(04-27-2021, 11:59 AM)jteneyck Wrote: Can you define what you mean by "tremendous" savings?  What percentage are you saving?  

If I were to replace my current 40 gal piloted hot water heater with a tankless I would need to upsize the meter and figure out how to vent the thing, assuming we are talking about a whole house unit here.  My current hot water heater draws maybe 40K BTU/hour when it's on.  A tankless that provides only 3 gpm at 70F rise is going to take around 140K BTU/hr and it's running every minute the water is flowing.  To handle that increased need of 100K BTU/hr I would need a larger meter, at my expense.  Most tankless hot water heaters are direct vent these days, you can't vent them up a chimney, and that would mean more expense.  

Like you, I pay the minimum gas company charge in the summer months - with my piloted hot water heater.  

John

(04-28-2021, 01:01 PM)Scouter Wrote: Sure. While comparing one year to another is tricky (taking showers, cooking, heating, etc. isn't exactly the same):

Avg annual use before: 46.0 mcf
Avg annual use after: 40.6 mcf

Avg use in June (before, no heating): 1.8 mcf
Avg use in June (before, no heating): 1.4 mcf

Note that in my area we get charged for a minimum of 1.5 mcf/month regardless of usage.

(04-28-2021, 01:35 PM)jteneyck Wrote: Thanks.  Data is always good and reinforces my research.  At an average residential price of $11/mcf you saved $59.40 annually, and $3.30/month since you have to pay for 1.5 mcf even if you don't use it.  There may be good reasons to go tankless but it's not about saving money.  

John

(04-28-2021, 03:15 PM)Scouter Wrote: A lot of that really depends. We had to replace the tank anyway, didn't do it just to go tankless. Installed it was only about $300 more, so a 5 year payback (if gas prices are stable) on a 10-yr warranty product, plus no worries about the bottom of the tank rusting out while we're away (happened to a neighbor, not a pretty sight to return to).