Hot Water Shower

         When I first visited Ilocos Sur in 1994 we used buckets of well  water for our shower, in 2014 the nephew from Cyprus hooked up a hot water heater, was cheap and easy, still works today.  I like it, but it was not very necessary in Ilocos.

           While in Baguio, where it gets down to 60F at night I was glad we had it in the hotels and apartments where we stayed.  We bought a house in suburban Baguio and one of our first moves will be to install a hot water heater for the shower.

            Depending on your set up it should be easy enough to install, may sometimes give you comfort depending on what you have become accustomed to in your current home.  Not a very extravagant extra.

Hi Bannor, welcome to the forum.

I would agree with mugteck when it comes to hot water, we have 2 at point water heaters and rarely use them but we are on our own well water and most times the water is refreshing but not cold, Baguio will be very different for water temp. I will add that we don't have hot water for the laundry nor kitchen as no need.

I suppose Bannor it will depend on where you land and what comes out of your well or town water The well water here is like jumping into a summer swimming pool, 28 to 30C.

Try it and see, as mugteck said it's easy to add if needed, the electrical side can be a problem if not prewired.

Good luck.

Cheers, Steve.

Hi, the water which comes out of the pipe has 30 degrees here in Boracay. We have a water heater and I am happy to get a hot shower in morning. If there is a brownout (every 2 to 3 days) I use the cold water only.

Andy from Boracay

We have a tankless heater in the master bath but seldom use it. When we used the deep well the water was a little cooler but the municipal water has been upgraded and now reaches the 2nd floor with enough pressure for a shower. Municipal water pipes run at or near the surface so the water is warm enough. The American Home tankless heater is just OK.

Here is West Virginia the water comes out of the tap at 56 F. My water heater recently holed through so It is on the dump now. I went through a 10 day period of cold showers and that was an experience. It would have been mid October to receive a replacement in kind so I bought a 11 KW Ecosmart tankless and glad I did. That thing works like a charm. I had to wire it up with 60 amp service but only use it 5 minutes a day so I'm seeing considerable savings in electric. The combination of the tankless heater and the 23.5 seer mini split I just installed dropped my average daily power usage from 15 kw to 10 kw.

I live in the Manila area using municipal water, we have three showers, one on each floor of the house. Two of the water heaters (first & second floor) have stopped working.

My wife & I occupy the whole third floor, our water heater is still working. If ours broke I would replace it immediately, I love hot showers, not warm, but hot.

When the weather is cold some families members will use our third floor shower, cold in cold out on the broken heaters.

There are a lot of adjustments moving to a third world country, it all boils down to what you are use too. You can adjust to rice, spam and balut, so in a matter of time cold water too, but not me.

Likewise Bob. For a minute there I thought I was the odd one out. Our American friends used to chide (quite rightly) the Brits for having weak showers. I like my showers HOT and powerful, preferably shared with female company

Agree with most of these posts and I would add, it all depends on the temp of your water source and that varies greatly.  However, it is always nice to have a hot shower in the morning and before bed.... I can always turn the heater off when I want a cool shower, and I always want the option of a hot shower.

Cheers,

The temp hovers around 30 degrees C.

I haven't had a hot shower in years.

We have a 10 amp German tankless heater.  HOT showers, my wife now loves them.  Two years from new, used 2-3x per day, 365 days per year.  Faultless.

Similarly, we have 4 Aircon units from 1-1/2 HP to 3 HP.  At least one of them is on at all times. Daikon non-inverter (= simple) units.

I've learned 1000 words of Tagalog, which really helps, but I need hot water and AC to be happy.  To deal with the high electric rates, I installed a 10kW grid-tie solar system.

I think success here is 100% dependent on your attitude or belief.  For me, I love my Filipino family and they love me.  I live 1 km from the nearest (one lane) cemented road.  Fresh air, fresh food, zero crime.

Stef

The tap water despite slightly warmer than the UK  needs warming further for me to use a shower here.  One kettle of boiling water added to a bucket of cold easily makes a nice shower using the Filipino "Tabu ". 

@Bannor

We only have hot water in the Guest Bathroom.

As our water pipes to the house run overland, water in our Bathroom is never really "Cold". So we have no use for a water heater.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences.  The diverse perspectives were very informative and helpful.

A water tank installed up high (roof top or similar) painted dark or covered with a dark tank cover will give an nice warm shower on most days and has the advantage of help from gravity if the supply source loses pressure. I have used this system in Mexico, and Philippines and worked well with any sunshine at all. Water stayed warm even on cloudy days with a 200 liter or bigger tank.  Just have to make sure the structure will support the weight and make provisions for earthquake issues.