How environmentally-friendly and crunchy-green do you have to be to make a difference and how much more should you spend...even if there is a tax rebate available to help?
It was a sad Saturday morning when we discovered the water heater had given up the game...not even a cold shower was available, the water pressure system in our house compensates for the pressure difference between hot and cold - if hot was off...so all showers did not work...it sucked big time!
In a 9 year old house we thought the tank would not die so young. This was a house built by a local green company...our insulation is made from mashed newspapers for god's sake, the walls are 2 by 6 (not 2 by 4)...we were living in a perfect home. Well, not so much...the laundry washer died after 6 years and the dishwasher gave up the desire before the house was even 5 years old. So, really, 9 years for a water heater (that was guaranteed for 7 years) is not so bad, in the grand scheme of things. Two middle-aged adults trashed the place in less than 10 years...I'm sure it would have been so much worse if there had been kids in the house. Apparently not, we were the first on the block of "average families" to report a dead water heater.
Past history recalled the cost would be +$500-ish, but with inflation we were prepared for $1000 and possibly as much as $1500. Roll on the floor and laugh with your legs in the air...wait for this....the first place we called said they needed to come to the house and check the system, but to replace a water heater it could be between $2500 to $4500. Reality check...this is to replace a $400 metal tank in our basement.
"Er, we're sort of green, so we're also looking at a tankless, on-demand water heater" - we've always wanted one but wanted to wait until the old fashioned tank died before we replaced it.
Crouch on the floor and wait to hear the damage...
Estimate number 1 - about $4,500
Number 2 - $4000 to $5000
Number 3 $4500
...next...$8000, because of the location and venting...gulp!
...one guy said he didn't want to install a residential tankless, but it would be $8000, and for a house our size he wouldn't want to install anything less than 2 - $8000 x 2 = holy crap!
I forget...but it was 9 days before we got a quote for $3,500 from a master plumber who sounded like he knew what he was doing, had done this sort of thing before and honestly didn't want to rip us off. We went with the guy and hoped he understood our plumbing, and venting a 2 story house and how to connect to our gas system.
One noisy day later the kitchen sink was oozing hot steamy water...they checked the master bathroom for hot 120 F water and it came flowing out - yahoo...hot water at last! Do I get another crunchy green point?
Woah there! It's a little bit of give and take...
I'm not sure if you have thought about this, but on-demand isn't as fast as having a hot tank there ready and waiting. It's not what you expect. To get hot water in the shower I have to wait...I can comb my hair and tie it back, strip down, weigh myself and move the towel closer to the shower door before it is warm enough to get inside without yelping. The laundry and dishwasher now don't get instant hot water when they use the house plumbing...so they run on lukewarm or have to heat the water more (which is perceived to be less efficient).
It's now been a week and for me the jury is out...it's okay, but how will it be in Winter?
How will it affect the use of other appliances that now have to heat lukewarm water?
How will it affect our water bill, will having to run water through the pipes for a few minutes?
I'll report back...I'm not enthusiastic or as elated as I was after the solar panels were installed, mainly because I'm not so convinced this is as energy saving and environmentally friendly as it's touted to be.
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