Tankless vs storage tank water heater, electric vs propane
Ed(Edwina) and Stephen Ci
4 years ago
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Questions 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 vs. tank water heater
Comments (3)If it's a bad spot for the water heater and needs a lot of turns for the exhaust, then it's a bad spot for tanked or tankless. The only difference might be that a tankless will probably need a larger diameter pipe than a tanked and will take up less physical room in the utility location. It will still need a route to the exterior for the exhaust and supply. And since the routes for the hot water piping will remain the same, you'd still end up with the water at the fixtures at the same time. Now, if that tankless can go into the attic and have a straight run for the pipes out the roof, that might just work much better from a space planning aspect. But then you'd possibly have to reroute some of the home's plumbing to do that. Which wouldn't be a bad thing considering what you're saying about the tangled ball of yard that sounds like exists currently. Get another plumber in to assess the overall design of the home's water distribution system as well as it's hot water production location. Sounds like it needs a complete revamp for whatever method of heating your water that you choose....See MoreOn-Demand Tankless Water Heaters - Propane vs. Electric
Comments (5)Typical panel services are 200 amps. You want to install 2 something's that pull more than half of your available service. That's not doable with a standard service, much less solar. And why 2? A well placed propane unit of the appropriate size is more than adequate for whole home usage....See MoreElectric tank or tankless water heater v. Propane tank or tankless
Comments (8)If you're really sure you want tankless (and you kinda seem to be), I'm not going to argue with you. I'll just say a couple of things and then I'll bow out. Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on these matters. They just interest me and I hope to be more energy independent in the future, so I read up on them. I always welcome corrections from knowledgeable folk. First point: IMO electric resistive heating of ANY kind basically just doesn't play nice with PV, off grid or on. The only time it really makes sense is when you're off grid and your system produces more energy during the day than you can store in your battery. This can also apply to some extent if you're intertied and your utility pays you wholesale or less when you sell your power, essentially penalizing you for conserving. Either way, dumping your excess PV energy into water heaters is one way to store it for later use. However, it should be obvious that to store that energy, you have to use traditional storage water heaters, not tankless. Second point: Peak demand matters. It matters to your electric utility, and it matters to your bill. You probably know more about CA rates than I do, but it appears to me that right now California is more into time of use (TOU) metering than peak demand metering. However, more and more utilities are adopting peak demand metering for residential customers (they've had it for business for ages). So even if you're not dealing with it now, it may well be in your future. Demand based metering watches your power (not just energy) usage. The higher it is, the more you pay for all your electricity. In one demand scheme, you pay a surcharge based on your peak power usage (in kilowatts), In another, the price they charge you for every kilowatt hour you use depends on your peak usage -- the higher your peak, even if it's only once in the month, the more you pay per kWh that month. Let me give you an example of the second scheme. Let's say your house's big energy hog right now is an electric range.. Most of the time, you just use one or two surface units at a time. So your peak demand is relatively low, and you pay (say) 14 cents per kWh most months. But when you cook Thanksgiving dinner, you have all the surface units going, plus the oven, and a microwave. On that one day, you have a much higher peak demand. Your utility takes note. And that month, you pay 20 cents per kWh for EVERY kWh you use all month. So even though that month's usage is only a little higher than usual, the final bill for the month is MUCH higher. Now imagine what could happen to your bill if you add an appliance that increases your peak demand every day of every month. Guess what: when it comes to peak demand, tankless electric water heaters are MONSTERS. Think about it. With its mild climate, California is a great place for heat pump storage water heaters. That's what I'd get if I were you. Not tankless, and definitely not electric tankless. And that's all I have to say about that....See MoreEd(Edwina) and Stephen Ci
4 years agoRon Natalie
4 years agooneandonlybobjones
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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