On Apr 8, 11:57 am, Paul M. Eldridge
wrote:
On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 08:26:00 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
I don't think that's fair. Ransley says he's actually bought one for
$500 and installed it himself relatively easy. And he's happy with
the results. I think his opinion is worth more than most here most
of whom don't have one and just sling mud. Especially those that
continue to spout misleading information, like "The heat loss from a
tank unit helps heat your home in the winter." It's been pointed out
repeatidly that much of the waste heat in a gas tank unit goes up the
flue. And the heat that escapes the sides of the tank only helps heat
the house if it happens to be in the living space, which isn't where
most are located. And then, in summer, the heat is still added to
the house and if you have AC as most do, then you're paying to remove
that heat. Yet, this same sad misinformation continues.

The OP has an electric water heater and electric units do not have
stack related losses. The only loss is through the tank wall and these
losses are less than 1 kWh per day if the tank has an EF of 0.93 or
better (the new minimum standard is 0.91).

No he doesn't. OP wrote: "Ok, our 40 gal gas water heater is
failing. About 10 years old, which I
hear is ok."

Secondly, if the tank is located inside a conditioned space any heat
loss through the wall *will* offset a portion of the home's space
heating demand. If the home is electrically heated the net loss is
effectively zero during the heating season and for those who heat with
oil, the losses could result in a net positive gain now that
residential fuel oil is more expensive than electricity in many parts
of the country.

Most of the water heat inefficiency goes up the flue, so do most of
the dollars. It's an odd argument to state that putting a heater
(waste heat from the water heater) in a location that you don't need
it, is a smart move. Maybe we should all go back to the huge ass
furnaces under the house with one central floor grate to heat the
home. Then none of the inefficiency is lost...unfortunately most of
the comfort is.

R