Choosing an Efficient Tankless Hot Water Heater

DAVID: Well, I’ve heard y’all talk about the tankless water heaters. Do they make a gas tankless water heater or is it only electric?TOM: No, it’s actually the opposite of that. They do make electric tankless but we never recommend them because they’re not efficient. The gas water heaters, on the other hand, are super, super efficient; either propane or natural gas. That’s where you get your tankless water heating efficiency is with the gas units; not with the electric units.DAVID: Oh.

TOM: So if you’re thinking about replacing your water heater and you’ve got gas, you have everything you need.

DAVID: Well, we do have one that is gas and then we have one house that’s all electric, so …

TOM: Well, with the electric house what I would do is I would replace – and again, if it’s time for a new water heater there I would replace it with a high-efficiency electric water heater. They have a sort of a heavier outer shell that’s very well insulated. Then you can increase your energy efficiency even further by adding a timer to that; a 240-volt timer so that you’re only running the water heater when you absolutely have to, which is a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening. The in-between time you generally can leave the water heater off and, because it’s well-insulated, the water will still stay hot.

DAVID: OK. Well listen, thank you very much. I’m really glad to hear about the gas being the most efficient.

TOM: You’re very welcome, David. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.