The Inside Scoop

It's about that time when we are thinking about replacing our old water heater. Eleven years ago, when we built our house at Apple-Mint Farms, my husband I considered buying a tankless water heater or what is known to many as on-demand water heaters. After doing some research, we just felt tankless water heaters were not quite up to par for a large family of six, especially with kids who love to take endless long showers. Since then, tankless water heaters have come a long way. According to energy.gov, "For homes that uses 41 gallons or less of hot water daily, demand water heaters can be 24%–34% more energy efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters. They can be 8%–14% more energy efficient for homes that use a lot of hot water -- around 86 gallons per day. You can achieve even greater energy savings of 27%–50% if you install a demand water heater at each hot water outlet."

The major drawback of a tankless water heater is the initial cost, which can be double the cost of a good conventional storage water heater, however, over the long haul, tankless water heaters can quickly recover the cost and in the end save you a lot more money. In contrast, a typical conventional storage water heater lasts 10 years and if you’re lucky, you might be able to squeeze 15 years’ experts say. With that thought of stretching it out, paying for leaks could be quite expensive! On the other hand, the best tankless water heaters last 20 plus years. The one big drawback is the cost of a tankless water heater vs a conventional tank. Plumbers often charge 2 or 3 times more for installing a tankless unit. Check and compare with your local plumbers as labor prices can vary significantly. For you, 'do it yourself' homeowners, installation can be a bit complex if you go from a tank to a tankless unit, and if you’re not a specialist I definitely don’t recommend installing one on your own. Also, just a small piece of insignificant info to add is that his project will also require some extra supplies such as valves and electrical parts that does not come with the unit.

If tankless water heaters sound appealing to you, before buying and installing one, it is best to consider the size, energy efficiency rating, water flow rate and cost. If you live in an area which provides natural gas, a gas powered tankless water heater might be your best option. While gas units are more expensive, they tend to cost less to operate. This is not due to efficiency of a gas unit but rather the cost of natural gas being relatively inexpensive. Some of the better known models are Stiebel, Rheem, Tempra, Boasch, Navien, Noritz and Rinnai. All of these are on the higher end of cost but they boast great output flow and a longer guarantee against leaks and parts.

For tankless units, the biggest drawback other than cost is the limited flow of water. The better and more expensive brands do advertise a flow upward of 11 gallons per minute (GPM). At this rate of flow, you typically would not experience any problems with water pressure, however if you are running two units at a time, such as running the dishwater and taking a shower simultaneously, depending on the model and size of tank, you might have a reduction in your water pressure or supply of hot water. Yes, even though the terminology suggest it is tankless, this is a little misleading. While tankless units do not have a large capacity tank, they still require a small reservoir to hold the water. Typically, they are 1 -3 gallons, just big enough to heat and constantly feed you hot water. Some home owners choose to install a small or midsize unit in each bathroom. Not only does this get expensive but it also requires more electrical lines, voltage and circuit breakers. Make sure you have plenty of circuit breakers or voltage left in your breaker panel before pursuing multiple units. Always, have specialist to install any electrical or plumbing, even if you think you know how!

Some people prefer to keep it simple and buy conventional storage tank water heaters. There is nothing wrong with this solution. In fact, if you live in an extremely cold part of the U.S. where you are heating cold water just above freezing temperature, it may be more efficient to heat your water with a traditional tank unit. Also, for a large family, who like to take two or more showers at the same time, you might be better off buying a tank unit. Traditional water heaters also tend to be more consistent in temperatures than tankless. In fact, this is probably the number one complaint against tankless homeowners. Another nuisance is not getting hot water when barely using the water. In some units, low hot water usage at the faucet does not put enough output to start the heater.

For us, the biggest benefit for going with a tankless unit is cost and saving space in our small and tight laundry room. This sounds all good, except we have hard water, which causes problem with tankless units and often requires the home owner to buy additional equipment such as a water softener and a place to store the salt.

Since we still have a full house with four kids, we may end up opting for a high-efficiency storage tank unit. While they are more expensive due the extra or thicker insulation around the metal tank but pay off faster due to a lower power bill. They are also built better and have better warrantees.

Maybe I’ll post our decision later in the year when we are ready to buy a new unit.

Source:

Selecting a New Water Heater, https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/water-heating/selecting-new-water-heater