Does anyone have one? Pros and cons? My shower has a small rainfall and 6 side nozzles on one control. The other control is a huge waterfall. Either way, it goes through hot water so fast. The hot water heater isn’t big enough. Yeah, I can use all the water I want. 
What’s a low flow shower head?
No personal experience.
However this is a good website for information.
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Yes, had one put into my Sunset home during remodeling and before we moved in (2007-8)? I need to replace it soon but the original Noritz model there is still working. Keep in mind that was the early days of tankless. Now, there are recirculation lines or features that help you save or not waste the water that doesn’t get heated up immediately. I had put in a separate recirc pump in the fartherst point upstairs from the backyard installed tank and I used a remote to fire it up in the morning while brushing so when I am ready for showing it was hot. Worked fine for what 15 years.
You or say your wife will love it. Mine loved the endless hot water. No tank!!! She took 20-25 min showers. Yes, my water bills were high because of her.
I currently am using Navien boilers for domestic water (tankless) and one for the radiant flooring and heating of my San Bruno home. To me, these things are great when working fine but tempermental like German cars. One thing needed is regular cleaning every year or more if you have hard water. These things will last longer than a regular water tank, but of course are more expensive in general.
You will need to install it in a place of your home that can accommodate the higher BTUs that these units emit out so proper venting is necessary. You can maybe install on an exterior wall of your home for easier and accessible maintenance.
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Low flow should be 3 gallons/min. You are asking about gas tankless water heaters, right? I have a Rheem tankless water heater installed in 2008 and it’s been working fine except in winter months sometimes it doesn’t work well. I have tried to debug the problem myself and also got a plumber to come take it apart but couldn’t find any issue. In the end I concluded that it was because the gas pressure was too low when everyone has their gas furnace turned on in winter nights so it would turn off by itself when it does not have enough gas pressure coming in. The error code it generates is consistent with my theory.
I’ve read that you are supposed to use vinegar to clear the residue in the heat exchanger every year in order for it to continue operating. I have never done any kind of maintenance on my tankless water heater and it’s been 15 years. It’s probably because we get good hetch hetchy water here in Palo Alto.
I got the model that can support 3 faucets at the same time. We have done 2 showers running at the same time with dishwasher going. No issue with hot water supply.
I recently installed one at a rental. It’s much much quieter than the one I have at my house. Our 2008 tankless is pretty loud when the burner comes on. The new tankless at my rental you almost can’t hear anything when standing nearby.
So yes I have had positive experience with gas tankless water heaters. Need to make sure the gas line from meter to your tankless is at least 3/4" (1" the best) and the shorter the distance the better.
It’d be electric. My building is LEED certified. I’m green, remember. I’m over here saving the planet.
Electric doesn’t work… Time for cold showers… what is needed for the whole green movement
Why would you heat hot water?
Low-flow shower heads are designed to use less water during showers while maintaining reasonable water pressure. The pros include water and energy savings, cost-effectiveness, and environmental benefits. The only downside is that some users may find the lower water pressure less satisfying compared to standard shower heads.
I had one of the early Bosch’s. It has lasted more than 20 years.
Caveats though: Before today’s direct vent models and, even then, they usually required major venting changes which can be physically difficult and quite expensive. Particularly in multi story situations that vent via a chase to the roof. And, they needed gas supply upgrades.
Also, that old Bosch had a flow rate such that it could only supply one major use at a time. i.e. a shower or the wash machine. Which worked fine for us.
But then, we installed new fixtures in the bathrooms. They had flow rates of just 1.3 gal/hr. Which was less than the 1.5 gal/hr the Bosch water heater required for ignition. (It was pilotless and used no electricity.) So, no hot water flow unless another faucet was turned on at the same time.
Right, what you do is add the plumbing fittings or valves that allow you to attach a pump that recirculate or flush white vinegar through the unit and lines. The filters in the Sunset unit do get all gunked up so recommended every year or other I would say.
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That is crazy. That sounds awful.
Technically, you are supposed to flush your tank water heater every year too. But, nobody does.
We have a tankless heaters and how often you have to flush them depends entirely on how hard the water is in your area. It can range from every year to every 3-7 years. I used to flush ours, but I’ve been inspecting it with a drain camera and it isn’t building up any deposits at all really, so I just no longer flush it. So it depends on your water in your area.
I think if you have gas, a tankless heater is definitely the way to go. If you have electric only, you have to look closely at the water temperatures in your area and the performance ratings for the heater you want to get to make sure it can deliver enough hot water on a cold day.
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It takes 400A service to have enough power for tankless electric. I’m not sure who has that. I went with this:
They install it Monday. It’s essentially tankless but far more energy efficient. I needed something that can keep up with all the shower heads.
Seems the annual cost to run this unit is way higher than for a heat pump water heater.
Isn’t that think still a tank hot water heater though? The limit is still the tank capacity. I can go through 40 gallons like nothing with my shower.
It has some impressive features and the warranty length is long but here would be my concerns:
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Made in France. (Problems with parts sourcing or servicing?)
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Not seeing how it really beats a plain jane heat pump water heater.
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Again, is the reason why the annual expense cost is so high because you are still storing some quantity of hot water in there?
If you have never experienced tankless, well, my wife takes 20-30 min showers. Endless, hot water.
From what I am reading, a heat pump water heater made by Rheem or one of the other longtimer companies is the way to go. They can also act like a dehumidifer. But yes, need to add electricity service.
I have 200A service. Adding would be crazy expensive.
That refers to electricity correct? So, why would it be really expensive to add a 220 volt outlet in your garage or wherever to accept an electric heat pump water heater? There are also rebates potentially in play too.
It’s the service level in the panel. I only have 200A and would need to upgrade to 400A.