Yep, everybody's situation is unique, don't want cold water in the showers. Maybe 2 smaller electric heaters strategically located would work. More up front cost, but even more efficiency I'd guess.
Just FYI, those can require a lot of cleaning maintenance starting after they are a year or so old...
Interesting information. Would you mind elaborating with some details on the cleaning maintenance, please? I'm interested because our standard tank dhw heater died, and we replaced it with the identical model. Then I learned about their inefficient nature, because the vent remains open, shedding heat up the chimney, regardless of the thickness of insulation around the tank. Been regretting not getting a tankless model, since.
They have fire right against the heat exchanger tubes so the intense heat precipitates minerals etc. out and the tubes build up with scale, that kills efficiency and will eventually plug up the tubes, hafta pull em apart and soak in CLR/brush the tubes out once per year on average...this is as I understand it...I don't own one but I was interested in them until I heard early adopters complaining about this issue...have heard pro installers confirm the same also. An electric water heater is pretty efficient believe it or not...best way to go if you don't want to spend big money on a HPWH...which I may try one of those out myself if (when) mine dies...even though it only runs me $20 per mo or so to run my 50 gallon electric water heater, I spend another $10-$20 per month to run a dehumidifier in the summer, so I think a HPWH would pay for itself eventually just by not needing to run the dehumidifier.
Makes sense about the tankless heater. I hope they are easy to get apart and reassembled if it's an annual thing. I believe a heat pump would be a great solution, have they worked the kinks out yet?
From what I gather it sounds like it, just gotta research the model you are looking at, some better than others.
We had an on demand water heater and hated it. What we ran into was that the water was heated just fine and no, you would not run out. However, if someone took a shower or used a goodly amount of hot water then shut it off, within a minute or two the remaining water that was in the heater would get super hot. So, whoever turned on the hot water next had to be very careful or else get burned bad with the hot water. We took it out and put regular water heater back in. The theory is nice but in practice it is not so good.
They work pretty good, as do those duct Less mini splits until temp goes real cold. Lot of houses up here has issues when it went 20 below around Christmas for a week.
Friends, on well, put 2 on demand propane DHW in both lasted 1.5 years so saved no money. They finally said to heck with it went back to regular and change elements once a year
There is something to be said for tried and true technology. Our replacement looked exactly like the one we had, just a little fatter. Apparently regulations required a little more insulation, even though there's still a big hole at the top for the exhaust.
Personally I would love to be a hundred percent wood Heat. But with my house design and mortgage rules in the state of Vermont. I would still need to have a backup furnace anyway, and one wood stove is not going to heat my house at 25 below zero. And until recently, I only had a hundred amps for a 2500 square foot home, a three and a half car garage with a bonus room above it and a 30 by 40 horsebarn. That forced me when putting in a new Furnace, to have it run DHW, house was purchased as a foreclosure. The side benefit is clay lined chimney is 36 years old is in perfect shape. Since I burn less than 250 gallons of HHO a year for heat and hot water, it makes ROI for another system not practical. My electric bill averages 70 a month.
I don't think I could get my bill down that low unless I unplugged everything in the house. My son has a lot of stuff running to keep his "herb" garden going. Then in the summer, he has the pool running. I have all LED lights, and LED tv etc. but the cost for electricity here is horrid and they just got another rate increase. While not the worse cost in the nation, certainly a very long ways from some of the best. The NIMBY groups have done everything they can to keep cost up.
savemoney, that's with a pool until 2016 and window AC in weather over 80. Power here is 13 cents KW I use about 300 a month. Rest is fees, 22 a month to have it, 5 to give poor a 25% reduction, 2 too fund efficiency programs etc etc. 1 fridge, 1 freezer, lights, devices.. No dishwasher, propane stove and dryer. Freinds average 250 to 400. I would lose my mind.
you can do it were in a 1920 vintage house and i had to disconnect the electric heat we had stray voltage problems running up the bill yuck
Update: I may have to up my annual estimate of cordage used if I keep this up. I'm going through some wood and its late winter lol.
