Tankless Water Heaters: What You Need To Know

Are you tired of running out of hot water or not having enough hot water to run the washing machine and take a shower at the same time? A great solution for you may be one of the rising stars in home water heating: The Tankless Water Heater. The tankless water heater is becoming more and more popular as plumbers and consumers alike are realizing the tremendous energy saving benefits to the tankless option. The tankless water heaters, also known as on demand water heaters are compact units that work on gas or electricity to heat your water as needed - which means that you’ll never run out of hot water! With a tankless water heater, you will never have to wait again for your water tank to fill up with enough hot water for your shower and run load of laundry at the same time!

You are probably wondering how exactly the tankless water heater works to save you money and ensure that you always have hot water-- let us explain it and we’ll take the guesswork out of it! Unlike traditional water tank heaters which constantly heat your hot water, tankless heaters save energy by heating only the water that you need. We all know that energy savings equals money savings and so there are clearly some big money saving advantages to the tankless water heater. With a traditional water tank, you are actually paying to heat your water 24 hours, 7 days a week. Can you imagine the savings with a tankless heater? In fact, it is estimated that tankless water heaters can reduce your energy output up to 45-50% and save your energy costs up to 50%.

There are several decisions that you need to make before you purchase a tankless water heater. Many of these decisions should be discussed with a qualified plumber who will help you determine the right tankless heater for your home. What you need to be decide on is the flow rate that you need, for what areas in your home you want the tankless heater (or if you want one for your entire home) and whether you want it to run on gas or electricity.

The first decision to make is if you want the water heater for a specific area of your home, such as the bathroom or for your entire home. There are three basic options to choose from. The first, called the single point application is used just for one fixture, such as a kitchen sink faucet. The second is called a multi point application where more than one heater is used in one room such as in a bathroom for a bathroom sink and a bathroom shower. The third is called the whole house application where a single heater is used for the entire home. Once you decide your water heating needs, you will then be able to determine if it’s a gas or electric heater that will work best for you.

The general consensus is to go with gas when choosing the whole house application. This is because the gas heaters provide higher flow rates than the electric heaters, thus giving you more hot water flow throughout the entire house. When it comes to single point or multi point applications, the choice is really yours and could be a determined upon whether your home has the proper electrical capacity to support an electric heater or whether you have gas lines already in place for a gas heater.

One more factor to consider before purchase is where you live in that it plays an important role in determining if a tankless heater is right for you as well as what type of flow rate you will need in your heater. This is because the colder the incoming water temperature is, the greater the rise in temperature that will be needed to heat the water up to your desired temperature.

A last thought for you to keep in mind is that tankless water heaters are pricey. Although they can be pricey, tankless water heaters are still well worth the investment. In the long run, you will be saving money and it won’t take you long to see that your investment was well worth it. So the next time you need to change your water heater and are able to spend the extra dollars, definitely consider the tankless option.