Just had a new furnace installed and now looking at replacing the water heater so I can eliminate the need for a chimney.
Current water heater is 50 US gal flue/chimney vent type. It's only 9 years old. It's rented at $14 a month. No idea what the efficiency factor is.
Possible replacement is a 40 US gal power vent, rental, for $22 dollars a month or a 50 US gal for $23 a month. Efficiency factor I'm told is .67
Government of Canada may pay me $190 to seal up my chimney as it a big source of drafting but will not pay me to convert to power vent heater. The only other reason to replace the water heater is to pick a more suitable place where it does not have to rely on chimney location. Water heater is presently in an annoying position.
Because my small town has very hard water, I'm keen to rent only and not buy. Current family size is 2 adults plus baby with one dishwasher load a day so a 40 US gallon might just suit our needs until babies become teenagers
So if the rental cost is increased 8 bucks a month for me, what sort of efficiency gains can I expect from a power vented water heater. Is there any way to calculate if I can make back some of that 8 bucks a month if we don't change hot water usage habits? Or is the only gain getting $190 back for sealing up an unused chimney?
Rental terms are 7 years so that is an 8 dollar a month increase over
84 months.