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(More customer reviews)We have a city townhome in North Carolina with five faucets, one shower, a dishwasher, and a washing machine -- all electric, no gas. Groundwater temperatures here range from 55-70°, with the extremes occurring in January/February and July/August, respectively. After researching the many available brands and models of electric tankless water heaters, we decided on the Stiebel Eltron Tempra 24 to replace our old 50-gallon tank. We've have had it for 6 months now with no problems whatsoever. It works great and more than meets our hot water needs for the entire condo. And it has actually saved us between $20-25 on each of our electric bills since it was installed, compared to what the tank heater was costing us.
According to the Stiebel Eltron website, the Tempra 20 model (not the 24) was the most appropriate for the size of our home, since we only have one full bath. But what if we had the laundry, dishwasher, and shower all going at once? This has never actually happened and likely never will; but we opted for the next-higher model, the 24, because it has more power. At 3 gallons per minute, the Tempra 24 can heat water 41° F above the ambient temperature; by contrast, at that flow rate, the Tempra 20 can heat only 33° F above ambient. Additionally, the 24 supposedly can heat two showers at once. Although we can't actually test this (again, just one full bath), we *have* had the washing machine running on hot at the same time the shower (2.5 gpm) was going at its normal setting and had absolutely no temperature problems or water flow shortages.
There's a specific flow rate required for the unit to activate: 0.58 gpm, which is easily achieved on most standard home faucets. Conveniently, the Tempra has an external dial that allows you to set the maximum temperature, which is displayed on a small digital panel. Like any tankless water heater, the faster the water flow, the less the unit is able to heat the water.
The Tempra 24 takes two dedicated 60-amp circuit breakers. We had to have a professional plumber and an electrician install the water heater and ensure that we had sufficient power supply. Our condo was built in the early 1980s, so we actually had to have the power supply upgraded from the nearest transformer to our entire building (!) and then upgrade our individual circuit box. (Apparently no one else in our building has upgraded their major utility appliances in the last 5 years, or the transformer work would have already been done, and we would have only needed to upgrade our circuit box. So, neighbors: you're welcome.) The electrical work actually ended up costing more than the water heater itself, but by that point we were already up to our knees in it (so to speak) and decided to see it out to the end. I'm glad we did, although it was a royal pain to deal with at the time.
Stiebel Eltron's website has a sizing guide as well as an electrical/technical guide for the Tempra models. I can't tell you how indispensable these guides were when we were deciding which unit to purchase. (Per Amazon's reviewing guidelines, I'm unable to link directly to them, but you can find them by going to Stiebel-Eltron-USA[dot]com > Products > Tempra & Tempra Plus > [scroll all the way down to the small "Resources" box] View Sizing Guide/View Technical Data.)
You may be wondering about the difference between the Tempra and the Tempra Plus. Based on the information on Stiebel Eltron's website, it appears that the Tempra Plus has "advanced flow control," which helps the water stay at a constant temperature with no fluctuations.
It seems that most people who reviewed this unit on Amazon have had problems with it, and, unfortunately, those who have had positive experiences likely haven't been moved enough to write a review. I don't doubt the other reviewers' testimonials at all, and it's a shame that they received defective units. However, I felt compelled to let people know that there are consumers out there who bought this unit and have never had any problems with it. We couldn't be more pleased with ours.
If you're in the market for an electric tankless water heater, I encourage you to find additional consumer reviews on other websites to get a more accurate assessment of this product. Stiebel Eltron is one of the best tankless brands out there, and based on the research we did, the Tempra 24 was the best fit for us. I would recommend Stiebel Eltron as a brand and the Tempra 24 model without hesitation. Make sure you shop around for the best price (we didn't buy ours from Amazon) and get it from a retailer who offers insured shipping with signed delivery confirmation. Good luck!
** Update, May 21, 2010: Our Tempra 24 tankless is still working great. We've had it for nearly a year now, and it quickly and consistently heats our water and has not given us one single problem. I absolutely stand behind my earlier recommendation. Five stars.
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