On (15 May 96) Jim Dunmyer wrote to Ian Woofenden...
 JD> The idea of a tank-type water heater is pretty simple: it
 JD> requires a LOT of ommph to heat water as fast as most folks
 JD> want to use it.
Yeah. I guess that's why gas is more appropriate for it than
electricity.
 JD> Do the calculations sometime and you'll see what I mean. A
 JD> tank can be heated by a relatively small source over a longer
 JD> period of time, then used at a fairly rapid rate.
I've read that demand heaters use less energy overall. Do you think
that's not true?
 JD> The only reason for any energy consumption to "hold a lot of
 JD> water at that temperature" is because of thermal loss. This is
 JD> really pretty darn minimal in today's water heaters. I think
 JD> most folks would be amazed at how little energy it takes to
 JD> keep water hot.
Hmmm. I would. :) 
I agree that if you're gonna use one, you should insulate the thing.
But the _idea_ of using energy around the clock to keep 40 gallons
of water hot seems a bit screwy to me when you can just heat what
you need when you need it.
But educate me,
                        Ian
... A boy on ice is SELDOM in hot water.                                      
 
...  "If I owned both Texas and Hell, I'd rent out Texas and live in Hell."
--- PPoint 1.96
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