Noritz Tankless Gas Water Heater does not provide hot water when electricity is out.

by Laurie
(Truckee)

Noritz model N 0842MC

We are hearing a variety of remedies to our problem. We do not know which makes sense and which options are possible now that the heater is already installed. The electricity was out for a few hours...this will happen occasionally throughout the winter. We found out by trying to take a shower, that we cannot get hot water from a gas tankless water heater when there is no electricity.

Recommendations we have received are:
-a generator to provide back up power,
-a powerful generator to provide power for the water heater and the rest of the house,
-a battery back up just for the tankless water heater.

Our dilemma:
-can we install a battery backup? how is it done? how long does the battery last? where do we get the right battery back up?
-what kind of a generator is needed, just to run the tankless waer heater when the power is out?
-if we get a generator with BIG power, we know it can be expensive.

We look forward to your comments.LB