Sunday, March 11, 2012

Who's tankless?

The tankless water heater is included in my home - does anyone else have one that you're using now?  I'm all for it but just want to make sure I don't have to sit around for hot water to get where it needs to go.

I'm working on a lengthy upgrade post for later tonight as my meeting with the showroom is tomorrow - so be sure to check back for that and let me know your thoughts.  Good news though - my SR said that they can get the cabinets that I want (Sonoma) and he thinks he can get them in any of the colors on the Timberlake site (liking maple honey, maple cognac and maple spice).  Bad news (there always is), I had no idea how much more the next level of cabinets were beyond fairfield and andover - probably $1300 to $1600.  From what I understand these come with 3" deeper drawers, thicker shelves and walls and a longer warranty of 5 years.  Luckily I think I might move from my current level 2 granite (Dakota Mahogany) to level 1 (uba tuba) and save $1000.

5 comments:

  1. I went on line and did some research on the tankless water heaters. They are supposed to be able to provide hot water without interruption. In our area they are also placing them on the outside of the house to save space in the garage.

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  2. tankless has big benefits. But unless you are putting a "point of use" system, you will have to wait regardless if you go with a tank or tankless. What I mean is this, the water between the heating source and the spout in no longer getting heated. So when you turn the hot water on, you will have to get through the previously heated (now cool) water before the hot water makes it. I don't know what the stretch is in a town house is, but in my Ravenna, the water heater is on one side of basement and there is a long stretch of previously heated water sitting in the lines before it makes it to the furthest spout.
    So there is no benefit from one system to another from a "wait" standpoint, UNLESS you put in a small "point of use" unit.
    The benefit of a tankless system is that it is not maintaining heated water in a tank 24/7 (huge waste of energy). Down side is that different tankless units can accommodate different needs. I can run two showers, the dishwasher, and the washing machine while my wife washes her hands with no interruption in heat.....with our tanked system. A tankless is limited to how many things that can run at once.
    I hope this makes sense and/or helps.

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    2. Yeah - I still expect there to be a time where the pipes purge the cold water but just didn't know if there was more of a warm up period than standard tank heaters. I guess I was also concerned now that Ryan has to include these for Energy Star (I think?) that they may be doing the bare minimum and will provide a bottom dollar unit that pales in comparison to a standard tank system.

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    3. That is a justified concern. I would research what they install and verify it covers your needs. It may be area specific. Electric water heaters are standard in my area. That still qualifies for energy star here.

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