The emissions to produce a single heating element off a factory line are probably a lot smaller than keeping a jug of water in your house hot by burning natural gas off and on all day every day forever
And that’s why you get an on demand unit. In either case, heating water in a jug over and over just so it might be hot hen you need it is not a great idea.
I agree. I use very little gas to heat my water for my hydronic system and the tap. I replaced an old oil hydronic heater and traditional electric water heater with a natural gas combi boiler that does both home heat and hot water. My utility bills went through the floor, and over the whole year I put a fraction of the CO2 into the atmosphere than I did in just a winter of the old oil furnace.
And so we come to the eventual argument. An electric water heater is going to keep a jug of water in your house hot by running off and on all day forever. Where did that electricity come from?
In my case, a mix of fossil fuel and renewable resources that on the whole are significantly less carbon-intensive per unit of energy than straight up burning methane in my house
But it’s a greenhouse gases contributor - electric is better. Check that anode commented below.
Heat pump would be best
Probably still would get issues with hard water though. OP needs a softener.
Anodes protect against corrosion. They don’t do anything for hard water scale.
Looks like some types can help with hard water too
https://plumbingnav.com/water-heaters/anode-rod-by-water-type/
The active electronic ones may. I’ll admit I don’t know a lot about those.
Electric ain’t better if you have to replace it constantly. Think of the emissions to produce these parts.
The emissions to produce a single heating element off a factory line are probably a lot smaller than keeping a jug of water in your house hot by burning natural gas off and on all day every day forever
And that’s why you get an on demand unit. In either case, heating water in a jug over and over just so it might be hot hen you need it is not a great idea.
I agree. I use very little gas to heat my water for my hydronic system and the tap. I replaced an old oil hydronic heater and traditional electric water heater with a natural gas combi boiler that does both home heat and hot water. My utility bills went through the floor, and over the whole year I put a fraction of the CO2 into the atmosphere than I did in just a winter of the old oil furnace.
And so we come to the eventual argument. An electric water heater is going to keep a jug of water in your house hot by running off and on all day forever. Where did that electricity come from?
In my case, a mix of fossil fuel and renewable resources that on the whole are significantly less carbon-intensive per unit of energy than straight up burning methane in my house
I wish we had European style water heaters at the tap. But that’s not safe. You should see what I find in hospital infrastructure.
Oh I used to work at a hospital that was built in the 60s and know full well what sort of asbestos-laden Frankenstein’s monster they become over time