Power vent water heater and power loss??
cindywhitall
11 years ago
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alan_s_thefirst
11 years agoRelated Discussions
new water heater with power vent
Comments (7)dyno - what do you mean by not operationally cost effective? As a general rule electric heater are much more efficient in terms of heat produced from a given amount of energy input. Now your cost at the end of the day may or may not be higher - really depends on the cost of a given energy source in your area. Here in the south where there is often access to cheap hydro electric power the electric kicks gas up and down the street. The opposite is true in New England where expensive coal and oil fired elect. plants dominate. Just look at the energy efficiency ratings of the heters. Gas are typically in the 70-80% range and electric in the 90%. This doesn't mean there aren't gas units out there that produce 94-95% efficiency ratings or electric ones that stink with only a 75% rating....See MorePower Vent Hot Water Collection Tank Heaters
Comments (4)Both the 22v50 and the direct vent 22dv50 have the same energy factor of .58 with a estimated av energy cost of $235. The 22v50 is your basic 50 gal gas water heater. Unless you don't have combustion air available, there is no reason to go with the direct vent. The direct vent would also require redoing all of your venting since they get their combustion air through a coaxial vent. Their largest tankless unit with 35 degree inlet water would put out just about 4.7 gal a minute at 105 degrees. That is about 2 showers at the same time. There are other units out there that can heat more water You are right about the gas line-- it needs to be 3/4". More importantly from a reasonable installation cost standpoint is that you need to keep the flue short since it is a special stainless steel vent. If you can relocate the heater to an outside wall and then vent through the wall it works best. You cannot reuse your existing vent if you were to go with a tankless. Your plumber might have the best idea, just keep it simple and cheap. Insulate the tank with a $15 tank insulation kit and insulate the pipes then call it good. Put your money towards saving energy somewhere else....See MoreIs a power-vent water heater right for me?
Comments (5)They're VERY loud IMHO. Totally NOT worth it for that feature alone. My cousin put one in for the garage apartment he did, and we stayed there for a couple of weeks. The heater was in a tiny laundry room space that didn't have the wall and access door put in yet, and the whole place has wood floors, but the bathroom and 1 bedroom were in between us and the heater. We could barely hold a conversation with the door closed while that thing was running. We had suggested a tankless gas fired for the application, as that is what we have and love, but he couldn't find anyone that'd give him a decent install price on it so he went "conventional". At least with a power vent tankless, you'd only hear it when someone was using the hot water. We were there for 2 weeks, and I never did get used to the sound of that thing kicking on in the middle of the night to keep the tank warm. Even in the daytime when you were up and around, it was startling. And,my cousin is kicking himself for installing it and not casting the net a little wider to find someone to do the tankless. What good is saving money when you have to use it to buy earplugs?...See MoreGFCI outlet & Power-vent water heater
Comments (9)"I wonder if a GFI breaker might be less prone to tripping..." no it wouldn't. as for "ditching the GFI" which they never should have told you in the first place... again, under the 2008 code in unfinished areas (basement, or garages) all receptacles must be GFI protected. Yes even garage door opener outlets must be GFI protected. The single device exception no longer applies under the new code. What I'm getting at, is you can do whatever you want, however if you want to sell the house or whatever I recommend you have it up to code....See Moreweedmeister
11 years agocindywhitall
11 years agoweedmeister
11 years agobrickeyee
11 years agocindywhitall
11 years agocindywhitall
11 years ago
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