Stiebel Eltron Tankless Heater – Tempra 36 Plus – Electric, On Demand Hot Water, Eco, White

For five years I've lived in this home with a 75 gallon gas hot water heater. It was in the house when I moved in and to be honest I've never had any complaints.Though it worked fine I decided to change out and because we are going solar roof next year I wanted to go electric. For the same reason we had gone gas furnace to electric heat pump for heating. I needed to decide whether to go electric tankless or electric heat-pump water heater.I went with this unit, the 29kw size. There are only two of us in the house so it seemed more prudent. We have several EVs and the largest tankless along with EV charging would be a fairly large load even for 200 amp service.First the upsides:1. Unlimited hot water. Both of us can take showers at the same time. The only issue that two of us can have is if both of us want showers while the first cycle of the clothes washing machine is running. Minor limitation. Timing is everything.2. Absolutely using no power when we aren't using water. We can go away for a month, walk in the door and take a shower and get instant hot water.3. Accurate temperature control. We have two presets and one has been set for filling the soaking tub. Just press the button and then run pure hot water to fill the tub. The tub gets filled to perfection without figuring out the calculus of the mixing valve which changes depending on the temperature of the water coming into the house. This is a great feature that nobody told me about.4. The house was originally built with what I consider a shortcoming. The hot water heater was located next to the furnace so it could use the same flue and gas connection. This is fine for ease of install but the hot water heater is on the other side of the house from where the hot water is most often used. Running the shower in the master bath or the sink in the kitchen required a full minute of water running to get hot water. We now installed the tankless beneath the kitchen where we use the water. No flue is required. This unit goes anywhere. Now we have hot water in a hurry where we use it.The downside. I once had a power failure that lasted several days. The water heater was the same as I replaced - used no electricity and vented naturally through a flue. There is something nice about a hot shower during a power failure. That will no longer an option. But then, I haven't lost power in five years.The only upside of the tankless heat-pump water heater would have been its (limited) supply of hot water during a power failure and its natural de-humidification feature. With everything considered, we went tankless.Just a tip, the most often warning I've heard with tankless is impurities in the water that can collect. To reduce this problem we installed a whole-house water filtration system after the water-softener and ahead of the heater.Note that I only gave tech support three stars - that is because I didn't need them so never found out about their quality.I did need power though and didn't have the required six circuit breakers that the unit required. I installed a 125 amp sub panel dedicated to the water heater.The unit has been flawless. It just works.

Fantastic heater. I oversized a bit to make sure I'm able to heat well water during mid TX freeze (upper teens). 2 bed, one bath and this unit doesn't break a sweat. Has been 100 percent reliable and temp is stable. Customer service is fantastic (install issue on my end). You get what you pay for, and this brand is no exception. Highly recommend

Easy to assemble and works well. I added a water softener and will be adding a surge protector. Both are highly recommended to protect your investment.

I first purchased a Stiebel Eltron Tempra 12 about 25 years ago. I had a large jacuzzi tub that I could never get filled with hot water with the original tank heater where, when the hot water runs out of the tank, it takes quite some time to heat up a new batch. The Tempra 12 solved that issue, but there are a few things to be aware of before purchasing a tankless water heater.The greatest benefit is that you truly have an endless supply of hot water, so it's no problem being the last person in a large household to take a shower - you'll still get hot water and can stay in there as long as you want.There's typically also a savings in energy costs associated with the tankless water heaters since, unlike the tank heaters that are constantly running to keep the stored water in the tank hot, the tankless water heaters only kick on when there's a demand for hot water and heats the water in "real time". While I haven't personally noticed a savings on my electric bill (electricity prices have only gone up!), it's likely been there and just difficult to notice without a true side-by-side comparison.That said, this newer "Plus" version of the Tempra 12 is auto-modulating which means, unlike the older versions that always kick on with full power any time hot water is demanded, the auto modulating will scale down the power if you just want warm water so there should be additional power savings with the Plus model.The cons and things to be aware of associated with this unit include:1) Although people refer to these units as supplying "instant hot water", it does take a few seconds for the water to heat up, travel to the faucet, and start pouring out hot. This is to be expected with any tankless hot water heater.2) While I am a big fan of the tankless water heaters, and this specific model, this is actually my 3rd Tempra 12 model in about 25 years. I purchased the last one in February of 2018. So, they don't seem to last too long but I have done literally zero maintenance to any of the units to date.3) This needs to be wired to a 50 amp circuit in your circuit box. You will likely need both a plumber and an electrician to install. First, an electrician to run the power to the location you plan to install, then a plumber to install the water heater. This can increase the costs significantly, however, once it's installed at that location, a plumber or even a good handyman can easily re-install a new unit in the same location. The reason I've stayed with the Tempra 12 is that replacing it has been simple, in spite of the relatively short life.4) Make sure you understand your household's needs for hot water. The Tempra 12 works great if you want to run a shower while doing a load of dishes or laundry simultaneously. But, if you want to have three showers going along with the dishes and laundry, this unit will likely not be able to heat enough water fast enough to supply all of the outlets.I hope this helps!