On Wed, 9 Apr 2008 18:01:56 -0700 (PDT), ransley
wrote:

As is true of most every home in my neighbourhood, my DHW tank is
located in a finished basement so 100 per cent of its heat loss is
usable over the course of the heating season; in this case, a span of
some seven months -- eight for thermal wimps.

Even unfinished basements, unless the floor joists are well insulated,
are thermally connected to the conditioned space above. *In fact,
according to one Ontario Hydro study, 25 per cent of a home's heat
loss occurs through the basement. *Until it reaches equilibrium, heat
will eventually migrate throughout the building structure, regardless
of its point of origin.

Heat loss, Up chimney, you calculated wrong, sorry bub, your loss is
more than you think. Your loss is 24x7 and its alot of BTUs up and
out, you dont know jack on saving jack.

Hi Mark,

Just to be clear, there is no natural gas service in our neighbourhood
-- there are perhaps 500 homes in the entire province that have access
to it, if that. Consequently, our DHW tanks are electric, although a
small percentage are oil-fired and with rare exception propane (at
$1.25 per litre/$4.70 per gallon, propane is almost three times more
costly than electric). The heat losses I speak of are in relation to
electric water heaters, not gas.

Cheers,
Paul