Monday, June 18, 2012

To be GREEN, or not to be...

So I was reading Thomas' post (see blogger Ravenna Speed,) he was talking about insulating the pipes coming from the hot water tank, and I thought that this was a great energy saving idea!  Then I started thinking about the water tank and I asked myself, "why does Ryan Homes use hot water tanks?"

Ryan Homes has pushed to become a GREEN builder, focusing on energy efficient products and techniques.  However, they are still using hot water tanks.  Has anyone out there heard any talk of Ryan installing tankless or instant hot water heaters?  I asked my Sales Rep, and she said it is currently NOT an option...has anyone else heard anything different?  Perhaps they offer them in other areas outside of Ohio?

Just curious about other's thoughts and/or experiences, let me know!?

9 comments:

  1. Yeah, I asked about getting one here in this area of Ohio as well but it is not available. I know they have the tankless standard in many other Ryan communities, just not ours! I was bummed about it at first, but there are advantages and disadvantages to both. I have read that you have hot water sooner with the water tank. Also the ones that they are installing are pretty efficient already. I plan on putting an insulating blanket for the tank as well. The energy costs between the two should be pretty close after that, I think :-)

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  2. Well that doesn't sound so bad. I have to ask, what is the insulating blanket? I noticed it on your list of compiled items, but haven't heard about it before. Is it something we can do ourselves, or do we request it from Ryan Homes?

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  3. Here is some more info on it from my blog:
    http://ravennaspeed.blogspot.com/search?q=blanket

    It is something that you will have to do yourself (or someone other than Ryan Homes) after you move into the house.

    That reminds me that I still have to ask about the heat traps (also on the same blog post)!

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  4. We asked about a tankless water heater. We were told that if we got one, we would have to pay for it and they would NOT give us a credit for the tank that comes with the house. Needless to say, we didn't choose this.

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  5. Hi, we are building a Milan in Richmond, Va and the tankless water heater comes standard. We weren't given the option to get a regular hot water heater....

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  6. That is so interesting, how different methods of heating water are standard in different states. CMM, we were told the same thing, so we will also have the tank. I am going to look into the insulating blanket and pipe covers. Manis, my parents just switched there home from tank to tankless...they love it and have said it did reduce there utilities.

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  7. There are some things they don't do "free" that would be totally easy to do. This is one of them. Kind of silly, really.

    Looking forward to reading your blog! I am www.ryanravenna.com.

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  8. Meegs, I checked into the tankless water heater and they do not offer it in Maryland. I decided to go with Thomas suggestion with wrapping the heater. I did do some research and the tankless heater is a benefit for a large family because it heats the water faster. The traditional heater will suit the needs of the smaller family like myself and my husband perfectly. Once I was clear on the differences, I was happy that we would be okay without it. They do, however, offer a gas efficiency heater that cost $950 and it was recommended that I wait until its time to replace which I intend to do. I want to spend my dollars on options that will work for me now! I do have to admit---the tankless heater uses a lot less space.

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