Consumer Reports recently tested four electric and five gas whole-house tankless water heaters from such brands as Bosch, Navien, Noritz, Rheem, Rinnai, Tempra, and Trutankless to see how costs, performance, and energy use stack up against that of conventional storage tank water heaters. Also many manufacturers of tankless water heaters recommend preventive maintenance to be done on their units. While tankless water heaters run more efficiently than storage tank water heaters, replacing a tank water heater with a tankless can be expensive, and the payback time can be longer than the warranty. While storage tank water heaters remain the majority of new installations in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), tankless water heaters are gaining popularity. 2/17/22 Privacy Policy | Limited warranty on heat exchanger. Consumer financing and rebates are also often available. And electric tankless models draw so much power120 to 160 ampsthat you may have to upgrade the electrical service to your house to 200 amps or more.
How often you flush your tankless water heater depends on the quality of your water.
A shower, followed by two more showers, followed by dishwashing, wont exhaust the supply. expansion tank heater water electric hybrid heaters tanks plumbing course benefits above inspect plays role important very (Manufacturers also recommend that you periodically drain a tank water heater to flush out the sediment.). As with any major equipment decision, there are pros and cons to each choice. All Rights Reserved. Rinnai's hybrid models are Ultra Low NOx (ULX) compliant, have 82% recovery efficiency and last much longer than a stand-alone tank. Because the heat pump adds height, the water heater needs more headroom than a conventional tank, at least 7 feet. Readers with specific questions should refer to the applicable standards or consult with an attorney. 
While storage tank water heaters are by far the most common type, tankless water heaters are slowly gaining market share, according to Technavio, a global market research firm. Get more great content like this sent to your inbox. With the additional purchase of a control-r module (compatible with most condensing models), you can integrate it into your smart home technology for greater control and have on-demand hot water in seconds. warranty.
State water heaters are available through your local plumbing professional. Full-facility tankless heaters typically fit on a wall and are less than 2 feet wide and 3 feet high, compared to storage tank heaters that can be at least 5 feet high. Depending on what your plumber charges per hour, installation can be $600 to $800 if the existing hookups are compatible. enclosure heaters enclosed Whole-house tankless units mount on a wall, saving you floor space and fitting into tight spaces. With the help of an outside lab, we conducted performance tests and measured energy use on the nine models we purchased, and calculated installation costs for storage tank and tankless water heaters, as well as how long it would take a homeowner to recoup the investment of a tankless water heatercalled the payback time. Water is held in the tank and kept at a consistent heat, making delivery of hot water almost immediate compared to tankless heaters, which feed cooler water through the pipes and past the heating element, sometimes causing a delay before the continuous feed of hot water arrives. Gas tankless models may have different venting and gas-supply requirements, meaning you may need to increase the diameter of the pipe from the water heater to the gas meter. All Rights Reserved. What if we told you that you could get the same amount of hot water (or more) from a water heater the size of a carry-on suitcaseand save at least $100 a year on your utility bill? Introducing X3 Scale Prevention Every Rinnai tankless water heater is individually tested for quality before shipping. 1994-2021, W.W. Grainger, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Consumer Reports notes that changing from a storage tank to a tankless water heater could require an upgrade to gas or electric service, as well as a plumbing retrofit. Whether your water heater installation is new or a replacement, you may be eligible for a rebate from your local utility company, which can offset some of the cost. Some models come with extra insulation, or you could purchase an insulation blanket to wrap your water heater.
The Rinnai Hydronic Air Handler System easily integrates with select tankless water heaters or boilers to deliver energy-efficient warmth. Check for rebates. Replacing your old storage tank with a new one of the same capacity is a pretty basic plumbing job, and some homeowners do it themselves. And buyers remorse is a powerful thing, he says. Our Product Selector can provide a personalized recommendation. It's a draw totaling 84 gallons of water a day with a starting temperature of 58 F (plus or minus 2 degrees), and a target outlet temperature of 120 F. Its a tough test, says Banta. Tankless: As their name implies, tankless, or on-demand water heaters, don't store water in a tank. Caccia, the third-generation plumber, says that once you make the switch, labor costs are less for replacing an old tankless water heater with a new one than for replacing an old storage tank with a new one. Thats why more consumers and businesses choose Rinnai over any other tankless brand. Basically the heat pump is moving heat from one place to another rather than generating heat itself. If you have hard water, like many regions of the country, periodic flushing of the heat exchanger to remove hard-water deposits is necessary. State Industries. And depending on the temperature of your groundwater, you may have to wait for the water to get hot.
