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CES 2019: U by Moen Smart Shower Set to Gain Long-Promised HomeKit Update
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Mine takes over 2-5 mins depending on the time of the year. and how many valves I open. Incooorperating this into scenes to set lighting, prewarm the shower (it pauses when it reaches temp) turn on music, turn on the bathroom exhaust fan all in one quick Siri request although is very much a luxury it does have its uses. For someone who likes to count his minutes in a day when you add up all the time you saved from automation those are countless minutes hours that can be spent with Family.
It’s not the water tank that’s the issue. It’s the fact that the pipes from the water heater to the faucet are still room temperature until the hot water has a chance to flow for a bit.
Not everyone has a mansion lol. Even if you have a big house you can put auxiliary tankless units. The tankless water heaters are called instantaneous because you don't have to wait for the water inside a tank to heat up. If you have an older school water tank and are having it on all day then you are just wasting money.
You do know how water heaters work right? They don’t need to heat up when you turn on the faucet, the water is stored hot...
As far as wasting money goes, how long does it take to get a return on your investment to replace a working water heater with a tankless one? Quite awhile I would imagine.
Additionally, water has a very high heat capacity, so once it’s heated up (same thing you’d have to do with a tankless heater), it doesn’t take nearly as much energy to keep it there. And between showers, dishes, and laundry a lot of the energy used to heat up the water is used anyway.
Edit: Just looked at cost and savings. The DoE says you can expect to save about $108 per year for gas models and $44 per year for electric by going tankless. Even a cheaper tankless heater is about $1000, without installation, or possibly even electrical rewiring. So optimistically you’re looking at almost 10 years minimum to break even. And good luck if you’re going electric, it’ll be over 20 years. If you’re simply wanting to come out ahead in money, investing that money in the stock market will get you at least as good of a return on your investment.
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No, you are clearly not research properly, cheaper tanks are not at about $1000, $1k is more towards the top. My electrical one was less than $300 USD and made in Germany (this was about 15 years ago already). If an apt I would go tankless electric (no gas line/costs of kw depending) and when it fails your apt doesn't fill with water. You can read more about tank/tankless at this old house if you want it in easier terms.
"you’ll spend over $2,000 to around $4,500 to buy and install a tankless water heater"
https://www.petro.com/resource-center/tankless-hot-water-heaters-vs-tank-storage-water-heaters
Also, looking at Home Depot's website even the cheapest barebones models that will do at least 4 GPM will cost you about $500 without installation. For another data point, they offer a total of 83 models of gas tankless water heaters that are sub $1000 (and more than a third of those are over $800). Then they offer 116 models that are $1000 to $2000. Your claim that $1000 is towards the top is false, the majority of them are $1000 at a minimum. Installing a tankless water heater, unless your current water heater needs replaced, is in no way cost effective.
Edit: Here's a cheap barebones $460 tankless water heater. Energy cost estimate is $199 per year.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Eccotemp-45H-Natural-Gas-Tankless-Water-Heater-45H-NG/206028769
Here's a $415 tank-based water heater. Energy cost estimate is $208 per year.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rheem-P...Gas-Tank-Water-Heater-XG40T06EC36U1/205811145
Reviews also make this tankless model look like a rather poor quality option. Meanwhile the tank-based option has 4.5 stars.
Even here it would take 5 years to break even, if your installation isn't expensive in converting to tankless. Like I said, the heat capacity (i.e. how much a substance resists changes in temperature) of water makes tank-based water heaters not much less efficient than tankless versions. Tankless could be more useful in locations where you don't reside all the time like vacation homes or in your regular residence if you travel away from home often. Neither of those scenarios apply to most people though. Not really intending to knock tankless either. It just isn't the be all end all cost-savings juggernaut you're proposing it is.
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I don't think you understand that there are electrical and gas tankless water heaters. Like I say research properly or just read what I wrote. Like I said I have an electric water heater, my mother has a gas tankless water heater and I know the prices for all three types, but you do you. have a nice year!
I do understand that, and according to the DoE gas has the potential to offer the most savings. So it’s not like if I do this comparison with electric instead, that it’s going to come out any more favorable than this example with gas; less so in fact..