What Size Water Heater Do You Need For A Family Of 5

So to determine the right size of a tankless water heater for a family of 5 you ll need to calculate the peak flow rate in your house.

What size water heater do you need for a family of 5. 2 3 fixtures at once you ll need at least 5 gpm. For example if your peak usage occurs after dinner when you re running the dishwasher and taking a shower at the same time 3 gpm 2 5 gpm you ll need a tankless water heater with a. For 1 to 2 people. 5 or more people need a 50 80 gallon water heater.

3 4 people need a 40 50 gallon water heater. 2 3 people need a 40 gallon water heater. Based on average ground water around 50 degrees here are the sizes you would need for a tankless unit based on your usage. 5 or more people need a 50 80 gallon water heater.

Its evident from this chart that a family of 5 which is very common in the us requires a 56 80 gallon size water heater. Therefore to size a demand water heater you need to determine the flow rate and the temperature rise you ll need for its application whole house or a remote application such as just a. Well to get an accurate answer you d have to calculate out how much hot water you typically use during your busiest hot water using hour. Tankless or demand type water heaters are rated by the maximum temperature rise possible at a given flow rate.

1 2 people need a 30 gallon water heater. A tankless water heaters flow rate should be equal to your family s peak demand. Below we ve highlighted what size water heater you would need in our example of 6 5 gpm at a 63 f temperature rise. Tankless water heaters capacities aren t measured in gallons stored but in flow rates.

To determine what size tankless water heater. Technically speaking you could round up to the 70 f temperature rise option but rounding down to 60 f is the more realistic and acceptable option in this scenario since we re only 3 f under the actual rise. 30 40 gallons for 2 to 3 people. 1 2 fixtures at once you ll need at least 3 5 gpm.

Now that this family can answer the question what size electric tankless water heater do i need they just need to pick a good tankless water heater. In this case you would want a tankless water heater with a temperature rise of 50 degrees. However keep in mind that this is a very loose estimate and it may not be accurate for your household s water usage. When all is said and done here is what the math tells us should work for you.

But if you only need a loose estimate of what size you need versus an exact calculation follow these guidelines. One option would be the rheem rtgh 95dvln 9 5 gpm indoor direct vent tankless natural gas water heater.