Tankless water heaters
BarryWS
| Posted in Green Products and Materials on
For a new and small one person house, which type of tankless hot water heater is more efficient, a propane or electric? Are they close or is there a big difference? Any brands/models better than others? Thank you!
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Replies
Electric tankless need a huge amount of current.
No chance you can put in a small electric tank even?
My space is too small. I think electric is not going to work after reading some earlier posts.
In most climates a heat pump water heater cost less to run than most fuel burners and 1/3 to 1/2 the electricity of a standard electric tank/tankless.
Unless you are very tight on space, that is what I would design around.
I agree Akos, provided a good install (not in a closed off space for instance) and that the space isn't being heated by electric resistance. A HPWH in an electrical resistance heated house can be worse than just installing an electric resistance water heater.
Hi Barry.
We have a new article on water heaters here: Choosing an Efficient Water Heater. The article includes discussions of efficiency and fuel type and there is a super small split heat pump unit that you may consider. It's also super expensive, in comparison to other options, but worth a look.
I've been happy with our electric tankless.
I believe it is a component in our very low energy consumption household, <200kwh per month per person without being actively conservative.
The biggest inconvenience is that if you try to put on a slow drip of water sometimes the unit does not recognize it needs to turn on, and the water will be cold. Not a big deal to us.