New Construction Water Heater Choice

9 years ago

We're building a new 3,500sqf home in Maryland that will be on well water. We're debating between our water tank options.

I've read that being on a well can be a problem for tankless water heaters (hardness, which is an issue in our area), which initially made us rule that out.

Right not we're leaning towards a Hybrid Electric over a traditional electric or propane water heater. We are going to have a 500 gallon propane tank (for stove, fireplace, and back-up generator) that could support a propane water heater. The price for a 50 gallon hybrid is $600 more than a 75 gallon propane tank water heater.

Looking for recommendations on the water heater options based on our situation:
1. Well Water
2. No Natural Gas
3. Propane tank available
4. New construction

Thanks for your time.

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Comments (7)

jakethewonderdog
9 years ago
Ok,

Look at the energy tag on some of your choices all at 50 gal size:

The most expensive to run is a standard electric $585 ( $0.12 per kwh) and Propane $590 ($2.41 per gal)

Hybrid (Geospring is the example) $220

I don't know who your electric company is, but Potomac Edison is offering $500 rebates on the hybrid heater.

This is a no- brainer to me. Even without the rebate, the hybrid would pay for the difference in less than 2 years. With the rebate it would pay for the $100 difference in no time.

BTW: The lowes.com website is your friend. You can get the energy tag information right there for various types of heaters.

Note: Compare your actual cost of fuel to the tag. Your cost may vary considerably (my guess your cost will be more expensive than national ave).

Here is a link that might be useful: Rebates
weedmeister
9 years ago
I saw something on This Old House today you might want to consider. It was a stand-alone heat-pump unit to retrofit or attach to an electric water heater. It uses a special adapter that replaces the drain valve on the bottom of the tank. Electrically, it attaches to and replaces the bottom heating element. In use, water flows out from the bottom to the HP and back again. If there is not sufficient heat produced, the upper element is still there as a backup.
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A Charles H. Ullery paper presents a thorough assessment of water hardness classifications for the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. The ASAE Standard S-339 is: soft: 0-3.5 grains per gallon (gpg), moderate: 3.5-7.0 gpg, hard: 7.0-10.5 gpg, and very hard: over 10.5 gpg With your water @ 17gpg it is REALLY hard and that's without knowing the iron and manganese content. That means that most solutions to your water heating problem are doomed to shorter service and more frequent maintenance from the start and that is EXACTLY what you are complaining about with a softener... except a softener requires you to walk by and look at it once a week. You can opt for the storage tank and that will give you hot water and false security because all your plumbing, every appliance, and fixture will be seeing ludicrously hard water and that will cost you $$$ and usually at the most inopportune time. Like the old FRAM commercials said... you can pay me now or you can pay me later. ROs don't have to mounted under the sink. They can be installed in a basement or through the wall behind the kitchen sink. "... and that's one more thing to forget to do each week" Well, think of it as taking vitals... we can have a water doctor write the order for you. Without knowing the details of your water usage I can say that a correctly sized industry standard softener could be had for between $500 and $1000 online plus the cost of local install and at a higher price locally installed. "I understand softeners definitely have benefits and are very popular here on this forum. There seem to be more posts on that than anything else" As the cost of appliances and fixtures go up people seem more interested in getting the longest and most trouble free service life from those purchases. Few of us have more money than we know what to do with so we look for the best bang for the buck we can get. With respect, a correctly sized and set up softener with a modestly priced stand alone water heater is the most cost effective, simplest, and easiest to live with solution you can get. Let us know what you decide.
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Tankless are quite a bit more expensive to buy, so my guess is that they are still not popular for mid-priced homes. Most folks are stretched thin when buying a new house, and visible improvements (bigger rooms, nice kitchens and baths, etc.) usually take priority over highly efficient plumbing and heating systems. With a new home they should be able to design the house to work well with a tankless, and it should work better than most retrofits. However, tankless still requires a lot of gas or electric power when running (requires bigger gas line or high amp panel), and the entire household has to adjust water use habits (turn on full to activate, and wait for slug of cold water to clear, etc.). Some folks just like the traditional solution better. Bruce
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Bruce in Northern Virginia
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If you use the hybrid water heater, make sure your architect and builder know what it requires for air, since its basically a heat pump and it needs air to operate. I would assume that it needs a well vented cabinet, and that ambient air temps may affect efficiency, but I haven't read through the any of the specs.

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therush
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the feedback everyone. We're going to go with a Hybrid. The space won't be an issue as it will be in a 15x10 space in the basement.
User
9 years ago
I have a hybrid (GE) and could not be happier.

Your hybrid will have a small amount of condensate to dispose of... a floor drain next to it works... or a small condensate pump also works. Depending on arrangement, if you have a condensate pump or drain for a basement heat pump or A/C unit, you could even share that.

Maryland does not collect Sales Tax on that GE Heat pump and you may find that your County will offer a Property Tax Credit.

YMMV - I'm in Montgomery County.

This post was edited by saltidawg on Sun, Sep 28, 14 at 9:45
jackfre
9 years ago
Space is an issue at 15x10...I think. It is a heat pump. It is using th room air to power the refrigeration cycle which generates the hot water. The "add-on" unit to a conventional tank is made by Air Generate. It is a good system but because it is not a manuf package it does not qualify for utility Rebates.

Hardness affects all water systems. Get you water tested and find out what if anything is going to be necessary for your new home.
jakethewonderdog
9 years ago
Space is not an issue: The Geospring needs 700 cubic feet (10x10x7).

I'm not sure why someone would consider an add-on unit given rebates, warranty issues, etc. Since this is new construction an add-on wouldn't make sense at all.

New Construction Water Heater Choice

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jakethewonderdog

weedmeister

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jakethewonderdog

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