STEVE BROWNELL has a dim view of his tankless water heater, and he's in denial about his utility bills.
Three years ago, the Irvine resident installed the heater in his 3,000-square-foot, single-story home with the goal that the unit would pay for itself fairly quickly through lower gas bills and provide an endless supply of hot water.
"At the time, I was thinking it would be a total utility savings -- gas, water and electric," Brownell said.
Think again. Instant energy savings aren't necessarily guaranteed. Although manufacturers estimate that tankless gas-type water heaters can save between 20% to 50% on annual gas bills compared with standard tanks, improper installation or product sizing can extend the payoff time. Also, large homes with long pipe runs may require additional equipment to speed up hot water delivery to fixtures and actually drive up energy costs. This was the case in Brownell's situation.
He paid a plumber about $2,500 for the installation, which included increasing the size of his gas line, adding a carbon filter and the tankless water heater itself.
Soon after, he noticed it was taking an extremely long time for the unit to deliver hot water to his master bath shower. By Brownell's estimates, almost five minutes. He had another plumber install a recirculation pump to reduce the time, but he said it didn't help much.
After he placed several phone calls and sent a letter, the manufacturer dispatched Gabe Meier of Santa Ana-based Meier Plumbing to troubleshoot the problem.
The reason it was taking so long for Brownell to get hot water to his shower, Meier said, was that the lines in the master bathroom branch 10 to 15 feet off the main water supply line, which stretches more than 75 feet from the water heater. To fix it would require opening up a wall and extending the circulating line closer to the shower -- an extra $1,000, according to Meier. Because Brownell's master bathroom contains high-end custom stone and glass block, he elected not to have the work completed.
Even so, Meier was able to troubleshoot other areas and improve the hot water delivery.
"The recirculation pump was too small for the size of the home, and it didn't have an aquastat," Meier said, referring to a thermostat that turns off the pump when the water in the pipe reaches a certain temperature. "So we upgraded the pump and added the aquastat."
Meier also added a timer to shut the pump off for a preset number of hours and cut down on electricity usage.
