Water Heater

We recently replaced our early '90s standard gas water heater with a tankless water heater. The old water heater was still working, but we decided it would be wise to update it at our own convenience instead of waiting for the inevitable day when it would have died. All the plumbers who came to give an estimate were surprised to see the water heater still functioning. We chose tankless mainly so we could install it in the crawlspace of our small home to save some space. Tankless cost more, but we'll get some rebates from the gas company, and we should save on our gas bill. If we had chosen to upgrade our old water heater to a similar style in the same place, it was still going to be pricey because there was some work needed to get it up to code. 

Here is my review of tankless so far: 

Pros: 
The extra space in our laundry/pantry has been wonderful! We'll actually be able to move our clothes dryer into the space next to the washer (where the water heater once was), which will make our laundry setup much more sensible. 

We feel efficient, and we must be saving a lot of gas because the water heater only heats on demand. We aren't using energy to heat our water overnight while we sleep or when we are not home.

We have endless hot water! Previously, one person couldn't shower right after another, and I couldn't fill up a bath for our daughter right after washing a lot of dishes. The bath water would soon start to run cold. We had to be strategic and allow about 15 minutes between ending one hot water activity and beginning another.

Cons:
Heat fluctuates a bit if using multiple hot water appliances. For example, if both showers are going at the same time, the heat will fluctuate when the other person turns on or off the shower. Once both showers are running consistently, the temperature evens out. For this reason, we still don't run the washing machine while showering.

I waste water. It takes longer to get hot water going, especially first thing in the morning. Since cold water triggers my Raynaud's, I strongly prefer to wash my hands in warm water. I have to run it for at least 30 seconds to get warm water for hand washing. That's even longer than the 20 seconds it would take to actually wash my hands. A shower can be as long as I want because I'll never have to worry about finishing before the hot water runs. I'll never get the lukewarm warning that I've been in the shower for too long. 

My hands after cold water

There have been some tradeoffs, but overall, we are happy with our decision.