Tankless Water Heaters

Whole House Tankless Water Heaters

A whole house tankless water heater can reduce your water-heating bill by 5 percent to 50 percent or more. Tankless water heaters is a continuous flow of hot water because it instantly heats the water as it goes through the heater. Conventional water heaters keep large volume of water always heated in the tank (example: 80 gallons). This is not as efficient of a system to heat your water for your home because regardless of your use the conventional tank type water heater is always having to keep the water in it a certain temperture.

Endless Hot Water. No storage, no shortage.

 With a tankless water heater, the supply of hot water can be endless. You don’t empty the water heater with a large bath because there isn’t a tank to empty. With this type of water heater, the issue isn’t capacity, it’s flow. A tankless water heater won’t “run out” of hot water unless the flow surpasses the water heater’s ability to heat it. With tankless water heaters the water is instantly heated as it goes through the heat coils in the heater. It is 100% on demand water heating. You waste no energy from having to keep the water always hot and ready for someone to use. Since it is instantly heated you will never run out of hot water either.

Think of it this way: If two showers and the washing machine are all running at the same time, a tankless water heater won’t be able to keep up with the flow. It simply cannot heat the large volume of water that is passing quickly through it. So, it will deliver lukewarm water. Then again, if you buy a unit that puts out a lot of heat and you stagger showers and washing machine usage by a couple of minutes, you won’t have a problem.

You can fill an oversized bathtub when you have this type of water heater, but not when another appliance or fixture is using hot water—and, if the tub has a supply designed to deliver a very high flow rate, you may have to slow down the water a little. Aside from staggering usage, the key is to size a tankless water heater properly for your needs.

Because of the heat output and response time required, most whole house tankless heaters have burners that are gas-fired. Gas-fired tankless water heaters require venting—in fact, their flues generally must be larger than those required for conventional gas water heaters. Some units have power vents that allow you to exhaust gases out a side wall; these are ideal for situations where running a new vent out the roof would be impractical.

Unlike conventional water heaters with tanks that deteriorate after years of storing mineral-laden water, tankless water heaters offer long-term reliability. The critical component is the heat exchanger. Warranties on this part run from about 5 to 12 years.

Space Savings

Compact in design, tankless water heaters can be installed virtually anywhere. Compared to traditional water heaters, one of the most obvious differences is their small size. Almost all tankless water heaters mount on the wall, inside or outside, with the Direct Vent models for indoor installation only. This eliminates the bulky tank that requires much more space and a labor-intensive installation.