Tankless water heater

[P8riot]

I had an electrician come out to give me an estimate to replace all the breakers in my box and clean it up. Also, I need a sub panel because I have no more room. I'm all electric here. I asked about running a higher amperage breaker for the hot water heater for future upgrading to a tankless in the near future (or atleast getting a thicker wire in the box for preparation).

I had him quote me for a whole house propane generator. He quoted me for an 18kw and a 26kw. He suggeated the 26 so I can still cook and use everything except heat/AC. I would tend to agree. He then recommended running a propane line to the tankless water heater and going gas rather than electric. He said it's way more efficient than electric.

My electric bills are obviously pretty high. I'm not a fan of my electric provider, but that's another story. I hear horror stories about the price of propane too. I was hoping to only have the generator on the propane tank, so I always have a full tank when I need it in an emergency.

Should I go propane for the water heater? I have never had any propane appliances and I have no idea how often it would need filled. It's also another bill to budget for rather than the simplicity of just all electric.

 

[Cogz]

Get a bigger tank than you think you need and fill it in the summer when demand is low.
Have you looked into solar?

 

[jagermeister]

I have two tankless heaters that run on propane. They are indeed VERY efficient. I couldn't put an actual number on it, compared to electric... I just know that in the summertime, when our furnace isn't running, we hardly notice the gauge in the propane tank dropping due to hot water usage. Having said that, propane prices suck too. Electric does offer more convenience in regards to coordination. Using propane means you'll need to either buy your own tank or sign an agreement with a local supplier... and then "shopping around" for propane prices in the summer, and sometimes scheduling leak test inspections, and yada yada yada. Pros and cons to everything, of course.

 

[Jamie]

I have propane, but an electric hot water heater. With just the two of us it has never seemed like we would save much money by installing the plumbing and a propane hot water heater. If we were to go tankless, I think I would do it, though. We have a 22KW Generac whole house standby generator that runs on propane. It will power every single circuit on our property including the furnace/AC, well pump, my entire shop, and our garage with large chest freezer and second refrigerator. When the power goes off, nothing changes for us. Unless you house is 5000 sq. ft. of living space, a 26KW generator should power everything for you.