Posted on 04/14/2015 2:44:39 PM PDT by smokingfrog
First it was light bulbs, now Uncle Sam wants your water heater to be more efficient - and it could cost you a lot more money to comply with the new rules.
Angie's List founder, Angie Hicks, said new regulations will save money in the long run. “Your water heater is the second largest consumer of energy in your home right behind your heating and cooling system. So, any improvement in your water heaters efficiency is going to pay dividends in your monthly utility bills.”
But it will cost you more in the short term, if you need to buy a new one once the new rules take effect in April.
“It’s going to be bigger. It’s going to be taller. It’s going to take up more room. A lot of water heaters are installed in a very tight quarters. So, all of these things could be a major impact if you are replacing a water heater after April in 2015,” said water heater expert, Chip Cochran.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcactionnews.com ...
But Angie is an Obamabot. They know everything......just like their Messiah.
Either because the input water temp was too cold or the flame/amps were set too low/undersized.
A previous usage doesn't affect the output temp except to make it a tiny bit warmer (because the water line is already heated).
That'd be a godsend in our situation...the WH is in the garage, and since we live in the low desert, that area approaches 110 degrees for many moons.
Heat kills batteries, and as things are now a "five year" car battery lasts two to two and a half at most.
I’d rather go with a gas fired tankless, but breaking out the individual lines would be a *itch.
Replace your leaders, not your water heaters!
Angie’s List founder, Angie Hicks, said new regulations will save money in the long run. “Your water heater is the second largest consumer of energy in your home right behind your heating and cooling system. So, any improvement in your water heaters efficiency is going to pay dividends in your monthly utility bills.”
So happy to see that the good lib Angie is all about *sharing* with me, on saving energy. /s
Why do you have to do anything with the lines?
Manifold, with PEX.
Ideally, lines to individual faucets run out of a manifold serving separate floors, bathrooms etc. that’s what I’ve seen represented on This Old House and the like. I suppose they make them that serves the hole house as a replacement for a tank heater.
They’re supposed to be very efficient, take up a lot less space; hot water on demand for the duration. No heating a tank all the time.
The on-demand water heater and the individual lines are entirely separate issues, as I see it.
I saw this one coming. Last month I installed a Marathon 85 gallon water heater which I bought for $347 (after rebates) from my electric cooperative. The coop insists on the large capacity due to load management where they turn the water heater off during peak load. The coop also only sells very efficient water heaters with lots of insulation, which makes them wider and taller.
The retail price on that Marathon water heater is about $900.
Can be. But some houses have recirculating valves on the hot water lines so hot water comes out when you turn the handle, no waiting for it to make its way through the line. Obviously something that would be of benefit with a tank heater but wasteful for a tankless.
Don’t ask me how they plumb it, all I know is when my folks built a house backin the early 60’s, mom wanted hot water when she called for it and that how they plumbed it. And I’ve seen and heard of it in other houses.
I have experience with tankless water heaters professionally and when sized appropriately and well maintained they are great. Unfortunately in the residential market a lot of salespeople will try and stay within your budget and undersize them rather than telling you what you really need and lose the sale. Also a lot of owners do not keep up the maintenance.
In my case I have a 1500 sq. ft. house and I was going to need at least a 190,000 BTU heater which was going to be roughly $800. Then, because my current water heater shares a gas line with the furnace which was not large enough to support both I was going to need a new gas line run so add another couple hundred (I didn’t even ask if my gas meter was large enough). Oh, and my whole town has really bad hard water which wreaks havoc on tank less heaters so I was going to either need a water softener, or a lot of programmed maintenance. Even with some discounts on material and labor I have available to me my hot water usage is not significant enough to justify the expense and hassle. OTOH if I lived in a house with more than one woman I would buy one in a heartbeat :-)
My water heater is in the garage also. It would be nice to have a cooler garage in the summer, but during the colder months I don’t see how a heat pump water heater is going to work very well.
First it as the more efficient toilets that need to be flushed a half dozen times then it was the washing machines that use water savers and leave suds and powder stains all over your clothes, they both suck and so do the idiots that are passing laws and force us to purchase this crap
“ling system. So, any improvement in your water heaters efficiency is going to pay dividends in your monthly utility bills.”
But it will cost you more in the short term”
Yeah right. Thats what you always say. Sure it will cost you lots over the short term, but will save you money in the long run.
Solar power. Electric cars. Now water heaters.
Hmmmm, not a bad idea !
As a good prepper, I bought myself a couple of spare water heaters several years ago (actually by accident). I installed one, as my original was getting old, but I still have another brand new one.
I’m good for close to 20 years before being forced to buy one of these dogs.
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