My water heater is getting to the age where I expect it to need replacement soon & wondered if it'd be worth it to replace with the on-demand type.
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Cons – initial expense. Much more expensive than traditional water heater. Have to make sure you get one that will heat to the capacity of your maximum use.
Pros – more efficient. Should cost you less to operate.
A normal water-heater is always heating the water (constantly). So, your paying for gas even if your not using much hot water.
A normal water heater can run out of hot water (during heavy use); not so with tankless.
The tankless systems cost more upfront- but down the road end paying for themselves.
No brainer if you have some extra dough $$$$
I switched from a 98% efficient Polaris hot water tank system to an on demand system. Both systems use natural gas. The Polaris used less gas than the on demand system now uses.
The Polaris not only provided all the hot water my family could use, it heated a 2600 sq. ft. house in the winter.
So check around before you buy, obviously, based on my experience, there are tank systems that are more efficient than the on demand systems.
What seems like a no-brainer may not be a no-brainer. If I had it to do over, I would buy another Polaris System.
It is true that tankless heaters are somewhat more efficient than traditional heaters. A drawback is that you use more water. The tankless will only turn on when a certain flow of water is sensed. If you wash your hands often, or rinse off a few dishes now and then, the water most likely wont get hot becaust the flow is too low. This could be important if you have "city" water.
they are nice units and i am sure in five- ten years they will be very common. but for right now here a couple of things to think about. first off they are not water heaters. water heaters a very simple designe and very easy to repair. however the tankless ones are a little bit more complicated. circuit boards, chips, sensors. and if any one of these things were to break it’s very unlikely that a plumber would have these types of repair parts on his truck. which means no hot water until new parts are delivered. i have also heard rumors of the tankless heaters of freezing in extremely cold climates. i don’t know if this applies to you, but they found cool air can come down the chimney and freeze the coil possibly cracking it. in the winter time your furnace is running, your water heater is constantly keeping the water heated. but with the tankless if no one is home it isn’t running leaving the coil with no heat. and as far as the efficiency, there is still a debate on wether it saves you money. yes of course it saves on gas use but the other side of the debate is because you have an endless amount of hot water people tend to take longer showers, they take more baths and waste more water because of the lack of limitations. don’t get me wrong ive installed them without problems or complaints. i personnaly feel that this technology came out and the industry is trying to catch up. all i can say do your own research and when you find amodel that suits your needs just research consumer reports and such.
Seems like there are many reasons for liking energy efficient tankless hot water heaters! I will review the pros and cons, but you will have to make the final decision as to whether or not they are for you.
Mostly they have a longer life expectancy, save money, save energy, take less space, and have an endless supply of hot water.
First there is the life expectancy. Make sure that you figure this in when you are doing your calculations. The life expectancy for a regular hot water tank type heater will probably be in the 10 – 12 year range. Of course there are factors that will change that, such as the quality of your water. The life expectancy of a tankless water heater will be closer to the 20 year range. And I did find some with a lifetime warranty.
There seem to be a lot of numbers floating around as to the amount of savings. The tankless water heater could be as much as 40% more energy efficient, depending upon who you believe and your personal use habits. The conventional water heater keeps water at a constant temperature and is always reheating the water. The tankless, also known as “on demand” type of water heater only heats water when it is called for. Just think of the savings if you went on vacation, or even if you did not normally use hot water for hours on end.
The space savings is a nice benefit. Since they are mounted on the wall they take zero floor space, plus they can be mounted closer to the point of use. This gives you a lot more flexibility when choosing a location. You may also want to consider having more than one. For example if you had a remote area with little use, you could install a smaller unit. This would take some of the load off of the main unit, plus put the water closer to the point of use.
The endless supply of hot water is a big benefit for larger families. There is nothing worse than being the one in the shower when the hot water is gone! And of course it seems like forever before there is hot water again.
There could be a federal tax credit of $300. The unit would have to have an efficiency rating of .80 minimum to qualify. They do not all meet this number.
You can also check to see if you qualify for any state or local incentives or rebates. Go to http://www.dsireusa.org to check.
OK, this all sounds good, but what are the disadvantages?
First there is your ground water temperature. If your ground water is very cold, because you live in the north, it may take a much bigger unit to do the job. The cooler water affects the flow rate.
Some units require a large venting system. This may make it hard to deal with if you are installing in a preexisting home or business. Obviously they are better suited to new construction.
There have been complaints of the time it takes to get hot water to the point of use. Now I don’t know about you, but the only way that I get instant hot water is if it has already been running. So I have to wait anyway.
This is probably a job better left to the pros. Most units will require licensed installers to keep the warranty in tact.
So how do you decide if energy efficient tankless water heaters are for you? You should contact an installer. He should have a lot of questions about your use, location, ground water temperature, and your present cost. He should be able to review his calculations with you and show you how he arrived at his conclusions.
Just remember that they are trying to sell units. Make sure that you are confident with the company and the calculations. It would probably be better for you if they sold both types. That way you could see the difference between a newer more energy efficient conventional water heater and the new energy efficient tankless water heaters!
For more information visit my web site at: http://energyefficienthometips.net