Resort water heater blessings and pitfalls

One of the least recognized blessings of timeshare ownership is the ability it offers to replace a deceased domestic hot water heater quickly and easily, without an immediate cash outlay. This privilege exists because you the timeshare owner don’t own the water heater directly; the resort does.

At a well-run timeshare resort, the board of directors sets the policies and approves the budget. A consulting firm performs a reserve study and writes the budget, including the reserve component with separate line items for furniture, fixtures, and equipment.

Water heaters don’t last very long; a model with a six-year warranty may be scheduled for replacement in three to five years. Whether or not an individual water heater needs replacement in any given year, all owners pay into the reserves annually. Some resorts charge larger maintenance fees based on the number of bedrooms, or number of square feet in a unit. Others charge on a one-size-fits-all basis.

Scheduled replacement

Sooner rather than later, every timeshare unit will be updated and refurbished, and every water heater will be replaced.

A large resort may replace a portion of the water-heater inventory each year, typically with a standard electric model. Other options include:

• Tankless electric (more expensive to install, and with a shorter lifespan).
• Heat pump. A device like an air conditioner or refrigerator in reverse, using electricity to transfer heat from a cool space to a warm space, making the cool space cooler and the warm space warmer, explains the U.S. Department of Energy.
• Natural gas or propane (worth considering only where electric service isn’t readily available).
• Solar. A water heating system that consists of rooftop panels to heat the water, a very large water heater with a storage tank to keep the water warm, and pipes to circulate the water through the house. In addition, many people use the occasion of installing a solar hot water system to replace the roof as well, so that everything will be new at once. The total package cost could run well into five figures.

Related: Reserve the Time and Money for your next Renovation!

Home sweet home

If you want to replace a hot water heater at home, be prepared for confusion. Multiple decisions include the choice of water heating technology, the most competitive water heater vendor, and the plumber and electrician with the skills and materials to complete the connection.

Size matters, with respect to the number of people/appliances needing hot water simultaneously in your dwelling, and the size and model type that best fits the space available to connect the unit. A 30-gallon water heater typically goes into a condo suitable for one or two people. More people and more space for the water heater allow you to upgrade to 40, 45, or even 50 gallons – for an additional cost, of course.

Some vendors provide the plumbing and/or electrical work as well as the water heater. Others sell you the water heater, leaving you to hire an independent electrician and/or plumber.

Some companies do all three parts of the job under the same corporate umbrella, but each trade may provide its service independently.

Some companies sell the same product bearing a house brand at a lower price, and a better-known brand name at a higher price. If you know what you’re getting, you may get a bargain by purchasing the house brand.

Some vendors include a city permit fee – or two (one for the electrical work, the other for the plumbing.) The permits may be part of the installation package, or standalone line items in the proposal. The permit fee ranges from zero (if you aren’t changing the wire and/or pipe size) to whatever the city or the installer wants to charge.

Some vendors ask whether you want to pull a permit. If you say yes, the city’s inspectors will protect you against any problems with the installation. If you say no and problems arise, you’re on your own.

Related: Ten Tips for a Successful Maintenance Fee Collection Cycle

The heat-pump fraudster

You’ll also encounter people ready to sell you the newest and greatest advances in the water-heating industry, whether or not they’re appropriate for you.
Last year a nice lady called me on behalf of my local electric company, Florida Power & Light. She asked me the amount of my most recent bill. I told her. It was slightly above normal for the time of year, so she offered to send an inspector to evaluate my service.

Most of my appliances are relatively new, but the water heater dates from 2009 – 15 years ago. The inspector said it was long out of warranty, uses much more than its share of kilowatts, and should be replaced with a new, more efficient standard electric model, or – better yet – a heat pump.

I did some additional research. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a heat pump costs about twice as much to install as a standard electric water heater, and works efficiently only from 40 to 90 degrees F.

Then I took a closer look at my inspector’s business card. He was a consultant to FPL, but his main business was a company selling heat pumps. I live in steamy south Florida, about 20 miles north of Miami, so selling me a heat pump would be lucrative for him but unsatisfactory for me.

George Leposky is a science and technology writer. His daughter, Marjory E, Leposky, assisted with research for this article.