Are "on demand" water heaters the way to go? Live overseas. We have an electric water heater in the bathroom. Smaller than your average US electric water heater. I would say its about 3'x2'x2'. Our water has a bunch of minerals in it. Stains on all our stuff.... shower glass, hot water pot. pet water bowl etc...... It is a used unit from my mother inlaw. The installer cleaned it out before installing it. This was about 2 years ago. Still heating the water but I can tell full hot is not as HOT as it was. Pretty sure it's getting clogged again. Only have access to an electrical outlet. Our home heat is Geothermal.....not sure if there is such a thing as a geothermal water heater. Question.... would an on demand water heater be more cost efficient?
Most cost evective water heater
- Thread starter Ryan
- Start date
I think you have to really way the costs.. being how much is electric vs gas or propane. I live in the sticks and i always wonder if there is a way to save on water usage and heating.
So many ways to do things its hars to say. Also distance from heater to outlet and sqft of the home plays a part. Not only that location of say water heater inside or in garage etc. I know this doesn't help but it's a hard topic
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So many ways to do things its hars to say. Also distance from heater to outlet and sqft of the home plays a part. Not only that location of say water heater inside or in garage etc. I know this doesn't help but it's a hard topic
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turbo87adam
Active Member
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2012
Depending on the model and how your geothermal is installed it may have a De-superheater coil setup on it for that very purpose. I would look at all the information you can access to see if this is the case. But I would think they would of utilized this option if it had it already . In this case an on demand electric water heater would be a good option.
Your water heater should have a drain so you can flush it out every so often. No one ever does it. Hook a water hose to it so the water drains outside so there is no mess and put the end of the hose in some type of bucket so you can see if sediment is released. Electric water heater should be on its on circuit breaker. If possible you can turn it off when not in use. You dont leave your car idling when you are not using it I hope. You can also install a timer so it cuts on and off when you wish and the timer should have a manual on switch so you can turn is on for increased use. HTH
Gas is not an option . electric only. House is app 1500 sq ft. tank is smack dab in the center of the house. 1 level condo. Dont think its loose sediment. it is damon hard build up that requires an acidic solutinon to clean. dont think geotheral is the way. the heatig bill is hight than the electic. requir plumbig.
In that case, HELL NO. Electric on-demands shouldn't even be allowed to be made.
You have to take your coldest incoming water temp and figure out how many degrees you have to add to be able to shower (accounting for the GPM of the shower head).... Once you have those two numbers you learn how many BTUs it takes to function on the 'worst' day. (also, the washer or dishwasher NEVER EVER ask for hot water while a shower is running
) After you learn that, it becomes apparent there's not enough room left in the breaker box and the heater will have to have it's own power supply from the meter. $$$sAfter that, you can math it up by slowing down the GPM so it works out.... Then the internal flow meter won't realize you're taking a shower so it won't activate the heater....
I read all about this a couple years ago when my water heater 'sploded. I really wanted to get it out of my laundry room and go tankless. The coldest water I see here in GA is low 50's so it was going to take a bunch of electrons to get the job done. It just wasn't possible to get there from here.
I am surprised I've never seen a 'surge tank' accessory for the instant ons though. It would make sense to have a few gallons of room temp water to start with.
- Joined
- May 28, 2001
I saw a neat idea for that problem.
The guy ran a long grid of 4" PVC along the underside of the floor. The incoming cold water, that was to go to the wh, was diverted thru this grid, and then to the wh. The crawl space, basement, usually has a higher than ambient temp, and the grid water absorbs that BTU.
Jerryl
Tall Unvaccinated Chinese Guy
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2004
Treating the water before use may be an option to increase water heater life cycle?
http://waterpurification.pentair.com/en-US/homeowners/selectingasolution/sasstep2/
http://waterpurification.pentair.com/en-US/homeowners/selectingasolution/sasstep2/
recapturing waste heat from the drain is a good way to help. It really won't do much to the bill when you have a tank system. The majority of the hot water costs is keeping it hot, not heating it. Also, not an option on houses with slabs.
That being said, a way to save some money on home heating is to leave the drain closed while showering. The water can give the heat back to the house and then get drained. I told a lezbo friend that trick that lived in a leaky ass old apartment and she said it was night and day while she was shaving her box in the morning.
Bruce Urie
The Ventures,CCR forever!
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
If you REALLY want cheap hot water, do what a friend of mine does....he has an old Chebby station wagon...he fills about 15 five gallon buckets of water in the evening, puts them in the back of the station wagon, then parks it in the area on the lawn that's exposed to the sun all day, then rolls up all the windows....by early afternoon, the water in the buckets are TOO HOT to touch....no kidding....only disadvantage is carrying the damn buckets of water into the house to wash dishes, take a bath with.....talk about cheap!
In the winter time, he comes over here for his showers.....I charge him by the gallon and per sheet of toilet paper.
Bruce '87 Grand National
In the winter time, he comes over here for his showers.....I charge him by the gallon and per sheet of toilet paper.
Bruce '87 Grand National
