Electric tankless water heaters are designed to be energy-efficient alternatives to traditional tank water heaters. While they do require electricity to operate, their energy consumption can vary based on factors such as the model's power rating, usage patterns, and the desired water temperature. The Eccotemp SHiE-27 Smart Home Electric Indoor Tankless Water Heater, for example, offers flexible amperage settings ranging from 11 to 27 kilowatts, allowing users to adjust the power output according to their specific needs. This flexibility means that the heater can adapt to the available electrical capacity in a home, helping to optimize energy usage and potentially reduce electricity consumption compared to traditional tank heaters.

Furthermore, electric tankless water heaters like the Eccotemp SHiE-27 heat water only when needed, eliminating the standby heat loss associated with tank heaters. This on-demand heating approach can further contribute to energy savings by avoiding the constant energy consumption required to keep a tank of water hot. Additionally, features such as the ability to set timers and schedules through a smart app, along with real-time consumption statistics, empower users to monitor and control their energy usage more effectively. Overall, while electric tankless water heaters use electricity, their efficiency features and flexible operation can help mitigate electricity consumption, making them a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective option for hot water heating.

Understanding the electricity usage of electric on demand water heaters is important for homeowners because it can impact both energy bills and overall household energy consumption. While these heaters typically use less electricity than traditional tank heaters, they may still contribute to high energy bills if they're not sized or installed correctly. Homeowners should consider factors such as their hot water usage patterns, the size of their household, and the climate in their region when deciding whether an electric tankless water heater is the right choice for them. Additionally, investing in energy-efficient models with high energy efficiency ratings can further reduce electricity usage and lower utility costs over time. By choosing the right electric tankless water heater and using it wisely, homeowners can enjoy the benefits of hot water on demand while minimizing their electricity usage and environmental impact.

Electric Tankless Water Heater Pros:

• Easy Installation: Electric tankless water heaters typically have simpler installation requirements compared to gas models, often requiring only a 240-volt electric service and easy wall mounting with ¾” NPT connections.
• Flexibility: The Eccotemp SHiE-27 Electric Tankless Water is the World’s first and only electric on demand hot water heater with adjustable amperage settings. The all-in-one flexible installation using the Turner feature via the Eccotemp Smart app allows users to optimize power consumption based on their specific needs and available electrical capacity.
• Space Saving: Electric tankless water heaters have a compact design and can be wall-mounted, saving valuable space in homes.
• Smart Features: Eccotemp electric hot water heaters come with smart features like smartphone control, allowing users to adjust temperature settings, monitor energy usage, and even diagnose issues remotely for added convenience.
• Safety: Electric tankless water heaters eliminate the need for a gas connection, reducing the risk of gas leaks and ensuring safer operation.
• Quieter Operation: Electric tankless water heaters can operate more quietly than gas models, as they lack the combustion and venting noise associated with gas heaters.
• No Fuel Storage: Electric models don’t require fuel storage, eliminating the need for propane tanks or natural gas hookups.
• Consistent Performance: Electric units are less affected by external conditions like gas pressure fluctuations, ensuring more consistent performance.
• Availability of Energy Sources: Electricity is widely available in most areas, whereas natural gas or propane might not be accessible in some regions.

Gas Tankless Water Heater Pros:

• High Capacity: Gas tankless water heaters typically have higher flow rates, making them suitable for larger households with higher hot water demands.
• Faster Heating: Gas models can heat water faster, providing hot water more quickly, especially in colder climates.
• Lower Operating Costs: In areas where natural gas is more affordable than electricity, gas tankless water heaters may offer lower operating costs over the long term.
• Longevity: Gas models often have a longer lifespan, potentially providing more years of reliable service.
• Environmental Impact: While both types are generally more energy-efficient than traditional tank water heaters, gas models may have a slightly lower carbon footprint in regions where natural gas is cleaner than the electricity grid.
• Availability of Models: There is a wide variety of gas tankless water heater models available, catering to different sizes and performance needs.
• High BTU Output: Gas tankless water heaters typically offer higher BTU (British Thermal Unit) output compared to electric models, allowing for greater heating capacity.
• Reduced Electrical Load: Using a gas tankless water heater reduces the overall electrical load on your home's system, which can be beneficial in areas with limited electrical capacity.

