On Demand Water Heaters

[Biciclista]

Smilingcat, tankless is tiny, like the watercloset for a toilet.

[ny biker]

When I first posted in this thread, I was looking at a condo. But I ended up buying a little house instead. The old hot water heater was toast, so I replaced it. The cost difference between a tankless and tank heater was so great, that in my case it just did not make sense to go with the tankless ($4,000 vs. $800).

The new electric tank hot water heaters are very efficient--more efficient than the gas tank heaters because gas heaters need to be vented, and that allows some of the heat to escape. The plumber said the electric tank heaters lose 6% and the gas ones 30%. The new electric tank heaters are like a giant thermos--very well insulated and once the water gets heated, it takes very little energy (about 1.5 hours per day) to keep it at the proper temperature.

A tankless water heater was not appropriate for my situation. My plumber said that Rinnai tankless heaters are the best of the tankless, FWIW.

Tulip, this is good to know.

I think I might need a new water heater for my condo, and everything is electric here. I don't know for sure how old my current water heater is but I think it might be approaching 15 years old. (Former owner told me it was "about 10 years old" when I bought the place, which was almost 5 years ago.)

I live on the 2nd floor of a 3-story garden style condo building, and the water heater is in an attic space on the 3rd floor which is not easy to get to. I'm trying to get my hands on a ladder tall enough to get me into the space so I can check it out. Originally I was going to put an insulating blanket around the heater, but now I'm figuring that I will probably just replace it, rather than keep it and wait for it to cause a big mess when it starts to leak. And a newer one should cost less to run since the insulation will be better.

Thanks to everyone for your input on this subject. It's so great having all this information available.