Tankless water heaters

I have a friend at work who is very much into GREEN. He added one in conjunction with his solar water heater and he is pretty happy with the combo. He has worked in shipyards most of his life so he was capable of doing all the work himself.

Jimmie

On a new well insulated tank, how much do you think you're gonna save with a timer? You won't save anything until the water cools down below the point that it would have come on. And my bet is by that time, the timer will be about ready to turn it back on anyway. The bottom line is that especially with an electric tank, which is completely insulated, the water cools so slowly when it's not being used that it isn't going to make a difference big enough to make the installation of a timer worthwhile. And if you have to pay an electrician to do the install, I'd bet you come out a big loser.

I think the OP already has a timer.

The function of the timer is to limit the time that water is heated to nighttime hours.

As an example lets say he and the Mrs. take showers in the morning (day rates) the timer prevents the tank from heating the cold water in the bottom of the tank. When they get home from work, hot water used is still reserve until the rates change and now the water heats.

Without the timer the hot water consumed in the morning is heated with day rates at probably three times the price. With a 140 gallon capacity and two people living there you should never have to pay day rates for hot water.

Yes, I agree. If you have lower off-peak electric rates then it would make sense to have the water heater on a timer. At least in most cases, where you're not going to pull so much water that you run out. Back in the 60s my parents home had 2 electric meters, one for the water heater which had it's own built-in timer and lower rate.

However, I didn't see the OP mention anything about off peak rate advantages. Only that he was paying 5c KWH for electric. And I've seen people here recently claiming that you can save significant $$ by putting a timer on any water heater to turn it off at night, when going out for the day, etc. I seriously doubt that with any decently insulated tank that approach is going to be worth it.

I meant at 5 cents a kwh at night run it, and maybe run it hotter if possible. Im sure his daytime rate is near Tripple that amount, it might not work with usage needed but its a thought depending on use needed. My old electric kept warm for days also but his night time rate is great for him, its probably below what he pays for propane so electric heat at night is what I would consider

Yes, I agree. If you have lower off-peak electric rates then it would make sense to have the water heater on a timer. At least in most cases, where you're not going to pull so much water that you run out. Back in the 60s my parents home had 2 electric meters, one for the water heater which had it's own built-in timer and lower rate.

However, I didn't see the OP mention anything about off peak rate advantages. Only that he was paying 5c KWH for electric.

"On top of that I have a dual day/night electric rate and the current 120 gallon tank (now 31 years old and is not leaking !!) only heats at night. The night rate is only about 5 cents total per kw"

I wonder if the OP is correct about having a 120 gallon heater. I can't imagine that in a residential application. Usually, if more than 40 or

well OP only gets to heat water at off hours, like my dad in phoenix who has a 100 gallon tank, for the same reason

The local Co-op around here would install a 105 gal electric water heater for free. They had a remote control that would turn them on at off-peak times (evening and weekends). If they leaked or failed, the Co-op would replace them at no cost to the Homeowner.

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