All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story.
Sales Rep Login. See manual for details. This can save energy two ways: Tankless heaters, which can be either gas or electric, also cant run out of hot water because of the continual flow feature. rinnai filter inlet water outdoor eccotemp l10 heater tankless shower portable showers propane electric barn heating l5 pool heaters tank pump rv outside Banta says its worth noting that while gas water heaters are less expensive to operate, its due to the lower cost of natural gas and not because theyre necessarily more efficient. All of the electric models were also able to meet and maintain the set output temperature when the incoming water was 74 F, but twoa Bosch and a Rheemmissed the mark when the incoming water temperature was 58 F. This indicates that electric models may be better suited to areas with warmer groundwater, such as the South. Up to $850 in Local Utility Rebates maybe available in your area! The capacity you want depends on the size of your household and how much hot water you use (your plumber can help with the calculations). When its time to replace your legacy water heater or install one in new construction, the first question you may consider is whether to stay with the traditional storage tank water heater or move to a tankless heater. Storage tank: Our payback calculations are based on replacing a 50-gallon storage tank water heater with a tankless water heater, then calculating how much the tankless model costs to operate and how much energy it saves.
But the real thing is so much better.
We paid $570 (electric) and $600 (gas) for the two 50-gallon Rheem tank water heaters we tested, but we have seen tank water heaters priced for less at home improvement stores.
If you live in a poor-water area, we suggest maintenance once a year, says Caccia. We tested a 50-gallon Rheem electric heat pump that we bought for $1,200. But if your storage tank water heater is nearing the end of its useful life and youre interested in saving space and energy, tankless water heaters are worth a look. rheem rte diagram wiring 
Small and mighty, the suitcase-sized wall units fit in tight, discreet spaces, freeing up more usable living area in your home. A veteran of online and print journalism, I've worked at People, MSNBC, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and an online Consumer Reports wannabe. It takes only one surprise cold-water blast from your shower to appreciate the luxury that is on-demand hot water.
Need a replacement? So you may never need our industry-leading warranty and legendary support for the most important appliance in your home. Both rate Good for energy efficiency. Instead they heat water as it passes through the unit, using a heat exchanger to rapidly bring it up to temperature. Tankless heaters have a temperature rise component that shows how many degrees the tank can heat the water based on a particular flow rate, represented as gallons per minute (GPM). Understanding your water usage and patterns can help guide you to purchase just the size you need. Storage tanks can be 5 feet tall or taller and about 2 feet wide or wider. Rinnais super high-efficiency models offer sleek design, maximum output and an array of features ideal for the hot water demands of large homes. If you have a warranty of 12 to 15 years, which is typical, it doesnt make financial sense to replace a tank water heater with a tankless, says Banta.
Which Brands Make the Most Reliable Appliances? Finally, know that a power outage is likely to leave tankless heater users without hot water. Be sure to check that the blanket is applicable to your type of storage tank heater gas or electric. Knowing that I wanted to be a journalist from a young age, I decided to spiff up my byline by adding the middle initials "H.J." Safe Summer Activities for Kids During the Pandemic, What You Need to Know About Bug Spray for Kids, Best Cooling Mattress Toppers From Consumer Reports' Tests, Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. Demand Duo, DuoSmart, SENSEI, ThermaCirc 360, Every. Rinnai and Creating a healthier way of living are registered trademarks of Rinnai Corporation used under license by Rinnai America Corporation. Because the differences among models were negligible, instead of breaking out individual models for ratings like we do with most other products, our engineers grouped all the gas tankless units together and all the electric tankless models together, and compared the groups with their conventional storage tank models that run on the same fuel.