Quote:
Originally Posted by CWGUY
 Sorry I can't answer your question. I would be very interested in what "Toymeister" had to say on an outside tankless water heater and if there is a payback on installing one. Just looked at my gas bills for the last 12 months..... I don't think there is.  |
For almost everyone there is no payback until the twenty year mark.
I have installed one and the Rinnai brand came equipped with a 120 volt plug. In my very unique situation where I was replacing two heaters (second home) with one tankless it had a eight year payback for DIY. No problems at all with Rinnai after nine years.
Of interest to the original poster there are two advantages of a tankless heater, it can be located outside freeing up space. Second you save standby energy costs, that is the cost of keeping a tank of water hot. Keep in mind that you should maintain your tankless every year by back flushing it with a mild acidic fluid annually.
I have an energy monitor on my electric TV home and a smart switch on the water heater. To satisfy my curiosity i conducted a ten week study of timed water heater vs. untimed useage. This gave me a very clear view of the standby energy costs. About $1.30 a month for electric water heater or .43 to .65 for gas.
If energy savings is your goal i can give you two very simple ideas to cut your hot water bill by 20% or so.