Hot water heater - infrequent use - selecting a new one

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DWM1225

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I have a garage with 2 bedrooms and 1 full bath on the second floor. I have a 32 gallon electric hot water heater on the 1st floor of the garage. The bedrooms are only used several times a year for 1-2 days each and that is when I turn on the hot water heater - otherwise it is turned off.

I need to replace the electric hot water heater.

Given it's infrequent use and a desire to keep the cost of use as low as possible, do I replace it with a conventional storage tank, tankless etc?
 

Terry

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I would replace with what you have had. Only a few days a year? And the rest of the time the breakers are off?
Going tankless would require new wire from the panel or running gas to that location.
Slowly heating and storing the water is pretty easy. If you heat the water as needed with tankless, you need much more power that what is existing.
 

Dana

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The cheapest electric water heater that's at least as big as the original is the "right" water heater for the application. A 32 gallon unit is often more expensive than the more common 40-50 gallon water heaters. Even a 6-year warranty version (no sacrificial anode) should last decades at your use levels.
 
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