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I am getting mixed answers on my following dilemna, so I have decided to get a few more here. Right now I live in Savannah and the house I am in has one AC unit with gas heat, so for 6 months out of the year I pay around $30 just to have the gas at the house. I recently purchased a house that has all electric appliances except for the water heater which needs to be replaced. So at first I thought easy enough, i'll just install one of the smart system(figures out your routine and adjusts accordingly) electric water heaters. But after looking at the energy factor numbers put out by the manufacturer(.95 for electric and .58 for gas) I am starting to have second thoughts. I have checked a couple of home sites and their answer is that a gas water heater is roughly 50 percent cheaper to operate than an elctric water heater. But I am still trying to figure out if the thirty dollar service charge monthly with the gas company make the gas more expensive in the long run. One other note, there is a strong possibility of a kitchen upgrade in the near future, and a gas cooktop is tempting. So to recap electric water heater versus gas water heater(with 30 dollar automatic charge plus usage). And if the kitchen was gas and the water heater would it be worth it then?
Talk to the gas company. Ours was offering a hefty incentive to convert from an electric stove and I'm sure there was an additional incentive for the water heater. I don't remember the exact amount.
Additionally, there is the added benefit of hot showers and the ability to cook during power outages. Power outages seem to last longer these days.
Depending on your usage, I don't think there is a definate answer without more information. I think it is worth it.
Have you compared tankless water heating systems?
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Most of savannah is natural gas. If it isn't in place already, you'd need a new gas line and vent for the HWH. You'll probably find the expense to retrofit for gas isn't worth it. Gas heat is nice when the power goes out, as happened when we lived in downtown Savannah. Even a point-of-use water heater requires the services of an electrician. do your research on costs to install alternative systems.
Maybe I should have been a little more clear in my original post, the house that I purchased has gas lines installed throughout. As of right now the house has a gas water heater installed. I guess i am just trying to figure out if it is worth installing a new gas water heater in its place and continue the gas service(initial 30 service fee per month even if you do not use it)and add a gas cooktop/oven later when I redo the kitchen, or go all electric. The more I have looked into it though it seems that because of the service fee gas is more expensive for just one appliance, unless you have as much appliances running on it as possible. Also I do like the idea of the insta hot system if it is a gas one. The electric units require a good bit of power and I may not have the room for it in the panel.
I would stick with the Gas heater easier to install going electric you would have to have an electrician come and install a line to it and a breaker which would be a decent amount of money
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robalo78,
is your existing gas WH direct vent or power vent , a new power vent is running about 1400.00 (75gal. 68'000 btu) . if you have a large household the large btu unit can recover 90% in 15 min. ,can't get that out of electric.
4/0
I have a gas water heater and a gas clothes dryer. I am a little confused about my bill and my neighbors cant figure it out either.
There is a "minimum charge" as a seperate line item. It is added into rather then deducted from the other items. I know I should ask the gas company about this but ifyou dont have gas yet you should ask them what the bill will look like and how they calculate minimum use, delivery and supply charges.
If I didnt already have a gas hookup I would have gotten an electric dryer but I didnt want the hassle of running a power supply to it.
Good luck!
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Good topic. I am plannig to build a new house within the next year or two and these kinds of questions have been at the top of my list. Gas dryer works much better than electric and cheaper too, but I'm told it can make whites look dingy. Been having a gas dryer for 14 yrs now and I never noticed it, but what do I know? Gas water heater IMO is cheaper to run also and heats up water faster. I am looking at the tankless units for the new house, but haven't come to any conclusion about them yet. I found one web page where it said that if you want instant hot water, go with a conventional heater. Well, that just don't make a whole lotta sense to me, 'cause with a conventional heater, I still have to wait till all the cold water runs out of the lines before I get hot water. Gas stove is my preferrence also, but I don't cook, so again, what do I know? With your $30 service fee, it seems like a gas water heater would make a lot more sense if you had gas stove and dryer too. The way you are now, not sure it pays off.
I have had in the same house an electric hot water heater and a propane(gas) hot water heater. I can not comment on what your local gas company charges you, but from a pure functionality standpoint..........hands down.......not even close........a gas hot water heater recovers faster, and is cheaper to run......but that is not taking into account your local gas company misc charges.
In our house(6 people) the electric hot water was a joke.A couple of showers and its done. (yes I checked it out....both elements were working
eplaced them ect) I suppose if you had a couple of people and the showers were fast, that it would suffice. In our house........it won't keep up. Not even close.
Andy
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Back-in Black,
Not to derail this thread but , an option when you build for quick hot water is add a recirulating pump , from your farthest fixture run a line back to the WH (need gas for this to work) and dump that water into your cold supply, it is a small 115 pump dosen't pull much, this way the hot side is moving and you don't have to wait .
4/0
A gas Tankless Water Heater is the way to go. Why heat water all day - every day when you don't need it 24/7. These units need large gas volume capability at the appliance, so you would have to ascertain if you have a large enough gas line for this intended use. This may entail a meter change as well, but that is a 30 minute job, and the utility company picks up the tab. Going this way will save you plenty. On top of that, many utility companies offer rebates (sometimes hundreds of dollars) to install this type device.
