Post by tellmesomethingood on Feb 8, 2016 22:28:17 GMT -5
Does anyone have one of those water heaters that give hot water on demand? Our water tank that came with our house just doesn't do the job. If nobs it runs any hot water for a while, I can almost fill our tub with enough hot water. DH cashed some stock out and we will get a tax refund, so I would love to get something for more hot water.
Are they worth it? What should I look for? How much did you spend on it?
We asked our plumber and contractor about it when we bought our house. Basically, for daily use in a non-vacation house, it only makes sense if you're south of a certain latitude. Anywhere north of Tennessee/Kentucky it isn't worth it for daily use because the ground water is SO frigid, that the energy it expends heating it up ends up being a wash with a regular tank water heater (especially when factoring in installation costs). They advise people against it up here, even though they'd personally obviously make more money by installing them.
For a vacation home/cottage, or house farther south, it makes sense if you can swing it financially.
We asked our plumber and contractor about it when we bought our house. Basically, for daily use in a non-vacation house, it only makes sense if you're south of a certain latitude. Anywhere north of Tennessee/Kentucky it isn't worth it for daily use because the ground water is SO frigid, that the energy it expends heating it up ends up being a wash with a regular tank water heater (especially when factoring in installation costs). They advise people against it up here, even though they'd personally obviously make more money by installing them.
For a vacation home/cottage, or house farther south, it makes sense if you can swing it financially.
I had the same experience with a plumber. He told me that it is only worth it in certain areas of the country.
We asked our plumber and contractor about it when we bought our house. Basically, for daily use in a non-vacation house, it only makes sense if you're south of a certain latitude. Anywhere north of Tennessee/Kentucky it isn't worth it for daily use because the ground water is SO frigid, that the energy it expends heating it up ends up being a wash with a regular tank water heater (especially when factoring in installation costs). They advise people against it up here, even though they'd personally obviously make more money by installing them.
For a vacation home/cottage, or house farther south, it makes sense if you can swing it financially.
I'm in Michigan. I was told that it's more energy efficient because a tank has to constantly run heat to keep water hot. I know nothing about hot water tanks. I haven't talked to a plumber yet. Maybe we just need a bigger tank.
We asked our plumber and contractor about it when we bought our house. Basically, for daily use in a non-vacation house, it only makes sense if you're south of a certain latitude. Anywhere north of Tennessee/Kentucky it isn't worth it for daily use because the ground water is SO frigid, that the energy it expends heating it up ends up being a wash with a regular tank water heater (especially when factoring in installation costs). They advise people against it up here, even though they'd personally obviously make more money by installing them.
For a vacation home/cottage, or house farther south, it makes sense if you can swing it financially.
I never would have thought about that part. I just love having a hot shower when h is showering, laundry is going and the dishwasher is running. Or having a hot shower after 3 guests showering before me.
We asked our plumber and contractor about it when we bought our house. Basically, for daily use in a non-vacation house, it only makes sense if you're south of a certain latitude. Anywhere north of Tennessee/Kentucky it isn't worth it for daily use because the ground water is SO frigid, that the energy it expends heating it up ends up being a wash with a regular tank water heater (especially when factoring in installation costs). They advise people against it up here, even though they'd personally obviously make more money by installing them.
For a vacation home/cottage, or house farther south, it makes sense if you can swing it financially.
We received similar advice for our house in northern NY. Plumber also said when the computer panel goes (he had replaced a good number of them after only a few years of installation) it costs just as much as the original purchase to replace. We ended up buying a 200 gallon hot water tank for a fraction of the price and never run out of hot water!
We have one and looooooove it. IDK what the brand is or how much it costs or even how it works, but the water gets more than hot enough and is able to keep up with a shower + washer + dishwasher going, or 3 showers going at the same time. We haven't ever tried more than that. Something you may need that may add to the cost (again, clueless because it came with the house) is some sort of circulation pump system so that you don't have to wait for the cold water to be flushed out of the pipes. Ours is set to circulate water before we get up to shower and then kicks off until the evening when we're home and would need hot water again. I'm not sure that all houses need that, but our house is pretty big and that's apparently a common complaint for people.
yes, we have one that came w/the house. i'm not a huge fan. but we're kind of at the max run recommended for the model and don't have a recirc pump. recirc pump solves most of the problems above and i think in colder climates (but i have no experience with the latter).
water was so hot we had to turn the max temp down, so i can't complain about that.
We have one and looooooove it. IDK what the brand is or how much it costs or even how it works, but the water gets more than hot enough and is able to keep up with a shower + washer + dishwasher going, or 3 showers going at the same time. We haven't ever tried more than that. Something you may need that may add to the cost (again, clueless because it came with the house) is some sort of circulation pump system so that you don't have to wait for the cold water to be flushed out of the pipes. Ours is set to circulate water before we get up to shower and then kicks off until the evening when we're home and would need hot water again. I'm not sure that all houses need that, but our house is pretty big and that's apparently a common complaint for people.
Yes we have this issue and since the previous owners had an early model tankless put in there is no circulation issue. As a result it sometimes cuts out (cold water!) and also can take quite a while to heat up in the winter.
I don't think this would be an issue with a newer or better model. I want to replace ours but it seems ridiculous.
Post by cabbagecabbage on Feb 9, 2016 9:31:29 GMT -5
We do not buy we just replaced our standard water heater. We looked into tankless but being in the Chicago area, they don't work well for our needs.
Anyway, a new tank (~$1k) is amazing. I hadn't realized how much the old one was slipping. I cam fill our deep tub and it's so hot it burns. I have to be careful. So replacing with a regular model is still a noticeable difference.
If your main priority is instant hot water, a tankless takes longer (unless you have a pump). It does, however, keep hot water going longer. It also depends on where you can put it in your house.
I love them, though. A few of our cities in DFW are requiring them on new construction. New energy guidelines are about to be released and I am guessing more will be added.
Post by CajunShrimp on Feb 9, 2016 11:02:59 GMT -5
We have it. We can have both showers and a washing machine going at once, and the water is still hot. Our heat is also through the same system. Water is always very hot. It takes about a minute to get upstairs, but that is just enough time for me to get undressed. Our heating bill has gone down since we installed it.
If your main priority is instant hot water, a tankless takes longer (unless you have a pump). It does, however, keep hot water going longer. It also depends on where you can put it in your house.
I love them, though. A few of our cities in DFW are requiring them on new construction. New energy guidelines are about to be released and I am guessing more will be added.
I more just want to have enough hot water and not have to worry about running out and having to wait. It's such a first world problem :/
DH has a cousin who's a plumber, so I will be talking to him tonight or tomorrow and getting his thoughts. Our house came with a walk in tub with jets, but we don't get enough hot water to fill it, so it never gets used. It would be nice to use it, otherwise we need to sell it and install a regular shower.
Home ownership is something else! We've rented for years. This our first owned home.