Well don't know what you pay for electricity, but the rates seem to be slowly creeping up around here. I am sure we could go this route just cause we have a 200 amp box, but I'd have to see evidence that shows we'd save money. Unfortunately gas of any sort here isn't a real option, thanks to the way the home was constructed. TO retrofit the place would be difficult, but not impossible. In fact I'd give damn near anything to find a way to convert to gas for heating cause a heat pump here is not efficient or practical and is expensive. If I could save enough pennies, I'd look into a geothermal heat pump, but that would also be mighty expensive and take many many years to recover the cost. If I were smart, I'd have enough money and property to build a home to my specs and I'd be able to look into some of the newer technology for heating/cooling etc. Maybe when I retire, ha ha. On Jul 25, 2009, at 4:16 AM, Betsy Whitney wrote:
> Aloha Scott, > I still don't have mine installed, but I hav several friends who have > switched from propane to electric here. Of course, in Hawaii the > water isn't as cold to begin with as it can be other places. My > propane costs about $1,200 a year just to operate the 30 gallon water > heater, and friends tell me that they pay about $20 to $25 per month > for the electricity for the water heater. My current propane heater > is in the house with a blanket on it. > > My new electric unit isn't installed because I need to find someone > to run the #6 wire. We bought a Stiebel Eltron and paid $600 and will > heat 4-1/2 gallons a minute. > Betsy > > At 12:23 AM 7/24/2009, you wrote: > > > > > >You got that right, but looking into the electric model of the > >tankless water heater, I learned it requires a great deal of wiring > >work. From what I have gathered, most if not all use a six-wire setup > >and I believe it is 3 220 breakers. I may be wrong, but I believe > they > >can pull down about 40 or more amps during operation. Man, that would > >be a pile of power for sure and maybe the best option is really to > put > >a blanket on the tank. I don't know, but I could justify the cost > if I > >could find evidence that it would really save me money and that > >savings could be realized within the first year or so of ownership. > Of > >course with 3 of us and not being the family that takes long showers, > >we don't use as much water and we never have run the tank out of hot > >water. > >On Jul 23, 2009, at 11:23 PM, Michael baldwin wrote: > > > > > Gas or LP models save more then electric models, anytime you use > > > electric > > > for resistance heating, it costs a fortune. Figure out what size > you > > > will > > > need, then price it out. Tankless do not heat the water to a set > > > temp, i.e. > > > 120 degrees F, it increases the water temp by a certain amount, > i.e. > > > increases by 60 degrees at 4.5 gpm, so if your income water is > > > colder in the > > > winter, your hot water will be colder. It is hard to know if you > > > will save. > > > If you have a teenage daughter, or a wife, that gets out when the > > > hot water > > > runs out, their shower time can really increase, using more hot > > > water, and > > > more water in general. > > > Michael > > > > > > From: > > <mailto:blindhandyman%40yahoogroups.com>[email protected] > > m > > [mailto:<mailto:blindhandyman%40yahoogroups.com>[email protected] > > > ] > > > On Behalf Of Tom Hodges > > > Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 3:42 PM > > > To: <mailto:blindhandyman%40yahoogroups.com>[email protected] > > > Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Tankless Water Heater > > > > > > My water heater is about to quit on me after about fifteen years > of > > > service > > > and I'm considering converting to a tankless water heater. I am > > > considering > > > going to tankless because I've heard there could be considerable > > > savings in > > > the long run. > > > > > > Does anyone on here have any experience with tankless water > heaters > > > or would > > > anyone have a recommendation for a particular brand. On the other > > > hand, > > > would anyone recommend that I not go this route, and stick with > the > > > tank > > > heater, due to a bad experience with the tankless type. > > > > > > Any help on this subject would be appreciated. > > > > > > Regards, Tom Hodges > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > > > > > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
