[RP TownTalk] Tankless Water Heaters

[Brian Boettger]

Kathy,
Sarah hit on most of the considerations. Installing them at the point of use 
is usually the most efficient, but can be difficult to install the necessary 
piping and venting. Also, recirculation pumps with a motion sensor can be 
installed now (particularly in bathrooms) so you don't have to turn the 
water on for the heater to recognize the demand.

Here's a good website that explains various tankless water heaters.

http://www.tanklesswaterheaterguide.com/

Brian Boettger, AIA
Ravenswood


>
>Message: 4
>Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2007 08:52:50 -0700 (PDT)
>From: kathy galleher <kgalleher at yahoo.com>
>Subject: [RP TownTalk] on-demand hot water systems
>To: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
>Message-ID: <363196.11399.qm at web51605.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>I am replacing my hot water tank and am interested in the new on-demand 
>(tankless) hot water systems because they seem more eco-friendly.  Does 
>anyone on the list have experience or recommendations about this?  You can 
>feel free to talk on the list or back channel, as you prefer 
>(kgalleher at yahoo.com)
>Any thoughts or experiences appreciated
>Kathy
>
>
>
>
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>
>Message: 5
>Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2007 13:38:19 -0400
>From: "Sarah Wayland" <sarah.wayland at gmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] on-demand hot water systems
>To: "kathy galleher" <kgalleher at yahoo.com>
>Cc: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
>Message-ID:
>	<d6da06a80707011038n568d4ec2x33709eba0f0fd55f at mail.gmail.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>
>We have one - a Bosch "Tankless Hot Water System". We've had it for
>nearly 10 years.
>
>Advantages:
>
>(1) The tank never rusts out. Indeed the only maintenance we've had to
>do is replace a filter on the intake line that collects silt before
>sending the water through the heater unit.
>
>(2) We never run out of hot water!
>
>Disadvantages:
>
>(1) Requires a larger diameter vent pipe. Our vent pipe runs half the
>length of the house before it gets to our chimney, so replacing it was
>a Big Deal.
>
>(2) The electrical wiring in our house was not adequate to support the
>higher current the electric unit draws, so we got a gas unit. The gas
>unit is less efficient than the electric unit.
>
>Differences (neither good nor bad, just different):
>
>(1) The way you adjust the temperature of the water is very different.
>The water must flow at a certain rate for the heater to turn on. So
>you start by turning on the water until the flow is high enough for
>the heater to turn on. Then you add cold water to adjust the
>temperature to the correct set point.
>
>(2) The water coming into your house is warmer in the summer than in
>the winter. The unit heats the water a constant amount - so if your
>water is 40 degrees, you can set it to heat it by 60 degrees, so that
>the "hot" water is 100 degrees. But in the summer, if you leave it at
>+60 degrees, the water coming into the house is closer to 65, and you
>get hot water that is 125 degrees. That's a lot hotter than 100
>degrees! This means you need to adjust the amount of heating you want
>with the seasons.
>
>There are probably a lot more issues I haven't mentioned above, but
>others can chime in with things they've discovered. Overall I'm
>extremely happy with the unit, and in particular with it's durability.
>
>-Sarah
>
>
>------------------------------

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