Selecting the appropriate size electric tankless water heater for your home necessitates consideration of several factors to ensure it efficiently meets your hot water demands. A critical factor is assessing the number and types of hot water fixtures in your household, including showers, faucets, and appliances like washing machines.

Each fixture has its flow rate, measured in gallons per minute (GPM), which contributes to overall hot water consumption. By totaling the GPM of all fixtures that would be in use at the same time, you can estimate your peak hot water demand. This helps guide the choice of a tankless water heater with a suitable flow rate to meet your needs adequately.

For example, if your household has a showerhead with a flow rate of 2.5 GPM, a washing machine at 3 GPM, a dishwasher at 1.5 GPM, and a kitchen faucet at 1.5 GPM, adding these figures provides an estimate of your peak hot water demand. If you know two people are always taking a shower simultaneously and the dishwasher is often in use, you will add the flow rates of two showerheads and one dishwasher for a total of 6.5 GPM. This ensures you select a tankless water heater that can handle your household's peak demand efficiently. Additionally, electric tankless water heaters like the Eccotemp SHiE-27 offer adjustable amperage settings via the Eccotemp Smart App, providing further flexibility to adapt to changes in hot water demand over time.

Apart from assessing fixture flow rates, understanding your household's hot water usage patterns is essential when selecting an electric tankless water heater. Factors such as the number of occupants, their bathing habits, and the frequency of hot water usage throughout the day significantly impact hot water demand. By evaluating these usage patterns, you can anticipate peak demand periods and ensure that the tankless water heater you choose can comfortably meet these fluctuations. For instance, if your household typically experiences high hot water demand in the morning when multiple people are showering, washing dishes, and using other hot water fixtures simultaneously, you'll want an electric tankless water heater with a flow rate sufficient to handle this peak usage without running out of hot water. This consideration ensures that your electric tankless water heater can provide a consistent and reliable supply of hot water to meet your household's needs.

Additionally, it's essential to consider the temperature rise needed to heat the incoming cold water to your desired hot water temperature when selecting an electric tankless water heater. The temperature rise, measured in degrees Fahrenheit, is determined by the variance between the groundwater temperature and the desired hot water temperature at the faucet. In regions where groundwater temperatures are colder, a larger temperature rise is required to achieve the desired level of hot water comfort. For instance, if your groundwater temperature is 65°F and you desire a hot water temperature of 105°F, the required temperature rise would be 40°F. Understanding the temperature rise enables you to choose an electric tankless water heater with the appropriate heating capacity to meet your hot water needs effectively, ensuring a comfortable and consistent hot water supply regardless of external temperature conditions. This consideration ensures optimal performance and efficiency from your electric tankless water heater, enhancing your overall hot water experience.

For homes with moderate hot water demands ranging from 4 to 6 gallons per minute (GPM), electric tankless water heaters are ideal choices. These mid-size home tankless water heaters, such as the Eccotemp SHiE-27, offer flexibility and efficiency to meet the needs of mid-size residences, tiny homes, apartments, or townhomes. With adjustable amperage settings via the Eccotemp Smart App, users can customize the heater's output to match their specific requirements, ensuring optimal performance and energy efficiency. Additionally, features like on-demand heating and smart controls enhance convenience and reliability, making electric tankless water heaters suitable solutions for households with moderate hot water demands.

Ultimately, selecting the right electric tankless water heater involves choosing one with a flow rate that matches your household's hot water demand while also considering potential future changes. By evaluating fixture flow rates, hot water usage patterns, and temperature rise requirements, you can determine the appropriate size to ensure optimal comfort and efficiency. Additionally, features like adjustable amperage settings and smart controls, as seen in models like the Eccotemp SHiE-27, provide flexibility and convenience, allowing you to tailor the water heater's performance to your specific needs. This comprehensive approach ensures that your electric tankless water heater can reliably meet your hot water needs both now and, in the future, enhancing your overall hot water experience.

Smart water heaters offer a distinct advantage over traditional models through their enhanced energy efficiency. These advanced models are equipped with intelligent sensors and programmable settings that allow users to optimize energy usage based on their personal schedules and preferences. For instance, a smart water heater can be set to heat water during off-peak hours when electricity rates are lower, reducing overall energy costs. This leads to significant savings on utility bills and a reduced environmental footprint.

