The rising cost of gasoline, food and just about everything else is starting to have an effect on pocketbooks. Some estimates put hot water at about 20 - 25 percent of home utility costs. So any savings here are significant. How big these savings are depends on several factors that, in turn, depend on you. If you are in the market for a hot water replacement consider that a tankless hot water heater may be the best choice.
What goes into finding the best choice
1) Those living in the sunny south have an advantage in this first point - Colder winters mean heaters have a bigger job heating water to a useful temperature, say 110 F degrees. For any type of water heater this could mean raising water temperature as much as 70 F degrees. This takes a lot of heating power but fortunately with tankless water heaters this is only called for when the faucet is on.
2) Water use - How many faucets to you have running at one time? Using multiple outlets at the same time means more water heated on demand. You should make some estimates of this because it is a big factor in determining the best tankless hot water heater to fit your family’s needs. A bucket and a watch is about all it takes to find the gallons per minute flow rate that your tankless water heater will be required to generate.
3) How much you pay for gas or electric - Power varies by state or locale. For example eastern seaboard states have some of the highest rates for gas and lowest for electricity. Natural gas consumption is higher in northern states, while electric use is higher in southern states.
4) Getting the most from the system - Long pipe runs mean heat loss. It pays to insulate pipes wherever you can access them. The most effective hot water heating solution could be to have multiple heaters. In fact, mixing gas and electric could be the most economical answer.
Passively heating water before it reaches the tankless hot water heater is an excellent way to cut heating bills. If your current tank is in a warm part of the house, replacing it to an uninsulated tank so it can work to preheat water.
5) Installation - You’ve picked the best tankless hot water heater and now your are ready to know hat it takes to install one. Gas tankless hot water heaters are the most expensive to install. There are specific requirements for venting that call for stainless steel ducts, although some are mounted outside to eliminate this expense. Fresh air to the combustion chamber is important to prevent CO2 from escaping. Larger size gas pipe will probably be needed. Instillation costs can easily match the cost of the heater.
Electric tankless water heaters are much simpler. If you have difficulty finding a qualified installer or think you have the skills to do plumbing and wiring then a how-to book and the manufacturer’s installation guide should be enough to get you through it. Check to be sure that the electrical panel has the capacity to handle the 80-120 amps that an electric tankless water heater will draw.
The best tankless hot water heater is one that meets the measurements we talked about and energy efficient hot water for a long time.
Refer to this site for detailed installing a tankless water heater instructions.
Follow this link for more info on choosing the best tankless hot water heater
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