EcoRenovator - Interesting article on tankless water heaters

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Interesting article on tankless water heaters

Tankless Water Heaters Have a Long Payback Period | GreenBuildingAdvisor.com

Quote:

As long as you realize that you'll never save enough energy to justify the high purchase price, you may want to buy a tankless water heater for its performance specifications and compact size.

Lots of data there.

Nice post S-F.

I found out quite similar things when I went to install my natural gas tankless unit. The install costs are quite high due to the double wall vent pipe and possible blower fans that may be needed.

I am a bit curious about new construction though. That would tend to favor the tankless units as long as it wasn't an afterthought.

There is also the off grid folks who will pay more for more efficient appliances so they don't have to refill the propane tank quite as often.

Also, on the electric side of things, electric on demand heaters are actually cheaper than their tank counterparts. If you have to stick with electric it doesn't make much sense to go with a tank IMO. The only thing you have to watch out for here is that the electrical service you have coming to the house can handle the large electric load from the heater. Even my relatively small unit pulls up to 40A.

So, while its not worth it monitarily for most, I think they still have a niche to sell to.

"in-line" vs "tankless" water heaters

The Japanese in-line water heaters seem more efficient, but I am not familiar with them. Here is an article from ecorenovator.org

Quote:

In Japan many homes or apartments were built in eras before the demand for hot water was met by centralized water heaters. Especially in areas with predominantly warm climates, many building that aren’t even particularly old lack what many Americans might consider this very basic feature.

I am currently living on one of those apartments, and I can say that having been here for over a month, this has not been a problem. In fact, the small in-line water heaters that serve both the shower/bath and kitchen have been an improvement over what I am used to in the United States.

Like my water heater at home, the in-line water heaters here are gas-powered. However, the similarity stops there. The small unit rests on the wall adjacent the sink, with its own temperature control and faucet head, waiting for use. It does not burn gas throughout the day keeping large amount of water warm, but rather kicks on with the press of a button for instantly hot water. No more waiting while 60 seconds of cold water runs through the pipes, and no more leaving hot water in the pipes of your house just to have it cool off later.

While I realize there are in-line water heaters in the US, they’d always gotten the short end of the stick in reviews from friends, but now I am a lot closer to considering an inline install whenever I move back home.