tankless gas water heater - cost? (Austin: credit, how much, buying a house)

[l0ll1]

Hello All,

Any idea how much Tankless Gas WH cost to buy equipment and to install?

I'm buying a house and wanted to replace tank one with tankless one, but the builder is saying it would cost me $2500. I think that is too much.

Will it cost more if I do it later?

Also, what will be the savings per month (to determine payback period)?


Thanks.

[johnrex62]

Sorry I cannot provide you with straight answers to what you ask, but it is one of my big regrets that I did not install one when I was building.

It is definitely cost more to install post build than during the build. How much? Depends on where you want it and what they have to do to retrofit the location. You will have to have electric/gas and water lines in the area and they will have to tear out and rebuild work done during construction.

$2500 does not sound too far out of line based on the cost of the unit, and other services needed to install (elect/gas lines, extra plumbing/framing work). You might be able to get it somewhat cheaper, but I am not sure how much you can whittle that down.

No idea on payback. Consider the annual cost of the standard water heater and how much of that is for maintaining temp when you are not using the water. The initial heating will be similar in cost regardless of where heated (tank or tankless) so the difference should be close to that maintenance heating cost. How much you see will definitely depend on how much you use and when. My situation is that I have a long run between the master bath and the water heater. It take quite a bit of water before the heated water reaches my tub despite insulated lines. You can run a lot of water in 2-3 minutes waiting for the hot. All of that water was once heated and now cooled is run down the drain waiting for more hot. That is a lot of waste.

To help you feel better about the cost, as your builder to compare the total cost of the standard water heater to the total cost of the tankless. The difference ought to be under $1k I would think. Then decide if you want to go with either or both options concurrently.

[l0ll1]

Thanks for the info johnrex62.

I was also expecting around $1k more than the standard one, but it is actually $2500 more than the standard one.

[johnrex62]

Originally Posted by l0ll1

Thanks for the info johnrex62.

I was also expecting around $1k more than the standard one, but it is actually $2500 more than the standard one.

Are you sure that is a price for an instead of or is for an in addition to build? The price sounds more like you would get both the tank and tankless for the extra money above contract price.

If it is a quote for a change out instead of an addon, I would do a bit of price shopping and see if you can get data to negotiate that price or work a deal to permit another installer to be subbed on the build at an agreed upon price. It is unlikely that a builder would let you install it or hire someone outside your contract to come onsite without the builder's oversight.

[l0ll1]

I did ask about that, but there is no price negotiation and I cannot bring any other outside contractor...it might effect the warranty.

Just now I found the following interesting article. Check it out:

DWE | Do tankless water heaters live up to the hype? (http://www.designwesteng.com/2007AC2.html - broken link)

As you suggested, above site is calculating saving based on maintainting the water temparature. It doesn't sound encouraging to install tansless one.

[RSTX]

We replaced a 55 gallon electric tank heater with a Rinnai tankless propane water heater just a few months ago. Wow, what a difference. My electric bill dropped by about $60. That is great, but my wife having enough hot water to take a bath after the kids is better. A cold unhappy wife is to be feared. Our propane dealer sells the units and recommended the biggest residential unit. We can run two showers, the dishwasher and washing machine simultaneously and have plenty of hot water. I'm more than happy with out tankless unit.

Now, I wish I had put it in during the building process rather than waiting until we had moved in. The unit cost $1200 and the local plumber charged $1750 to run the propane line and retro fit the water lines and install the Rinnai.

The payoff is partly subjective for me. Having a happy wife is worth a lot of $$$. Technically, I guess the payoff will be over five years, but I don't care.


Rick

Remember...Your mileage may vary.

[johnrex62]

Originally Posted by RSTX

We replaced a 55 gallon electric tank heater with a Rinnai tankless propane water heater just a few months ago. Wow, what a difference. My electric bill dropped by about $60. That is great, but my wife having enough hot water to take a bath after the kids is better. A cold unhappy wife is to be feared. Our propane dealer sells the units and recommended the biggest residential unit. We can run two showers, the dishwasher and washing machine simultaneously and have plenty of hot water. I'm more than happy with out tankless unit.

Now, I wish I had put it in during the building process rather than waiting until we had moved in. The unit cost $1200 and the local plumber charged $1750 to run the propane line and retro fit the water lines and install the Rinnai.

The payoff is partly subjective for me. Having a happy wife is worth a lot of $$$. Technically, I guess the payoff will be over five years, but I don't care.


Rick

Remember...Your mileage may vary.

You state a $60 savings on electric by replacing your tank heater with a propane tankless, so I assume your old tank water heater was electric? Have you calculated how much your propane consumption has risen with the addition of the propane tankless? Can you equate that to a monthly cost that is lower than the $60 electric differential?

[satanoid]

So, last time I checked, Austin Energy gives you a tax credit, or some kind of rebate for installing one of these... anyone take advantage of that?

[RSTX]

Originally Posted by johnrex62

You state a $60 savings on electric by replacing your tank heater with a propane tankless, so I assume your old tank water heater was electric? Have you calculated how much your propane consumption has risen with the addition of the propane tankless? Can you equate that to a monthly cost that is lower than the $60 electric differential?

Yes, the old tank water heater was electric. I have not calculated propane consumption in any formal sense. Here is what I do know: we had the propane company set the tank (250 gallon tank filled to 80% = 200 gallons of propane) on Dec. 1. We moved into the house and started burning propane on 12/15. We have a propane range and ventless gas firelogs which we use to heat our 2200 sq/ft house. Our electric bill was pretty low Jan - Mar since we did not run the electric heat. Checking the propane level in late Feb. showed about 40%. The Rinnai came online about 3/15. I checked the propane level this past Saturday (7/28) and it is at 20%. I'm pleased as punch.

[davisjrg5]

We installed towards the end of last year. Our costs: $1200 for removal of the old tank (est. $300) and installation of the new system, $55 for the plumbing permit, $455 for the pressure testing of the gas system in the house and interacting with the city inspector. The unit cost approx. $1130. I say "approximately" because the total bill was $1190 and the plumber estimated that $60 of the parts were not really needed for our installation (he retained them). The cost of the electrician to run a 120 volt AC line out to the unit: $120. We live in Austin, TX. This was a Rinnai 7.5 natural gas outdoor unit.

As for the operation of the unit: We like the control that allows us to control the temperature of the water. It seems to take a while for the water to get to temperature. This may be partly because the old system was out in the detached garage and the hot water lines still run out there to service the washing machine. (The Rinnai is attached to the outside of our house.) I'm concerned that this wastes a lot of water. As for saving on gas, I haven't determined that yet.