Replacing Electric Water Heater With Tankless

Tankless water heaters can be powered by gas or electricity but even gas powered tankless water heaters rely on an electric control panel to operate the system.

Replacing electric water heater with tankless.

Switching to tankless water heaters isn t that hard. This takes into account the additional installation costs. Department of energy estimates that in homes using 41 gallons or less of hot water on demand tankless units can conserve between 24 to 34 more energy than tank water heaters. Tankless water heaters also known as on demand water heaters are quite popular with forward thinking homeowners and for good reason.

If you have an electric water heater the nameplate will also list the wattage capacity and voltage of the heating elements. Call your local department of inspections and ask if you need a permit. For a household of one or two people a tankless electric unit will probably be adequate. Installing a tankless water heater is a greater upfront investment but these units can significantly cut the cost of monthly utilities.

A tankless water heater has no tank you re welcome. In any case when you re planning a water heater replacement play it safe. The higher the energy factor the more efficient the water heater. Today tankless water heater energy factors range between 64 and 91 for gas fired models and up to 99 for electric models.

How to switch from propane tank water heater to electric tankless water heaters. For help choosing a water heater read our water heater buying guide. For an electric model assuming energy costs of 0 132 per kwh the payback time to replace a conventional electric tank with an electric tankless ranges from 12 to 20 years. Here are the steps we took to convert from a propane powered water heater to an electric tankless water heater.

This information will serve as the starting point in your search for replacement parts or a new water heater. I also made a video so you could see our install first hand. The steps for replacing a propane water heater are exactly the same and those for an electric water heater are similar. So regardless of the type of tankless water heater you have you ll be out of hot water in the event of a power outage.