[kalleboo]

Propane tanks strapped to your house is common even in cities since it's cheaper to install (but then costs more per cubic meter).

The downside to propane tanks is they become fireworks if a neighbor has a fire which heats them up.

In Japan anyone who goes all-electric these days is getting a heat pump water heater ("eco-cute") by default, resistive electric heating doesn't really exist out of small plugin units like kotatsu and radiant heaters.

[rawgabbit]

If you have a link to an "eco-cute" water heater, I would like to learn more. Thanks.

[kalleboo]

All the big Japanese makes have them. They basically look like a water tank with the outside portion of a mini split air conditioner hooked up next to them.

With my power company in Japan, by going "all-electric" (having an eco-cute and induction stove), I qualify for a rate plan where I can trade off solar power peak hours (half price) for the duck curve hours (double price), so I have my water heating only running during cheap hours and cut down on air conditioning during the expensive hours.

Ours is from Mitsubishi and is just the builder-grade one from our fix-rate renovation company. It will connect to the wifi so you can start a bath from an app on your phone on your way home from work. There's also an intercom between the bath and the kitchen so mom can tell the kids to get out of the bath, dinner is done. Traditional Japanese values.

Mitsubishi https://www.mitsubishielectric.co.jp/home/ecocute/

Panasonic https://sumai.panasonic.jp/hp/

Daikin https://www.ac.daikin.co.jp/sumai/alldenka/ecocute/structure

Corona https://www.corona.co.jp/eco/

Noritz https://www.noritz.co.jp/product/kyutou_bath/ecocute/

[numpad0]

btw, "eco-cute" is a pun on cute and kyuto(給湯, "supply hotwater")

[klausa]

The bath intercom always cracks me up. I’m sure it makes sense in bigger, maybe multi-level houses; but I can’t imagine myself ever using it in my 2LDK.

[rawgabbit]

I see the Mitsubishi one uses CO2 as the refrigerant. And the warranty lasts for ten years. And the model for cold regions recommends putting the outdoor unit in an elevated covered stand. I assume to keep the snow and wet away. I will look at the other models later. Thanks again.

[bombcar]

I thought so to until I repurposed some old Cisco phones - the difference between talking and yelling is huge.

[rawgabbit]

Hey thanks. I'll be reading these in-depth. I am fascinated by Japanese appliance tech-wizardry. LOL about the mom using the intercom to get the kids out of the bath.

[larkost]

From a quick look, these are very similar to the heat pump water heaters that are starting to become common in the SF Bay Area (it looks like gas water heaters will be banned in the next few years, so people are hopping on the band wagon).

At a glance the only difference is the ones I am seeing have the heat exchangers in the body of the unit (so take the heat from the room where the tank is), whereas these "eco-cute" look like they put that outside the home.