Best water heater type?
February 6, 2024 4:15 PM Subscribe
We need a new water heater. I thought heat pump heaters with tanks were the best these days, but I'm seeing a lot of recommendations for tankless too. Which is best these days? I'd prefer a 100% electric option if possible but our current water heaters are gas so we have a line running to that spot if gas is clearly better.
We have lots of room in our basement space (ceiling is fairly tall, too) and it's heated, so I think it's fine for either type of heater (e.g., never gets too cold for a heat pump). We almost never run out of hot water currently so I think we'll be fine if we get the same capacity that we already have, so "tankless never runs out" isn't much of a selling point for us.
We have lots of room in our basement space (ceiling is fairly tall, too) and it's heated, so I think it's fine for either type of heater (e.g., never gets too cold for a heat pump). We almost never run out of hot water currently so I think we'll be fine if we get the same capacity that we already have, so "tankless never runs out" isn't much of a selling point for us.
My traditional gas water heater works fine without electricity. Nice in a power outage.
I know that makes me a luddite.
posted by H21 at 5:05 PM on February 6 [2 favorites]
I know that makes me a luddite.
posted by H21 at 5:05 PM on February 6 [2 favorites]
I have lived with a couple of tankless systems and hate them with some passion. You can't have a trickle of hot water, you either have a lot of hot water or the heater turns off because flow is too low and it's cold water that comes out. The electric versions of them need a heap of power too (I think the one in our current rental is on 63A 230V 3ph - just for the heater).
posted by deadwax at 5:15 PM on February 6 [3 favorites]
posted by deadwax at 5:15 PM on February 6 [3 favorites]
We have a gas tankless water heater and after the cold spells we've had here in north Texas, I'm here to tell you and anyone else considering a tankless heater to make sure the pipes, including the condensation pipe, are all properly insulated.
We live in a flipped midcentury house and the condensation pipe was installed amateurishly and insufficiently insulated. Even if the power and gas didn't go off during a hard freeze, the condensation pipe would freeze and we'd lose hot water. We got the pipe fixed this time around and it ran us several hundred dollars to get the condensation pipe properly installed and insulated, though good weather means we haven't had to test it yet.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 5:25 PM on February 6
We live in a flipped midcentury house and the condensation pipe was installed amateurishly and insufficiently insulated. Even if the power and gas didn't go off during a hard freeze, the condensation pipe would freeze and we'd lose hot water. We got the pipe fixed this time around and it ran us several hundred dollars to get the condensation pipe properly installed and insulated, though good weather means we haven't had to test it yet.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 5:25 PM on February 6
Heat pump hot water is the way to go. We replaced our tankless gas with a heat pump tank and it's so much better in pretty much every way (and it allowed us to get off gas entirely along with a heat pump for heating). Tankless electric is usually not a great idea because it's less efficient and you need a huge amount of electrical capacity to make it work, especially if you have cool water coming in during the winter.
A heat pump in a heated basement still makes sense because you're only heating your house for presumably a few months of the year. In the heat of the summer, you get free air conditioning. If you now have or later end up with a heat pump for heating (like a minisplit), then it's more efficient to run a heat pump hot water tank using the heat from the minisplit in the winter, rather than heating with straight electricity.
posted by ssg at 6:09 PM on February 6 [5 favorites]
A heat pump in a heated basement still makes sense because you're only heating your house for presumably a few months of the year. In the heat of the summer, you get free air conditioning. If you now have or later end up with a heat pump for heating (like a minisplit), then it's more efficient to run a heat pump hot water tank using the heat from the minisplit in the winter, rather than heating with straight electricity.
posted by ssg at 6:09 PM on February 6 [5 favorites]
I’m a huge fan of modern tankless gas heaters, but I live in the fairly mild mid-Atlantic in a very small house.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:15 PM on February 6
posted by aspersioncast at 8:15 PM on February 6
Tankless has been annoying to me in the two situations I've used one. In both cases I need to run the water for a long time before it gets warm. In my current living situation, this happens even at the sink and shower in the same room where the tankless water heater is. It makes it annoying to wash dishes as I use them or to fill up the reservoir in my waterpik (which doesn't need hot water, but one does not really want to put shockingly cold water into.)
