Green / Eco-Friendly

High Efficiency Condensing Gas Storage Tank Water Heaters

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  • Dec 20th, 2019 8:14 am
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Sr. Member
Aug 25, 2005
862 posts
108 upvotes
anil_cbr wrote: if a tankless is a cheaper option it might be better to go that route. anyone have information on a Bradford white m-ii-tw-75t6bn.
I cant find the efficiency of the tank. The customer wanted a tankless but if his current tank is a condensing unit, I don't see the point of replacing it since he is not renting and will not see a decent return on investment. plus his tank is only 5 years old. seems too soon to replace it.

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/lowenerg ... arison.pdf

I believe some (maybe all?) Bradford White Tankless units are made by Rinnai.

In general, the tankless units usually cost more. And some require special venting (i.e. stainless steel) while conventional tanks use cheaper ABS (or schedule 40).
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 31, 2005
1156 posts
886 upvotes
Waterloo
A few people were posting about tankless. There was a long thread in the Hot Deals section last summer (probably in expired now) that has a lot of very good information.

A few things of interest given some of the posts:

1) there are tankless water heaters that do no require the stainless steel venting and therefore can be installed much further from an outside wall - Navien is one but not the only one

2) don't cheap out when looking at tankless, pay a few more $$ and get the right size or slightly oversized by paying close attention to the temperature rise required in the winter (source water in southern Ontario is ~40F) and the number of GPM - the last thing anyone would want is an undersized tankless heater

I installed a Navien (CR-240A) last May and have been quite happy with it. Would highly recommend it as it has an internal recirculator and mini buffer tank to deliver hot water to the faucet faster and without the cold water sandwich effect. We now enjoy endless hot water without having to pre-heat a ton.

Got $375 in rebates from each of the gov'ts and $100 from the local utility.
Newbie
Aug 12, 2011
1 posts
bfoster wrote: I am wondering the same...Has anyone installed a high efficiency unit that qualifies for the eco-energy rebate (e.g. 94% + efficiency)? If so, who did your install and how much was it?

Here's a list that was posted by NRCAN on Nov 30th of the tanks.

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/pers ... cfm?attr=4

I have called around a few places and not many places know about these high efficiency tanks...most just want to sell tankless.

This is at the top of the page of your link "There are currently no residential-grade condensing water heaters available in Canada, but the units listed below may be suitable for residential installations. This chart uses imperial measurements since this is the industry practice in North America." http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/pers ... cfm?attr=4
Deal Addict
User avatar
Mar 8, 2002
4235 posts
880 upvotes
Ottawa
Unless you are producing massive amounts of hot water for something like an apartment, condo, hotel, pool, health club, etc, anything with lots of showers, often the amount of energy saved with condensing technology will not pay for the price premium over a regular hot water heater. That's why there are incentives available ;)
Newbie
Aug 24, 2011
2 posts
DELTA
MacGyver wrote: Unless you are producing massive amounts of hot water for something like an apartment, condo, hotel, pool, health club, etc, anything with lots of showers, often the amount of energy saved with condensing technology will not pay for the price premium over a regular hot water heater. That's why there are incentives available ;)

Absolutely true. My current gas bill for summer months, with gas only sed for heating hot water in a 9 year old Rheem tank is <$28. Less than $9.00 is for the 1.4 GJ of gas, the rest is tax, more tax and delivery charges. Our hat water usage does not vary greatly summer to winter. Assuming a new HE water heater is twice as good as my old tank, how many years does it take to pay for an HE system versus replacing my old low efficiency unit? Saving <$5 per month or $60 per year, the difference in cost is over $1500 or some 25 years (at current gas prices) Even if they double, very unlikely it would ever pay for itself.
Deal Addict
Aug 1, 2006
1005 posts
100 upvotes
Stranger wrote: A few people were posting about tankless. There was a long thread in the Hot Deals section last summer (probably in expired now) that has a lot of very good information.

A few things of interest given some of the posts:

1) there are tankless water heaters that do no require the stainless steel venting and therefore can be installed much further from an outside wall - Navien is one but not the only one

2) don't cheap out when looking at tankless, pay a few more $$ and get the right size or slightly oversized by paying close attention to the temperature rise required in the winter (source water in southern Ontario is ~40F) and the number of GPM - the last thing anyone would want is an undersized tankless heater

I installed a Navien (CR-240A) last May and have been quite happy with it. Would highly recommend it as it has an internal recirculator and mini buffer tank to deliver hot water to the faucet faster and without the cold water sandwich effect. We now enjoy endless hot water without having to pre-heat a ton.

Got $375 in rebates from each of the gov'ts and $100 from the local utility.
Hi, if you don't mind me asking - what is the procedure for getting those $375 + $100 rebates? Do you have to book/pay for an ecoEnergy audit first (2 inspections and which one costing money - thus canceling the effect of those rebates)?
Thank you.
Newbie
Dec 28, 2017
8 posts
John, High efficiently water heaters can reduce your gas utility costs. You just have pick the right product. Sometimes high efficiency comes at a high price if it means more maintenance costs. And if you you don't keep up the regiment, you fancy, expensive water heater is suddenly only scape metal. There is emerging technology that has improved the reliability and the life cycle of ultra high-efficiency products. You just have to pick the right one. In this competitive business of coin laundries, owners have to hedge against rising costs.

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