Another major benefit of smart water heaters is their remote monitoring and control capabilities. Through mobile apps or home automation systems, users can monitor and adjust their water heater's settings from anywhere. This remote access ensures that homeowners can always check the status of their water heater, receive notifications about maintenance needs, and adjust temperature settings on the go. In case of any issues, such as a potential leak or system malfunction, smart water heaters can send alerts directly to the user's smartphone, allowing for prompt action to prevent damage and costly repairs. This level of connectivity provides peace of mind and convenience that traditional water heaters cannot match.

Moreover, smart water heaters contribute to improved safety and reliability. Many models come with advanced diagnostic features that continuously monitor the system’s performance and detect potential problems before they escalate. These diagnostics can identify issues like mineral buildup, which can compromise efficiency and lead to system failure if left unchecked. By proactively addressing maintenance needs, smart water heaters can extend the lifespan of the model and ensure consistent performance.

Here are key features of using Eccotemp SHiE Smart Electric Hot Water Heater:

• Control: Smart electric tankless water heaters like the Eccotemp SHiE-27 offer control at your fingertips through a dedicated mobile app, allowing users to adjust settings and monitor performance from anywhere using a smartphone or tablet.
• Temperature Control: Users can easily adjust the water temperature from their phone ensuring personalized comfort and convenience for hot water usage.
• Scheduler: The Eccotemp Smart App enables users to set schedules for specific days and times to manage hot water usage. For example, if you want to avoid hot water usage during peak hours when utility prices may be at their highest, you can set a schedule to only allow hot water before or after those times. This optimizes energy usage, saves money, and minimizes waste.
• Timer: You can set a timer to limit hot water usage at any given time on any day. For example, set a timer for 30 minutes if you never want hot water running for more than that period. The timer will restart every time the hot water is turned on and off.
• Energy Monitoring: Real-time energy consumption statistics provided by the app allow users to track and monitor their tankless hot water heater usage, empowering them to make informed decisions to optimize energy efficiency and potentially reduce utility bills.
• Tuner Feature: The Eccotemp SHiE-27 features the Tuner capability, allowing users to adjust the maximum amperage output range from 11 to 27 kilowatts according to their specific electrical capacity, ensuring compatibility and efficiency.
• Voice Control: Integration with virtual voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home enables hands-free operation through voice commands, further enhancing convenience and accessibility for users.
• Diagnostics: Advanced diagnostics features in the app facilitate easy troubleshooting of device or network issues, ensuring prompt resolution and minimizing downtime.

Overall, smart electric tankless water heaters offer customizable, user-friendly solutions that prioritize convenience, energy efficiency, and proactive maintenance, making them an attractive option for modern households.

Electric tankless water heaters are an excellent option for homeowners, providing instant and unlimited hot water precisely when and where it's needed, surpassing the efficiency of traditional water heaters. To ensure these advanced systems continue operating at peak performance and maintain their efficiency over time, regular maintenance is crucial. This maintenance may include tasks such as descaling to remove mineral buildup and checking for leaks or malfunctions.

A crucial part of maintaining an electric tankless water heater is routinely cleaning its internal components to prevent sediment and mineral buildup. Minerals found in the water supply can accumulate over time, causing scale formation and reducing the water heater's efficiency in transferring heat. To address this, it's advisable to descale the electric tankless water heater at least twice annually, or more frequently in regions with hard water. Eccotemp tankless water heaters are fully compatible with the EZ-Flush System Descaling Kit. Using this kit involves flushing out the accumulated sediment and minerals using the kit’s descaling solution to restore the water heater's performance and prolong its lifespan. Regular descaling helps ensure optimal operation, prevents potential issues like reduced flow rates or system malfunctions, and extends the longevity of the electric tankless water heater.

In summary, while electric tankless water heaters provide several benefits, such as energy efficiency and instant hot water on demand, consistent maintenance is crucial for maintaining peak performance and longevity. By integrating regular cleaning and descaling into their maintenance routine, homeowners can optimize the efficiency and lifespan of their electric tankless water heaters.