On-demand water heaters (Fairbanks: apartment, house, buying)

[Wynternight]

How much do they generally cost (including installation)?

[SityData]

It all depends on the size; They come in all types sizes, capacities etc.

And... for what it is worth (through experience) The DUMBEST thing some people do... DO NOT INSTALL A SWITCH to your water heater.

It must be controlled ONLY by the circuit breaker. I.E. It is always on!

[Dakster]

The issues I have had with on-demand hot water heaters is how much wattage and amperage they need to operate the whole house units. (usually 90 amps of service) Also, several people I know that went to this method have had the electrical elements fail every 2 years. Maybe they are getting cheaply made units or they are better now.

Also, since it is usually HOT down here, a conventional water heater tank keeps the water hot for along period of time without power. When we lost power for a few weeks after Hurricane Wilma I only had to heat water every few days and my 5500 Watt 28 AMP generator was able to do the job. I couldn't have fired up an insta-hot. This would not a big deal if you have one that uses natural gas/fuel oil. Unfortunately, all I have is electricity.

Having said that, the one sink or shower electrical units can heat the water to scalding and not sure how much power they draw. They are rated for how many Gallons Per Minute they can handle and how many degrees they heat the water too. I am sure that your local installation place will be able to help your further.

BTW - I do like how much extra garage space you get with one!

[AKStafford]

Your friend might have an older model. I've been told that about 8 years ago there was a change in the technology and the newer ones work much better. I would've gone with in our home, but the up front cost was more and we were already stretching the budget...

[SityData]

Originally Posted by Dakster

The issues I have had with on-demand hot water heaters is how much wattage and amperage they need to operate the whole house units. (usually 90 amps of service) Also, several people I know that went to this method have had the electrical elements fail every 2 years. Maybe they are getting cheaply made units or they are better now.

If you have your heating elements turned up too high you will weaken them by creating a 'hot spot'. Fortunately they are inexpensive and easily replaced. You should have at least one spare on hand... just in case!

Technically speaking; No offense meant or intended; but this comes up a lot. There is no such thing as a hot water heater.

To be more precise you are speaking about a cold WATER HEATER.

A water heater - 'heats cold water to make it hot.

A hot water heater is in essence a Boiler!

This is taught to all apprentice plumbers, fitters, and electricians ..on how to use the proper terminology in the construction trades!

[Marty Van Diest]

I only have experience with gas fired on demand heaters. I know the work very well. I have heard of a few problems with some models but the ones I see most of the builders going to in this area are Rinnai water heaters.

If you have a well it's important to but a good filter on the cold water side. These units come with filters but add an inline one also to keep small pieces of sand and silt out.

[RayinAK]

Such heaters work well. Still, and only relating to the interior of Alaska where it gets very cold during the winter, you have to consider the following. If you have baseboard or slab heating, the boiler has to run quite a lot to keep the house warm. It means that during the winter months you can run cold water through the boiler to heat the water for showers and the rest. But all depends on the cost of electricity versus heating oil, although it may be cheaper to use the water heater during the summer, and the boiler during the winter.

[RedJacket]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

Such heaters work well. Still, and only relating to the interior of Alaska where it gets very cold during the winter, you have to consider the following. If you have baseboard or slab heating, the boiler has to run quite a lot to keep the house warm. It means that during the winter months you can run cold water through the boiler to heat the water for showers and the rest. But all depends on the cost of electricity versus heating oil, although it may be cheaper to use the water heater during the summer, and the boiler during the winter.

Do you think within the next 1000 years Alaska will get a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope into Fairbanks? Seems like a no-brainer to me, plus, the residents would be able to breathe clean air once again.

I imagine the people of Anchorage would appreciate a gas pipeline into their city as well.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by RedJacket

Do you think within the next 1000 years Alaska will get a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope into Fairbanks? Seems like a no-brainer to me, plus, the residents would be able to breathe clean air once again.

I imagine the people of Anchorage would appreciate a gas pipeline into their city as well.

A gas pipeline has nothing to do with a boiler being used to heat the water for showers and such. That's a built-in feature in all boilers. Since in the interior of Alaska we use boilers to keep our houses warm, most people use the boiler to heat the water during the winter months, and then electric water heaters during the summer when the boiler is not being used to heat the home. If a furnace is used, then one can't use it to heat the water. Toyo water heaters are also very efficient, and a lot of people use them. Some other heaters use propane, but again one has to consider the expense of propane compared to heating fuel, and to electricity.

My point was as follows: while an instant hot water system may be good, one has to decide if it's cheaper to use one of these electric units instead of the boiler, simply because both heating fuel and electricity are quite expensive in the interior. At my home it's cheaper for me to heat the water using the boiler because I have a super-insulated water reservoir. The hot water pipes too, are insulated.

That said, in the interior of Alaska heating fuel and electricity are very expensive, and are one of the primaries reasons for the high cost of living. Please scroll down seven pages in the Borough report:

http://www.co.fairbanks.ak.us/communityplanning/crc/FALL%202011%20CRQ.pdf (broken link)

The problem is energy. It is getting so expensive that it's increasingly tough for people to live in Fairbanks, local people say, despite the good employment situation.
"It is costing some people $1,000 to $1,500 a month to heat their homes in winter, and that's just unaffordable," said Jeff Cook, a longtime Fairbanks resident. Electricity rates are going up too, because power is generated mostly with fuel oil.

[tigre79]

Around here it seems like most people heat water through their boiler year-round, even though electricity is fairly cheap in the summer when we're running on hydro. But we're more likely to heat our houses during the summer than Fairbanks folks are, too. At our house we have two Toyotomi Oil Miser boilers, one to heat the house and one to heat domestic water