The test used an inlet temperature of 58° F for gas models and 74° F for electrics (plus or minus 2° F) and a target outlet temperature of 120° F.īecause the tankless water heaters performed so similarly to each other, we averaged the results of each batch, gas and electric, and compared that score with the performance of the conventional gas and electric storage tanks and the electric heat pump model. That’s the daily equivalent of taking several showers, running the dishwasher, washing one load of laundry, and turning the faucet on and off multiple times.
The test used a high draw pattern equal to using 84 gallons of water per day. We compared the results with those of conventional tanked heaters from Rheem, one gas and one electric, as well as with a Rheem electric heat pump water heater, which is a variation on a tanked water heater.įollowing a "heavy use" industry standard test, we compared the performance of gas and electric tankless water heaters with the performance of their conventional tank counterparts. But if you’re building a new home or adding to an existing one, installing a tankless water heater may make economic sense.Ĭonsumer Reports recently tested several electric and gas whole-house tankless water heaters from brands such as Bosch, Navien, Noritz, Rheem, Rinnai, Tempra, and Trutankless. Switching from a tank water heater to a tankless unit can be expensive because it requires you to retrofit your plumbing and possibly your electrical system. Typically, homeowners replace their old water heater with one of the same type that runs on the same fuel-natural gas or electricity. New storage tank water heaters are required to operate more efficiently, and tankless (on-demand) water heaters are even more efficient than that. If your water heater is nearing the end of its useful life and you’re thinking of replacing it before disaster strikes, you’ll be happy to know that you have better choices, thanks to federal regulations that require water heaters to be more energy-efficient.
Despite this expense, water heaters are typically ignored until they break, leaving you with no hot water and, possibly, a flooded basement. And if you’ve been spending more time at home because of the pandemic, it’s likely that your usage and costs have gone up. The cost of heating water consumes almost 20 percent of your household budget, second only to what you spend on heating and cooling your home.
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