Tankless water heaters offer many advantages over conventional hot water tanks. Many people find their Zen at the end of the day in a long relaxing shower. Unfortunately, that clarity and peace is soon out the window a few weeks later when the utility bill for the said showers arrives. And they need to get back into the hot shower to calm themselves – circle of life. There may be a way besides heading to a public gym every time some relaxation is needed to take longer showers without breaking the bank – tankless water heaters. In addition to lower utility bills, here are five key advantages to tankless water heaters.
Save On Space
One of the main benefits of tankless water heaters is the fact that they take up far less space than conventional stand-up units. The units mount on a section of wall in a room that has ample oxygen to handle the combustion process and venting for the exhaust produced. In a conventional utility room, a tankless water heater in lieu of a tanked unit could provide extra room for accessing a washer and dryer or for additional shelving or storage. Plumbers can install tankless water heaters in a corner of the garage with little to no intrusion into the storage or workspace area that makes a garage such a valuable asset to the home.
Longer Lifespan, Much More Durable
One of the main turnoffs of people going with a tankless water heater initially is that they have a significantly higher price than the standup alternatives. What many fail to take into account is that the homeowner recoups these costs almost immediately. The life expectancy of tankless water heaters is 20+ years compared to 10 – 12 years for storage heaters. One thing homes with storage water heaters also notice is that the units have a tendency to start failing well before their warranties are up. Fittings on pipes start to corrode because of the constant contact between metal and water as does the actual tank itself. If a storage water heater isn’t drained or flushed annually, sediment builds up and causes leaks and the eventual erosion of the actual tank whereas tankless water heaters have easy to replace individual parts.
Very Cost Effective
If your home uses less water than conventional households (vacation property, single tenant) than the savings from a tankless water heater can be exponential. Master plumbers say that in a home with 41 or fewer gallons of use in a day, the savings between tankless and storage heaters can be up to 35%. Larger households enjoy an advantage between 8% and 14%. In actuality, a tankless water heater is viable for large or small usage. In smaller homes, the savings is based on money whereas the return is in volumes in larger homes. Households with heavy water usage can save up to 86 gallons per day by going from storage to tankless. Another reason that tankless water heaters are cost effective is that they remove the necessity for standby heat. One of the main convenience of a storage tank unit is there is hot water on demand as soon as a user turns the warm water faucet. Of course, this requires a supply of warm water be maintained 24-hours a day even if you do not need the hot water for days. Tankless water heaters are less convenient in that it takes the water a few seconds to heat up, but at the same time the same energy output to heat the water is not there. The energy savings benefits are enticing not only for the long term, but also in the form of government kickbacks instantly that help defray some of the higher initial prices of the tankless heaters.
Larger Water Output
With storage tank heaters, the maximum output of hot water is 30, 40, or 50 gallons – depending on the size of the unit. When you use the full capacity of the tank, the storage water heaters can take an excessively long time to heat back up, which can be very frustrating. On the flipside, tankless water heaters supply volume on demand in what is an unlimited supply of hot water. Rated in gallons per minute (GPM), if the tankless heaters cannot keep up with the demand of the family, a second can be installed and integrated rather easily.
Safer and Cleaner
The modern tankless water heaters have a number of electronic controls and monitors that ensure safety both in the water delivered and the actual operation of the unit. Common features include those that monitor the combustion, detect overheating, ensures proper firing, and detects a flame failure. Many tankless models also have anti-scalding with temperature control to always test the water before delivering the water to the sink or shower. Water from a traditional stored tank sits in a typically 40-gallon tank until it’s ready for delivery throughout the house. In older models, these tanks have accumulated rust and scale over their lifetime that infests the water. Since the tankless unit produces hot water on-demand, it’s cleaner and more pure. Another thing to remember is that the storage water heaters are large and obtrusive not only when stored in a basement or utility room, but when the time comes to get rid of them as well. These are one of the most prolific items that fill up landfills or roadside ditches and thus are an environmental drain not only while in use, but after their lifespan as well.
Tankless water heaters
are much smaller, thus easier to either recycle the parts or break down efficiently for destruction.