New Water Heater Question

[Brian9955]

I recently purchased a home and need to replace the water heater due to leaking, etc. I should mention that right now there's two adults who currently live in the house, but in the future, there may up to 5 individals.

The house is approx. 1400 sq feet (including garage) and approx 1200 without the garage. Our water heater is powered by a 4X10 solar panel on the roof. The current water heater is an electric 50 gallon and I was told that I should move up to an 80 gallon.

Thoughts on going with a 80 gallon? I find that most say 40-50 gallon for 2-3 people is sufficient. Also, I was thinking of going with a tankless water heater, but the company I got a quote from doesnt recommend it. What should I be looking for in a water heater powered by a solar panel?

 

[fixitron]

Stick with the electric 50 gal. tank. 80 gal. residential tanks are no longer sold.
Use low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators.
If you did have 5 people and they all need to take showers at about the same time (as in they all leave for work at about the same time), then you might consider a tankless.
Tankless electric takes a huge electric service. Tankless propane or NG takes a large gas line, and contributes more to global warming. Combustion appliances are not efficient for the first 1-5 minutes (depending on several factors), so if only used for short times, they are not efficient. Tankless water heaters are more sensitive to hard water and poor water quality, requiring more frequent maintenance/repair. They are also much more expensive to install.

 

[Brian9955]

Stick with the electric 50 gal. tank. 80 gal. residential tanks are no longer sold.
Use low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators.
If you did have 5 people and they all need to take showers at about the same time (as in they all leave for work at about the same time), then you might consider a tankless.
Tankless electric takes a huge electric service. Tankless propane or NG takes a large gas line, and contributes more to global warming. Combustion appliances are not efficient for the first 1-5 minutes (depending on several factors), so if only used for short times, they are not efficient. Tankless water heaters are more sensitive to hard water and poor water quality, requiring more frequent maintenance/repair. They are also much more expensive to install.

I spoke with a tech and he recommended a 50 gallon Rheem Hybrid instead of a regular electric...more costly up front but bigger savings over time. He said to ditch the solar cause eventually the roof panel will stop working and it'll be costly to replace. The panel must be 10+ years old.

Thoughts?

 

[fixitron]

Darn, I should have recommended that. Yes, a heat pump water heater will be a very worthwhile investment, especially in Florida. A hybrid will have electric backup. Keep it in heat pump mode only with only 2 adults. When you have more people and start to run out of hot water, you could switch to hybrid mode. A heat pump water heater will take longer to recover than any other style.

 

[frodo]

Multiple persons using the showers at the same time is a recovery problem that you are not going to solve.
I suggest splitting the house up with 2 water heaters.
add a 40 gallon water heater for 1 bath and the laundry
the 50 for the master bath and kitchen

use a timer on the w/h to be off during times no one is home. or at night