Just wanted to second the information on longevity (or not) of these things-- We have hard water--and have gone through two of these things in 10years. I am told no matter how much you spend, that without softening the water, 5 years is a high score. (my second one just bit the dust last month) I have loved the convenience--and will most likely get yet a third one when I update my kitchen this year. For a nominal cost it has been great over the years---from water to quickly heat baby bottles in the early years, to tea and coffee and other instant foods....and I've even used the scalding water for cleaning from time to time. I do not use a filter. I would spend as little as possible and go into it knowing you'll probably only get a couple of years out of it. (our most recent one was an insinkerator). My husband swore when it broke last month that he'd never install another one of these "pieces of !@#$" BUT a week later he said in passing---"I kind of miss the instant hot" So there you have it!

Teaching kids about safety is a much better solution than only relying on a technical feature that inevitably will fail at the most inopportune time. My kids have been learning about dangerous everyday household equipment ever since they started to crawl. And when they started elementary school, we taught them how to safely use kitchen knives and basic power tools. It's an ongoing process, but most people give kids too little credit. They can learn a healthy respect for dangerous tools, and best practices how to use them safely. And as parents, we owe them to learn these fundamental life skills. Having said that, there is equipment that is unsafe by design; and there is equipment that isn't age appropriate. The former should simply be avoided altogether, and the latter requires house rules about who gets to touch it. I don't have an opinion on the safety of instant water heaters. Our house came with one, but we were never particularly happy with its operation. It was quickly removed and we went back to using an electric water kettle. But I understand that every household has different preferences.

For what it's worth, I have the Insinkerator and love it - works fine & no problems. (Eeeek - I hope I didn't put the kibosh on it by writing that.) However, I do recall seeing a diferent brand on Costco.com after I bought mine. I love Costco for many reasons, but they're so great about returns if you're not happy.

In our remodel, we will have external ice and water and a hot water dispenser in the prep sink. Right now we use the Brita and a hot water pot (plugged in 24/7) which keeps water boiling hot but sits on the counter and takes up lots of space. My kids and DH love cold water and miss the dispenser (which is currently broken on my kitchenaid) That was one of their musts for the new kitchen. I LOVE hot water and can't live without it for tea and hot water, hot chocolate. I would rather pull a lever rather than microwave or boil water. SO, for our remodel, my rationale was since i'm getting cold filtered water in the fridge- I would save and get the hot water dispenser in the sink. If the water dispenser in the fridge is that slow..i'll put the Brita in my new and bigger fridge. For me it wasn't a hard decision- it seems overkill to have 2 filtered cold water dispensers. Now I have to look into the energy consumption you are talking about because I am trying to be energy conscience and efficient with this new remodel.