Trying to figure out what heater is good for me

[Charles Jamison]

Hello! I am new here and I figured by the amount of questions and discussions I might be able to get my question answered

I am looking at installing a tankless water heater in my house for the whole home, I have one bathroom, one dish washer, the kitchen sink and one washing machine.

Do you guys think one 16Kw heater would do it for this house?

 

[BadgerBoilerMN]

Why electric?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Charles Jamison]

I have a fear of gas that I don't think I can even get over so that is why I have chosen to go the electric rout.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

The cost of electric heat is double that of gas in most areas, so that would weigh heavily on many of us.
Particularly in heating water, a tank heater is a much more cost effective and maintenance-free choice. The only way I would ever suggest an electric tankless might be in a tiny place where room for a tank could not be found.

 

[Dana]

Install an electric tank heater, not a tankless. Even a 20kw tankless has pathetic performance at your wintertime incoming water temperatures- enough to run about one 2 gpm shower. A 16kw tankless might struggle to even cover that, but would cover a low-flow shower.

Even a 16kw tankless would require a dedicated circuit of #4 AWG wiring with a 70amp breaker, and possibly an electrical service upgrade for the whole house. Then in 5 years when "demand charges" for the peak power use during the heaviest half-hour period in a month gets applied to residential retail rates (as is already common for commercial rates) you'll be stuck paying extra forever.

If efficiency is an issue for you, a heat pump water heater would be a far better solution than a tankless, which would not require anything special for wiring, and has lower peak draw than even a standard electric tank. But you'd have to think about where to install it from a noise point of view, since they're about as loud as a small air conditioner.

 

[Arrington]

A 16kw unit most likely won't even keep up with a shower and the dishwasher being ran at the same time. I would definitely consider something a little bigger or maybe even get two of them if you can.

 

[Lifespeed]

Wow, so much more going on here than designing a proper water heater installation . . .