Your energy bills are probably driving you crazy and have led you to look for ways to cut on these costs. Admittedly, your old water heater is one of the most significant contributors to that high energy bill, and replacing it could save you money. Tankless water heaters are a modern type of heater that work towards helping you achieve that goal. The following are reasons to upgrade to an instant water heater.
What is wrong with Your Traditional Heater?
Your traditional tank heater provides you with hot water after having to heat the entire tank’s capacity – between 30 and 50 gallons. While you might use up all of that capacity on occasion, you will barely utilize half of it on a single-use. The issue here is that you have used a lot of energy to heat the entire tank’s capacity, yet you do not use all of it. This equates to wasted resources, and it is reflective of your energy bill.
As such, this is the main reason you should focus on upgrading your water heater, as the old one is woefully out of date. Therefore, the longer your traditional tank heater continues to rest in a utility closet or basement, the more likely you will be wasting electricity.
Moreover, traditional heaters are made to last for a decade at most. Our experts at Anthony Plumbing, Heating Cooling & Electric, the premier Plumber in Kansas City, recommend replacing the heater before it starts displaying performance issues to save on heating costs.
What is a Tankless Water Heater?
This is a type of heater that provides hot water only as it is needed. Also known as instant heaters, they do not produce the standby energy losses you are likely to find with traditional heaters, thereby saving you money. For a tankless water heater that makes 40 gallons or less of hot water every day, owners enjoy about 34% more energy efficiency than traditional heaters. For those who utilize hot water (more than 80 gallons) every day, this efficiency is around 14 percent.
How Does It Work?
The tankless water heater usually heats water directly without requiring the use of a storage tank. When you turn on the hot water tap, cold water starts traveling through a pipe and into the unit. Here, the water is heated using either a gas burner or electric element as it passes through. Consequently, a tankless water heater can deliver as much instant hot water as needed and not a drop more. This saves you the burden of waiting for a storage tank to fill up with hot water.
Most tankless heaters produce hot water at a rate of 2 – 5 gallons (7.6 – 15.2 liters) per minute. However, there are levels among tankless heaters as gas-fired heaters can produce higher flow rates than electric models. Nevertheless, due to their instant nature, a single heater typically serves a single source. Thus, it may not supply enough hot water for multiple or simultaneous uses in large homes. For instance, running a shower and a dishwasher simultaneously can prove to be too much to handle for a single heater. The solution is to install two or more tankless water heaters and connect them in parallel. This will allow your household to run multiple hot water uses concurrently.
Reasons to Go Tankless
1. Avoiding Down Time
If you run a business whose core operations depend on providing the customers with hot water as part of the experience, going tankless is a necessity that directly connects to the bottom line.
A tankless system is beneficial to have if you do not use a lot of hot water. However, if your demand is high and your establishment depends on the availability of hot water, then a tankless system is a must-have as you cannot afford to have downtime if your hot water tanks run out.
As such, rather than limiting your business’s capabilities to the capacities of your storage tanks, a tankless water heater provides you with an infinite supply of hot water. Establishments such as salons and spas would benefit significantly from this system. It ensures customers are delighted.
Additionally, restaurants may have to close their doors for health reasons if they do not have enough hot water. A tankless system, therefore, ensures your establishment never suffers from such scenarios. You may also create a system with several units, so the others will pick up the slack even if one needs maintenance.
2. Saving Space
Traditional heater tanks are voluminous contraptions. Due to the size, they are installed in the basement, utility closet, or any other dedicated mechanical room for water heating.
On the other hand, tankless heaters are not as bulky as traditional and compact enough to be placed anywhere within the home. The advantage here is that you can set the heater as close as possible to the source. This allows for proximity that eliminates the need to wait for hot water while also removing wastage.
3. Increasing Home Value
In addition to ensuring that your home or establishment consumes water much more efficiently, installing a tankless heating model will become a selling point if you decide to sell your house. You can consider the upgrade as a long-term investment. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors, energy-efficient upgrades such as tankless water heaters are among the top things that buyers are looking for in a home today. And because tankless water heaters can work efficiently for more than 20 years, using that reliability as a leverage point when selling your home does not hurt either.
4. Easy Maintenance
Traditional heaters often require replacement at the first sign of failure. Tankless heaters, however, rarely require replacements, and if they do, it is for individual parts that aim to extend their life.
An essential component in the tankless water heater is the heat exchanger, requiring periodic flushing. This flush can either be done annually or every 3 – 5 years, depending on the water hardness level of the place you live. Talk to a plumber in Kansas City to advise you on this.
If you have been looking to cut on your energy bills, replacing your old water tank heater and upgrading to a tankless heater is the solution. Traditional tanks are outdated in every sense of the word; they are bulky, slow, and unreliable and facilitate energy wastage. Tankless water heaters, however, provide you with instant hot water at the required volume. This ensures that they eliminate energy wastage. This allows you to make as much as 30 percent savings on your heating bills. Moreover, they are small so that they can fit in any space.
5. Installation and Plumbing Services
So now, if you’re ready to buy a new tankless water heater, the only thing left is to have someone help with the installation. Contact Anthony PHCE for your plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical service needs. The Technicians You Can Trust With Your Housekeys® serving the Kansas City Metro area for over 70 years.