Our home in Atlanta Ga. came with two 50 gallon traditional natural gas hot water tanks. I insulated both to R38. When it came time to replace the tanks I choose a "tankless" unit. Unit was large enough to satisfy the needs of a 5 bedroom, 4 full bath home. Cost of unit and installation was twice as much as just replacing the traditional tanks. The tankless reduced the natural gas bill by $30/per month averaged over 10 years. We were happy with the tankless. We did install a hot water pump at the farthest point from the tankless unit that would run on demand and stop when hot water reached that point. I would question the location of the tankless unit on the homes in the Villages. It seems to me the location was chosen to minimize the installation cost. I'd recommend either a second unit for the back of the house or installing a pump to move hot water. The standard recirculating pump will void the tankless warranty, but a pump that bridges the hot/cold water line and stops running when hot water reaches it is ok. I bought mine on Amazon for $400 and installed it myself.
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