheaper per BTU than is electric. A tankless electric will most likely require a complete new electric service to your house, even if your home is new. They typically require 100 amps and even in a home with a 200 amp service, that is too much juice needed without getting a new service. That will be expensive.

    I personally have a natural gas tankless heater and have had one for 13 years. My summer gas bill is around the $12 minimum that the utility company charges. When I had my frou frou SIL visit for a month and who would take 2 showers a day, my bill wasn't even $20.

    I think you need to do some more research.

  • 17 years ago

    Please stop suggesting gas. The gas will be turned OFF. If you cannot stay on topic please do not post.

    I am looking for suggestions for electric tankless water heaters. I am not looking for outdated propaganda about natural gas. Maybe I need to speak to an expert in the field not people who are hooked on natural gas.

    Thank you.

  • 17 years ago

    Use the search function and type in "electric tankless" and other variations. Believe you will find quite bit already posted.

    Mfg's specs on this kind of thing are pretty dependable. They are "specifications" rather than "descriptions." The key to satisfactory tankless heater installations is sizing-to-use heat-rise/flow-rate requirements given ambient inlet temps. Advantage to electric is not having to worry about venting. Disadvantages typically time-to-heat compared with gas. I think you'll find quite a bit of discussion with a search.

  • 17 years ago

    There is no need to be an ass. If you don't want to learn from people who have experience with tankless, then don't post.

    You WILL need to redo the electrical service to your home unless your have a 400 amp service. Retrofitting tankless is VERY VERY expensive unless you can DIY some of it. The typical homeowner will not be able to do the necessary mods needed to get an electric tankless, and paying someone to do this will cost you $5-$6K. It takes a LONG time to recoup that type of investment.

    And you may not want to hear it, but gas is STILL cheaper than electric per BTU, which means that even if you switch to electric, your hot water costs will actually increase rather than decrease.

  • 17 years ago

    To achieve 4 GPM at 60 temp degree rise it with require about a 30 KW unit. Which should be adequate for two 2.5 GPM showers set at 105 degrees.

    At 240 volts (most homes have 215-230, so even less output) it will take 120 amp service alone to heat the water, even on a 200 amp service, doesnÂt leave you enough to run heat pump, dryer, range/oven and lighting.

    In addition you mention turning off gas at furnace so will you be adding more electric coils to the ductwork for when the heat pump canÂt keep up when itÂs cold out?

    If you hate gas that much, install a 60 gallon plus electric water heater, pull furnace and install air handler with electric resistance back up heat, and then complain about the high energy bill while the rising electric costs continue to climb since they are closely tied to Nat gas costs because of production.

    Most people donÂt have a concept of how much input or energy is required to heat water with electric, especially on-demand units. Look at the gas units, instead of a 40 gallon tank with 40,000 BtuÂs the gas on-demand units are 200,000 BtuÂs to meet the draw demand.

  • 17 years ago

    Sorry, to learn more about these, eemax makes about the best

    http://www.eemaxinc.com/residential.htm

    Here is a link that might be useful: eemax

  • 17 years ago

    I have 200 amp service to my house. Electric tankless rated at 120 amps maximum. 5-ton heat pump with whatever is the appropriate size heat strips. Water well & septic system. All the usual household appliances. Thus far in almost four years of being in the house I've not overloaded the electric service. Keep in mind that the tankless will modulate its power draw according to the load, so won't pull maximum amperage every time it runs.

    Keep in mind also that saving energy (electric or gas) is not a guarantee with tankless. That depends largely on how hot water is used. If one is careful and conscious about using hot water only when it is really needed, keeping flow-rates reasonable and temperature settings reasonable so the unit doesn't *have* to max-out ... it can be easily done. Running hot water at the tap just to wash/rinse hands, rinse out a glass, brush teeth, etc. is sooo not necessary.

  • 17 years ago

    If you want to get rid of the gas, fine. But don't bother with electric tankless. Just go with an electric tank heater. It's unlikely that you will be able to do a full house tankless heater on a 200 amp panel.

    I've posted repeatedly on the numbers on an electric tankless and they don't add up over an electric tank heater. The savings is only 1-2%.

    You should expect electricity to go up also. Most forms of energy are exchangeable... if oil has gone up, gas and electric won't be far behind.

  • 17 years ago

    The electric rates you pay increase 300% as your consumption rises above a baseline level. In CA, where I live, the baseline is set at around 400 KWH per month and the rate is $0.12 per KWH for the electricity you consume under the baseline amount. The rate rises incrementally to $0.19 and $0.25 per kilowatt hour as you consume the second baseline amount. Then it rises to $0.38 for the power consumed in excess of double the baseline quantity. So here are how three months' bills look:

    October: 400 KWH, $48
    November: 800 KWH, $141
    December: 1,200 KWH $293

    Maybe power rates don't do that in your area. Look at your utility bill and contact your service providers about rates and baseline quantities. It is a good idea to have options for energy choices in case of shortages and price spikes which are bound to occur. I think that going electric with solar panels to offset consumption is a the most viable energy solution available for pre-existing buildings. But be careful before shutting off the gas permanently, you may be calling them back again to find it isn't as easy to turn it back on.

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