Ranked #5 in Best Tankless Water Heaters
Rheem RTEX-134.1
$278as of Jun 7The Rheem RTEX-13 is the best bang-for-the-buck pick — Bob Vila's value choice and Reviewed's budget electric unit, praised for a '99 percent efficiency rating' at the lowest price in this group. With about 3.17 GPM it's a point-of-use heater designed, as Reviewed notes, 'to support one to two appliances in a single location, such as a shower in the bathroom.' It won't run a whole house, but for a remote bathroom, an addition, or as a booster, its compact size, efficiency, and low cost make it the obvious affordable choice.
Strengths
- — Lowest price of the group — excellent point-of-use value
- — Roughly 99% energy efficiency with self-modulating control
- — Compact 13 kW unit easy to install near a single fixture
Watch-outs
- — Only ~3.17 GPM — supports one to two fixtures, not a whole home
- — Not suitable as a primary whole-house heater in most homes
- — Flow drops further with cold inlet water