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:19 AM on February 7
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:19 AM on February 7
I'll mention, if your basement happens to be a bit (or a lot) damp, the heat pump water heater gives you free dehumidification along with the water heating.
posted by flug at 4:53 AM on February 7 [2 favorites]
posted by flug at 4:53 AM on February 7 [2 favorites]
I'm not sure what your electrical situation is, but of you go with a heat pump water heater, be prepared for the possibility that you may need to run new 240-volt electrical for the installation, depending on the unit.
posted by AndrewInDC at 6:08 AM on February 7 [2 favorites]
posted by AndrewInDC at 6:08 AM on February 7 [2 favorites]
I'm looking into converting to heat pump too, and the retrofit is going to take a bit of doing. I need new electrical, and also the tank needs to drain to the outside. (The current tank just drains to the garage floor, which is not ideal but apparently OK for gas.)
Tankless gas would be easier to install, but I lived with an imperfect tankless setup for years and would not risk another one. Hot water in the kitchen is real nice.
posted by mersen at 6:27 AM on February 7 [2 favorites]
Tankless gas would be easier to install, but I lived with an imperfect tankless setup for years and would not risk another one. Hot water in the kitchen is real nice.
posted by mersen at 6:27 AM on February 7 [2 favorites]
If you install a heat pump water heater, you may be eligible for tax credits or possibly point of sale rebates thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.
As far as tankless - I work with home improvement companies. I asked one if he wanted to advertise tankless water heaters since they do install them if asked, and he told me he wouldn’t put one in his own house because of the problems he’s seen. (He mostly does regular water heaters, but some people want tankless.)
posted by azpenguin at 7:08 AM on February 7 [2 favorites]
As far as tankless - I work with home improvement companies. I asked one if he wanted to advertise tankless water heaters since they do install them if asked, and he told me he wouldn’t put one in his own house because of the problems he’s seen. (He mostly does regular water heaters, but some people want tankless.)
posted by azpenguin at 7:08 AM on February 7 [2 favorites]
Almost everyone I know has a tankless water heater - my boss got his installed because his daughter (like mine) takes super long showers. I have heard no complaints, other than the installation cost, which my quote was $4k, vs $1700 for a 50 gallon gas. It just depends on how much you are willing to pay. Also, if you do go tankless, gas is the better option.
Finally, I don't know how much your gas bill is, but mine is $25 a month, so the payback period on a more expensive, fancier water heater is 'never'. So I would be buying it for more hot water or some other feature that you need to use on it, not for more efficiency or lower cost.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:18 AM on February 7 [1 favorite]
Finally, I don't know how much your gas bill is, but mine is $25 a month, so the payback period on a more expensive, fancier water heater is 'never'. So I would be buying it for more hot water or some other feature that you need to use on it, not for more efficiency or lower cost.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:18 AM on February 7 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Our gas bill is not small. And we are slowly moving toward being an electric-only household. You make a reasonable point that a more expensive and more efficient heat pump water heater may not pay for itself, but "only costs a little more and moves us away from fossil fuels" is good enough for me. We're also considering solar panels so the more things we move to electric the better.
posted by Tehhund at 8:32 AM on February 7 [3 favorites]
posted by Tehhund at 8:32 AM on February 7 [3 favorites]
Heat Pump water heaters can be fairly noisy, so you should consider that when choosing a location - in addition to the other mentioned issues about them cooling and dehumidifying the area they are in.
Re: electric supply: There are several models of 120VAC heat pumps which are intended to replace a gas water heater where there is not available 240VAC power. See the Rheem Proterra PlugIns
posted by soylent00FF00 at 3:24 PM on February 7
Re: electric supply: There are several models of 120VAC heat pumps which are intended to replace a gas water heater where there is not available 240VAC power. See the Rheem Proterra PlugIns
posted by soylent00FF00 at 3:24 PM on February 7
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Other than that, heat-pump water heaters work well - I'm very happy with mine. It's nice to not have to ever worry about CO or be dependent on fossil fuels.
posted by splitpeasoup at 4:59 PM on February 6 [2 favorites]