EcoSmart is the budget-but-quality leader in US-market electric tankless water heaters. Headquartered in Florida and manufactured in the US, EcoSmart\'s defining feature is the lifetime residential warranty on the heat exchanger — the longest paper warranty in the electric tankless category. Combined with pricing 30-50% below premium brands like Stiebel Eltron, EcoSmart owns the value tier.
EcoSmart\'s lifetime residential heat exchanger warranty is the longest in the US electric tankless market:
| Brand | Heat exchanger warranty |
|---|---|
| EcoSmart ECO 27 | Lifetime (residential) |
| Stiebel Tempra 29 Plus | 7 years |
| Rheem RTEX-29 | 5 years |
| Westinghouse WET-27 | 10 years |
| Titan SCR (29 kW) | 10 years |
EcoSmart\'s warranty has conditions — residential use only, original owner, with documented annual descaling in hard water. Read the terms. In practice, EcoSmart honors most legitimate claims; the warranty is real, not marketing fiction.
Stiebel\'s Tempra Plus is widely regarded as the best whole-house electric tankless, with Flow Control technology that maintains output temperature in cold-climate installs. EcoSmart competes on price and warranty, with constant-power modulation (no Flow Control).
| EcoSmart ECO 27 | Stiebel Tempra 29 Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| kW | 27 | 28.8 |
| Modulation | Constant power | Flow Control |
| Cold-climate performance | Output temp drops at peak flow | Maintains temp by throttling flow |
| Heat exchanger warranty | Lifetime (residential) | 7 years |
| Typical price | $549-699 | $849-1,049 |
For Sun Belt warm-water installs, EcoSmart is the obvious value choice. For cold-climate installs where Flow Control matters, Stiebel justifies the premium.
| Model | kW | Breakers | Continuous draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECO 18 | 18 | 2× 40A 240V | ~80A |
| ECO 24 | 24 | 2× 60A 240V | ~100A |
| ECO 27 | 27 | 3× 40A 240V | ~120A |
| ECO 36 | 36 | 4× 40A 240V | ~160A |
ECO 27 is the volume cold-climate pick that fits most 200A residential services. ECO 36 frequently requires service upgrade.
Home Depot (in-store and online), Lowe\'s, Amazon, ecosmartus.com. Wide distribution in big-box channel — easier to find than Stiebel.
EcoSmart owns value-tier electric tankless with lifetime warranty + competitive pricing + wide big-box distribution. ECO 27 is the cold-climate volume pick. For Sun Belt and moderate climates, EcoSmart is the obvious choice over Stiebel Tempra Plus. For cold-climate installs where Flow Control matters, Stiebel justifies the premium. POU and ECO MINI lines round out point-of-use applications.