I believe our guest was accurate throughout the video.
But being a Rinnai vender, he was probably exaggerating. Apparently for many inspectors, they were harmed by the exaggeration/bending of the facts.
Here’s the data that I found:
"The water heater energy efficiency standards we are adopting today will have a positive impact on consumers. Consumers with electric water heaters would save $13.05 per year while those with natural gas water heaters would save about $12.74 per year on average. Of course these savings are not free, consumers will have to pay an average increase of $101 for electric and $58 for gas water heaters. Note that the total average increased cost for electric and gas water heaters are $105 and $118, respectively, due to the phase out of the current insulating foam blowing agent HCFC–141b and the compliance to resist ignition of flammable vapors on gas water heaters voluntarily agreed to between the manufacturers and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The simple payback for cost increases due to efficiency standards is 7.4 years for electric and 3.6 years for gas water heaters. The lifetime owning cost or life-cycle costs are lower than life-cycle costs on current water heaters by $23 for electric and by $30 for gas water heaters.
The design improvements the Department considered are thicker insulation and heat traps on both gas and electric water heaters and an improved heat exchanger (flue baffle) on gas water heaters. These improvements result in a four percent increase in energy efficiency for electric and an eight percent increase in energy efficiency for gas water heaters."
That’s a direct copy-past quote from:
4475 Federal Register/Vol. 66, No. 11/Wednesday January 17, 2001/Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
10 CFR Part 430
[Docket Number EE–RM–97–900]
RIN 1904–AA76
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Energy Conservation Standards for Water
Heaters
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE or Department) has determined that revised energy conservation standards for water heaters will result in significant conservation of energy, are technologically feasible, and are economically justified. On this basis, the Department is today amending the existing energy conservation standards for water heaters.
EFFECTIVE DATES: The effective date of this rule and standard is January 20, 2004.
So,
(1) the manufacturers did things to increase efficiency of water heater tanks, which included changing the heat exchanger (flue baffle). That’s what our guest said.
(2) The increase of efficiency is 4% (electric) and 8% (gas). The increase in efficiency is minimal in my opinion, (although the DOE calls it “significant”). Our guest said the increase was 1 and 1/2 % - exaggeration on his part.
(3) The increase in efficiency equates into only approximately $13 in savings per year (that’s only $1 per month!). That’s hardly a savings in my opinion.
(4) The average increase cost for a water heater is about $110. I think the average cost for a tank went up more than the DOE’s expectation.
(5) In 2004, manufacturers did something to the heat exchanger to increase efficiency (I don’t know what - it could have been a thinning of the tube - I don’t know), but it only increased efficiency by 4%. Which equates to only approximately $13 per year. That’s no increase! On top of that, the price of a water heater increased by around $110. So that “savings” is competely wiped out by the increase in the cost of tank!
(6) Our guest said that the life expectancy of a tank is now only 3 to 5 years based upon his experience. I disagree, but I have little experience with removing tanks from homes that have leaked or failed.
(7) It appears that our guest was correct in many ways. I agree that he was biased and exaggerating the numbers and bending the facts. But it seems that he was correct on the important points.
Anyone see things differently?
I apologize to all those inspectors who were misled by the guest who appeared on the NACHI.TV show about tankless heaters. I apologize to those who have expressed that NACHI.TV (me in particular) has done a disservice in some way by not doing research and confirming everything a guest may propose, state, or conjecture.
In the future, we shall strive to do better and ask our guests to back up whatever they are saying.
I ask for your forgiveness. I take full responsibility.
(If anyone else has any more information about the efficiency increase and the changing of the heat exchanger of water heater tanks, I’d appreciate sending it to me or posting it on the message board.)
Here is the link to the DOE document that mandates the efficiencies for tanks in 2004, from which I got the above quote.
http://www.epa.gov/EPA-IMPACT/2001/January/Day-17/i1081.htm