On Nov 20, 3:25*pm, (Papa Pat) wrote:
Maybe you've spoke of this subject B-4.

But I see Lowes big box store has a variety of instant hot water
heaters. The one like Rinnai sp...

Are these water heaters worth the price to switch out from a water tank?

There are various models and prices...
Have you had any experience with any at all? Are they efficient? Is
Rinnai the only one to trust?

Seems to me that a great deal of money can be saved using these heat on
demand
units...am I wrong?

Please comment on what you know.

And I thank you for any input...

Pat in Denver

The saving with instantaneous heaters is that you don't incutt
"standing losses", ie heat losses from a tank of hot water standing
around.
The amount you save depends on your usage pattern. If you use little
hot water and the hot water tank is permanently on, then there are big
savings to make.
They also depend on how well your tank is insulated.
Losses from instantaneous water heaters are virtually nil.
Losses from stored water heaters are almost constant regardless of how
much you use.
In the UK, virtually all hot water in domestic houses comes from
instantaneous gas fired water heaters in new installations/new
boilers.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combi-boiler#Combination_boilers