The benefits of upgrading to a tankless water heater include lower utility bills, continuous hot water flow, and more. Tankless heaters come in convenient sizes, have a long life span, and are less maintenance, which makes them a great upgrade from a more traditional storage-tank water heater.
Are you a homeowner looking for an upgrade to your water heating system? Are you unsure what a tankless water system is and what advantages it could offer you?
Keep reading to learn all about tankless water systems and their benefits. We will cover all the benefits of upgrading in this article.
What Is A Tankless Water Heater?
A tankless water heater, also known as an on-demand water heater, is a water heating system that heats water instantly instead of keeping hot water in a large storage tank like a traditional storage tank heater. Tankless water heaters only provide as much hot water as is needed.
How Do Tankless Water Heaters Work?
When you turn the hot water faucet on, cold water begins to flow through a heat exchanger inside the tankless water heater unit. The heat exchanger is fueled by either gas or electricity and directly heats the water, creating instantaneous hot water.
When the hot water faucet is shut off, the tankless water heater will go into standby mode, waiting until the next time you use it. This creates a continual supply of hot water for your home without the waiting time that a storage-tank water heater has.
Tankless Water Heater Benefits
The benefits of tankless water heaters include energy savings, financial savings, saving space, continuous hot water supply, longer life span, and less maintenance. All these reasons are why tankless water heaters are a popular choice for those looking to upgrade their water heating systems.
1. Energy Savings
Tankless water heaters save energy by only heating the water that is needed. This is much more energy efficient than storage-tank water heaters, which have to continually heat and reheat the water in the tanks to keep it at a certain temperature.
When storage-tank water heaters are on standby, they suffer from a substantial amount of heat loss. You won’t have to worry about this with tankless water heaters. You could be saving 24%-34% more energy with a tankless water heater, depending on your water usage size.
2. Financial Savings
With energy savings comes financial savings, and your utility bills are likely to be smaller with the help of the efficient tankless water heater. These systems can be more expensive upfront to purchase and install compared to storage tank water heaters, but they make up for it quickly.
Not only do they save you money with utility bills, but also in maintenance costs. Tankless water heaters are very durable and can last for years past storage-tank water heaters. They also require less general maintenance from plumbing professionals, saving you money there as well.
3. Saves Space
Tankless water heaters come in much more convenient sizes than the more traditional storage-tank water heaters and are generally around 28 inches tall and 20 inches wide. This is a big difference compared to the general height of storage-tank heaters at 60 inches tall and 24 inches wide.
If you upgrade to a tankless water heater, you won’t have to worry about finding somewhere in the home with a lot of space for it. Since the water heats instantaneously, there is no need for large storage compartments that take up the extra space. This makes them a great choice for tight spaces.
4. Continuous Hot Water Supply
Due to their heat exchanger inside the tankless water heater unit, these water heaters can supply hot water for as long as you may need. An instant, constant flow of hot water to your plumbing devices in the home makes upgrading to a tankless water heater a very appealing choice.
Storage-tank water heaters only have as much hot water as is available in their tanks, so if someone in your home uses all the hot water on a shower for example, you will have to wait until the storage tank reheats again. With a tankless water heater, you won’t have to worry about that.
5. Longer Life Span
With the right care and maintenance, tankless water heaters can last up to 20 years, which greatly outlives the storage-tank water heater lifespan of around 8 to 12 years. This much longer life span is a welcome bonus of upgrading to tankless water heaters, as replacing water heaters can be costly.
Tankless water heaters are generally more durable than storage-tank water heaters, which aids in their life span, as fewer things go wrong with them.
6. Less Maintenance
Traditional storage-tank water heaters generally need to be serviced yearly, whereas tankless water heaters can function for up to 4 to 5 years without maintenance. This saves homeowners plenty of time and money in plumbing services.
Of course, this all depends on the quality of your water supply and also varies on the region. Homeowners who live in areas with hard water are recommended to have their tankless water heaters cleaned yearly to remove mineral buildup in the unit.
Those who choose to upgrade to tankless water heaters also decrease the chance of flooding. Storage-tank water heaters, with their tanks holding up to 60 gallons of water, are a flooding risk to your home if any problem arises with the unit like a leak or a rupture.
Conclusion
Upgrading to a tankless water heater comes with a wide list of benefits, including energy and financial savings and more durability. Having a ready hot water supply is an important part of owning a home, and upgrading to a tankless water heater can make that easier for you.
If you have more questions about water heaters or plumbing systems, call High Efficiency LLC at 508-825-3695 today.
