Tankless Electric Water Heater Below an Electrical Panel
tomatobean
11 years ago
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hrajotte
11 years agobtharmy
11 years agoRelated Discussions
electrical needs for tankless water heater
Comments (11)Is 15A 120V breaker all that is needed for the electrical requirement on a gas tankless? Or does it need to be 20A? I believe there is some open slots in my panel for a new breaker, and the panel is only about 15 feet from where the unit would go, so running a new one isn't too big of a deal. The unit would be going on the exterior wall that is part of my garage, so a new electrical run could be ran through the attic, down on the interior of the wall inside the garage, and then drilled through the wall and an electrical box placed on the exterior. Or, it can be ran through the attic and down through the soffit and ran through exterior grade conduit on the exterior wall of the house. Which one of these would be approriate? If running down the exterior wall in conduit, where does the conduit need to start? Just somewhere up in the attic, but it doesn't matter where? I know that code in this area does not require full length of electrical runs to be in conduit Lastly, is the electrical connection from the gas tankless hardwired in, or is it an actual plug? The reason I ask these questions is that I have 2 quotes and one of the plumbers doesn't do electrical so I have to source it out, and the other plumber does, but he is the one who said he'd tap the GFCI. They also wanted to charge me $300 to tap the GFCI, run 2 ft of cable, drill a hole, and mount a box, and that is just absurd, so I'd probably do the electrical myself or have my handyman do, it is far cheaper....See MoreElectric tankless water heater or not
Comments (5)Kats_Meow, I'm in TX, SW of Houston. I'm on a private well, semi-rural area at edge of my town. My pump tank is in my (detached) garage. My well and (submerged) pump is wayyyy around on the other side of the property due to logistics and requirements of sufficient space for both a well and septic, so it's a long (but underground) run from the pump to the tank. During the occasional cold snaps like this past winter, incoming water temp can drop to less than 40°F. In heat of the summer it may be 80°F or a tad more. My electric tankless is a 120amp unit. It doesn't have any problem generating 135°F to 140°F output when I (occasionally) want that high a temp for washing a load of whites. Otherwise I set the tankless at 100°F to 102°F in summer, 104°F in winter for normal use. That low temp is fine for dishes, my dishwasher has on-board heating and can work with a cold input. My tankless unit varies its power draw per the input temp, output temp, and flow rate. It may operate at little as 5% of full power or at 85%+ ... so obviously it doesn't always pull 120 amps, but the circuit must be able to supply full power when needed....See MoreQuestions about hybrid electric water heaters + electric tankless
Comments (1)Electric tankless will require an upgrade as well ... on the electric circuit. A typical electric tank takes a 25 to 30 amp circuit. Electric tankless can be high as 120 amps depending on the needed capacity. Capacity in tankless terms means the heating power required to raise the desired rate of water flow (gallons per minute) from the starting point (lowest tap-water temp experienced during the winter season) to the desired output temperature (typically at least 120ðF for a kitchen with a dishwasher). If your house has a large-enough existing electric drop from the pole, then you'd only have to run a larger circuit from the breaker box. Otherwise you'd also have to upgrade the service drop from the pole....See Moretankless electric water heater
Comments (18)dadoes: When we size water heaters we use 105 as the output temp. We use 2.5 gpm for a shower, 1 gpm for a bathroom sink, 2 gpm for a kitchen sink and ~4 gpm for a traditional tub. These are pretty standard numbers to design around. And it doesn't matter if the water heater is outputting 120 degree water and mixed down to 105 or outputs 105 - the result is the same. Patricia Harrington: The hybrid water heaters are in their second / third generation - so they are still a little new, but much more reliable than the first gen. I think that the GE Geospring has been discontinued and replaced with a newer model. They do need some space around them (basement or garage, for example) and they do need to drain condensation. You can drain to an exterior wall if it won't freeze. You can also install a condensate pump. How does your air conditioner drain? Where does your T&P valve on your current heater drain to? You should know that many power companies / states / localities offer significant rebates on these hybrid water heaters. I think there is a federal tax credit of $300 as well. The Energy Guide on these show that they cost ~$150 a year to run vs ~$550 a year for a standard electric. After rebates and tax credits they end up paying for themselves in about 2-3 years - that's pretty great....See Moretomatobean
11 years agobtharmy
11 years agoUser
11 years agocountryboymo
11 years agocountryboymo
11 years agopetey_racer
11 years ago
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