'Tankless' water heater saves energy
Thursday, May 17, 2007
It's spendy, but it's efficient, tiny, quiet, green and pays itself off in a few years. It's called the "tankless" or on-demand water heater — and it won't sit there wasting dollars by running hour after hour when you don't need it.
A heated coil — usually by gas or propane (although sometimes electric) — fills with water and gets very hot, very quickly when you turn on the shower, dishwasher or faucet. It continues heating the water as long as you leave that faucet on.
The smaller units, starting at $700 (uninstalled) will meet one demand point — but you can't run the dishwasher and take a shower, says Brian Lambert of Grover Electric in Medford. For about $1,000, you get a larger one that serves both. Prices top out at about $1,500; so, units initially cost two to three times more than the traditional water heater.
On-demand water heaters face a problem as the new kid on the block, but Josh Spoklie of Ferguson Bath & Kitchen Gallery in Medford says he sells 25 or 30 a month. This is about a fifth of the number of traditional water heaters he moves.
The tankless units are little guys — about the size of a small suitcase — and can be hung on the wall of a closet, as long as it's an outside wall, so exhaust gases can be vented. It's safe and silent and has an energy-efficiency quotient of 92 to 98 percent.
Aside from startup and retrofit costs, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy lists drawbacks as:
They won't turn on unless they can supply half to three-quarters of a gallon per minute.
They sometimes won't supply simultaneous uses, especially in winter when incoming water is colder.
The high cost can be retired in about 31/2 to 4 years with reduced energy bills, Spoklie says.
Equally attractive are a slew of rebates and tax credits: $200 from Avista for switching to gas, a $340 tax credit from the state and a $150 tax credit for water heaters with at least 95 percent efficiency. The state tax credits for energy-miser appliances are at www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/RES/tax/waterheaters.shtml.
If you get a modest on-demand water heater and find you need more heating power, you don't have to upgrade — just get another one and link them in series, says Don Sample of Budge-McHugh Supply in Medford.
If you want a testimonial yourself, ask around at restaurants, where chefs need lots of hot water every moment — they are big buyers of demand water heaters, says Terry Powell of Modern Plumbing in Medford.
"They pay off quick in a restaurant," Powell says. "They will stay up with any demand."
Bruce Fiero of Will Power Electric, a green energy installer in Phoenix, says tankless water heaters run you about $1,000 installed and, because your water heater is not "on" all the time, will definitely make a dent in your heating bill.
John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070510/LIFE/705100308
A heated coil — usually by gas or propane (although sometimes electric) — fills with water and gets very hot, very quickly when you turn on the shower, dishwasher or faucet. It continues heating the water as long as you leave that faucet on.
The smaller units, starting at $700 (uninstalled) will meet one demand point — but you can't run the dishwasher and take a shower, says Brian Lambert of Grover Electric in Medford. For about $1,000, you get a larger one that serves both. Prices top out at about $1,500; so, units initially cost two to three times more than the traditional water heater.
On-demand water heaters face a problem as the new kid on the block, but Josh Spoklie of Ferguson Bath & Kitchen Gallery in Medford says he sells 25 or 30 a month. This is about a fifth of the number of traditional water heaters he moves.
The tankless units are little guys — about the size of a small suitcase — and can be hung on the wall of a closet, as long as it's an outside wall, so exhaust gases can be vented. It's safe and silent and has an energy-efficiency quotient of 92 to 98 percent.
Aside from startup and retrofit costs, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy lists drawbacks as:
They won't turn on unless they can supply half to three-quarters of a gallon per minute.
They sometimes won't supply simultaneous uses, especially in winter when incoming water is colder.
The high cost can be retired in about 31/2 to 4 years with reduced energy bills, Spoklie says.
Equally attractive are a slew of rebates and tax credits: $200 from Avista for switching to gas, a $340 tax credit from the state and a $150 tax credit for water heaters with at least 95 percent efficiency. The state tax credits for energy-miser appliances are at www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/RES/tax/waterheaters.shtml.
If you get a modest on-demand water heater and find you need more heating power, you don't have to upgrade — just get another one and link them in series, says Don Sample of Budge-McHugh Supply in Medford.
If you want a testimonial yourself, ask around at restaurants, where chefs need lots of hot water every moment — they are big buyers of demand water heaters, says Terry Powell of Modern Plumbing in Medford.
"They pay off quick in a restaurant," Powell says. "They will stay up with any demand."
Bruce Fiero of Will Power Electric, a green energy installer in Phoenix, says tankless water heaters run you about $1,000 installed and, because your water heater is not "on" all the time, will definitely make a dent in your heating bill.
John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070510/LIFE/705100308
Labels: demand water heater, tankless water heater, water heater, water heaters