Just converted from electric to a Rinnai tankless gas water heater. Price for the unit and installation (install was pretty complicated and the plumber was here for almost 2 days) was $2700. I got a $1k rebate from the local gas company. There are four people in my household and our bills are noticeably less. Unit should pay for itself in about 24 months. Free's up alot of interior space and should add some value to the house should I sell. If you are going to redo your kitchen, I'd definitely stick with gas and put some decent appliances in there as people seem to like a real cooking kitchen. You also live in an area where hurricanes are a real possibility which makes gas even more desireable as you could shower and cook without power. Good luck.
Just converted from electric to a Rinnai tankless gas water heater. Price for the unit and installation (install was pretty complicated and the plumber was here for almost 2 days) was $2700. I got a $1k rebate from the local gas company. There are four people in my household and our bills are noticeably less. Unit should pay for itself in about 24 months. Free's up alot of interior space and should add some value to the house should I sell. If you are going to redo your kitchen, I'd definitely stick with gas and put some decent appliances in there as people seem to like a real cooking kitchen. You also live in an area where hurricanes are a real possibility which makes gas even more desireable as you could shower and cook without power. Good luck.
I did the same thing about 6 months ago. It cost me slightly less than what you paid, but i didn't get any rebate from anybody except $300 tax credit from Uncle Sam. One problem with them is that they need 110v power for the electronics and the igniter. They don't draw very many amps, though, so it would be easy to hook it up to a small generator in an emergency and you'd still have plenty of power to spare.
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Natural gas costs can be significantly different from Propane...usually alot less. Stick with the gas unit. The ONLY reason a tankless unit MAY be more efficient is due to the loss of heat from the stored unit. A good quality well insulated heater makes the tankless unit less attractive.
By definition, 1 BTU raises 1 pound of water 1 degree fahrenheit. The myth about lower temperature on a hot water heater being more efficient is based SOLELY on heat loss from the tank.
In Savannah, stick with the natural gas heater. Personally, I'd go with the conventional unit.
Natural gas costs can be significantly different from Propane...usually alot less. Stick with the gas unit. The ONLY reason a tankless unit MAY be more efficient is due to the loss of heat from the stored unit. A good quality well insulated heater makes the tankless unit less attractive.
By definition, 1 BTU raises 1 pound of water 1 degree fahrenheit. The myth about lower temperature on a hot water heater being more efficient is based SOLELY on heat loss from the tank.
In Savannah, stick with the natural gas heater. Personally, I'd go with the conventional unit.
unless you have a large garden tub,or a shower with multiple head's as in 6-10 head's then the tankless makes sense as you never run out of hot water.but on a standard house i agree there over rated.if your worried about hot water on demand put in a re circulate pump and keep the tank heater.
Spent a good part of the day researching this some more, alot of things rest on this decision for me for a couple of reasons. To answer 4/0, the tank right now is direct vent. If I go tankless (I may need to upgrade the gas service but that is the gas companies responsibility to supply adequate supply lines)I will have the space in the outside utility room for a new stackable washer and gas dryer(right now the washer and dryer are taking up the space of what used to be a breakfast nook,which I would like to reclaim and use).If I decide on a tank system I can put it in the attic and again use the utility room for the washer and dryer(granted I will have to cut a hole in the roof and run gas to the attic). As far as doing the install and replacement, I am in construction and would be doing everything myself. I hate to say it but trying to get any info out of our lowes or homedepot is useless. An electric tankless is out of the question, they require three double pole(220) 40 amp breakers. Tankless gas is looking like a possibility because of the size, but in a power failure it is my understanding they will not work. On another note which is making this decision hard is the washer and dryer, the new full size stackables are expensive, but they would fit in the utility room. Another option is to wire the detached garage for them which means a pretty good run for the power lines and having to tie into the drain and water. Keeping them in the house would be nice but just not practical because of where they are and what I want to do with that area. Thank you all for your input, I will be talking to the gas companies tomorrow to see what incentives they offer.
I know two people who put a hot water heater in the attic. Both failed (as they all do eventually) with very expensive results. If you have no other choice but to have the heater in the attic, make sure you get a pan around it to catch the water before it ruins the ceiling. If you're lucky, you'll notice a problem with hot water before it starts to leak.
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also with a tankless you can hang them on the outside of the house so no venting is required.i would look into this way before i would put one in the attic.this can be a costly mistake.
Natural gas costs can be significantly different from Propane...usually alot less. Stick with the gas unit. The ONLY reason a tankless unit MAY be more efficient is due to the loss of heat from the stored unit. A good quality well insulated heater makes the tankless unit less attractive.
By definition, 1 BTU raises 1 pound of water 1 degree fahrenheit. The myth about lower temperature on a hot water heater being more efficient is based SOLELY on heat loss from the tank.
In Savannah, stick with the natural gas heater. Personally, I'd go with the conventional unit.
unless you have a large garden tub,or a shower with multiple head's as in 6-10 head's then the tankless makes sense as you never run out of hot water.but on a standard house i agree there over rated.if your worried about hot water on demand put in a re circulate pump and keep the tank heater.
Not true if you have a boiler with an indirect hot water heater and a 50gal storage tank its allot more efficient than a tankless heater. the boiler heats the water then dumps it into a super insulated storage tank where it losses 1 degree every 8 hours the boiler hardly ever goes on only when the storage unite is less than 1/4 tank
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gas vs electric water heater 
