Hot take: Those tankless water heaters are way overhyped for Edmonton winters

Everyone in my neighborhood group keeps raving about tankless units, but after installing one last fall I've seen my gas bill jump $60 a month because it struggles to keep up with our cold tap water. My old 50-gallon tank was cheaper to run and never gave me lukewarm showers when two people needed hot water at once. Has anyone else actually tracked their utility costs after switching or am I the only one seeing higher bills?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessica_miller13d ago

You gotta look at the flow rate on those things, that's probably your problem. When I switched to a tankless a couple years back, my gas bill actually dropped about $20, but I had to make sure I got one rated for our actual groundwater temp here. Most of the big box store ones are meant for warmer climates and just can't handle the 4 or 5 degree water coming into your house in January. I had a plumber come out and tweak the settings, plus I added a recirculating pump so the water doesn't sit in the pipes getting cold. That combo made a huge difference for me, no more lukewarm showers and my bill evened out after that first month.

the_karen13d ago

Whoa, wait... 4 or 5 degree water coming into your house?! I never even thought about it being that cold in the pipes. That's wild, I always figured it was like 40 or 50 degrees underground no matter what the air temp was. No wonder people up north have such a hard time with those tankless units, that's practically ice water straight from the ground. It's crazy to me that the big stores even sell them in cold states if they can't handle that kind of cold... sounds like a total setup for a cold shower and a higher gas bill.