[RE-wrenches] off-grid propane tankless water heater advice

[Luke Christy]

Hi Rebekah,
Here in the mountains of Southern
CO we work with tankless heaters a lot on off-grid systems. I know that you're trying to eliminate the phantom load of the electronically controlled heaters, but unless the application is for a seasonal cabin with a tiny PV system, I would get one of the modern electronic direct vent heaters. They work so much better than the non-electric ones, and they seem more reliable also. I've installed dozens of Rinnai and Wai-Wela (made in Japan by Paloma) tankless heaters, and as long as they are cleaned every year or two they are highly dependable. The consistency of water temperature and the quick response time is just in a different league from the old non-electric units. Many of the heaters I've installed have been in off-grid situations, and I've measured the standby consumption of Wai-Wela units at around 5W. It's not zero but it usually isn't a significant extra load and I think the advantages of the electronically-controlled units far outweigh the penalty of the standby consumption. The flexibility of the powered direct vent system is also a major advantage for ease of installation. 
Just my $.02

-Luke


NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional™: Certification #031409-25 
NABCEP Certified Solar Heating Installer™: Certification #ST032611-03 
CoSEIA Certified PV Installer 
 
Solar Gain Services, LLC
PO Box 531
Monte Vista, CO 81144
sgsrenewables at gmail.com
719.588.3044
www.sgsrenewables.com

> On Sep 3, 2015, at 10:06, Rebekah Hren <rebekah.hren at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Wrenches, 
> 
> Any suggestions for trustworthy:
> 
> -propane tankless water heater
> - draft-vented 
> -battery (or hydro) ignition with no electrical hookups
> 
> It seems to be a lot harder to find tankless water heaters which do not have a 120VAC power supply these days. It's not a big power draw, but it is a phantom load for off-grid and I'm not sure it's a great idea to manually switch the tank power supply on/off several times day? 
> 
> Thanks!
> Rebekah Hren
> 
> 
> -- 
> Tel: 336.266.8800
> NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installation Professional™ 091209-85
> NC Licensed Electrical Contractor
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