The Pros & Cons of Tankless Water Heaters

Water heaters can be a pricey financial investment for property owners that you’ll be dealing with for over a years. That’s why when it’s time to equip your new home, or change your old water heater it is essential to think about cost, efficiency, and durability of your new water heater. We’ve assembled this comparison of storage water heaters vs tankless water heaters to assist homeowners and professionals pick the type of hot water heater that’s best for you. We’ll examine the pros and cons of tankless and standard water heaters so you can make an informed decision.

What Is a Tankless Hot Water Heater?
Tankless hot water heater, also known as on-demand water heaters, use high-powered burners to quickly heat water as it runs through a heat exchanger and provide it straight to your faucets or shower without storing it in a tank. Tankless water heaters are usually powered with electricity or gas. These kinds of hot water heater are known to be 22% more energy efficient on average than the gas-fired storage-tank models in tests conducted by Consumer Reports.

How are “Traditional” Tank Storage Water Heaters Different?
Storage tank hot water heater are commonly found in most homes. Their elements are an insulated tank, generally holding 30-50 gallons of water, to heat and hold the water till it’s needed. A pipe emerges from the top to provide warm water to its home, bathroom, kitchen, or other sinks.

Usually, there are storage-tank water heaters that use either gas or electrical power for their fuel. Natural gas storage-tank water heaters use nearly half less energy, costing less to operate, than the electric range. Nevertheless, they cost a bit more than electrical designs. They likewise include a temperature and pressure-release valve that opens when either temperature or pressure goes beyond predetermined levels.

Tankless Water Heater Energy Efficiency
Property owners with on-demand (tankless) hot water heater that use less than 41 gallons or less of warm water each day, enjoy between 24 and 34 percent more energy performance than storage tank hot water heater. If you use great deals of hot water everyday (around 86 gallons), you may take pleasure in energy performance of an additional 8-14%.

Purchasing a tankless hot water heater will cost you a bit more than a traditional tank water heater, however, tankless ranges last longer than conventional water heater designs which translates to a 20+/- year useful life, as compared to tank types which last only 10 to 15 years prior to self-destructing, possibly flooding your basement or attic, depending upon their location.

Pros & Cons of Tankless Water Heaters

Given that there are no ideal products (tankless water heaters are no exceptions), there are assets and disadvantages to on-demand hot water heater, too.

Tankless Water Heater Advantages:

• Longer useful lives than storage tank water heaters.
• Saves you money with time.
• According to Energy.gov, “For houses that use 41 gallons or less of hot water daily, tankless water heaters can be 24% to 34% more energy efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters.” Tankless water heaters (if gas-fired) will conserve homeowners over $100 annually the longer they remain in service. Electric tankless hot water heater still conserve house owners around $44 annually according to the United States Department of Energy.
• You’ll have warm water whenever you need it.
• You will not need to wait even 15 to 25 seconds for your water to become hot, as tankless hot water heater provide two to three gallons of warm water per minute. Numerous tank water heaters take longer to heat water, because of the larger volume of water they need to heat, than most tankless types.
• Tankless hot water heater generally last 20 to thirty years, double the forecasted useful life of a tank hot water heater. Know that “hard water” locations, might reduce the beneficial life of both types of hot water heater.
• Does not take in the space of a tank hot water heater.
• On-demand water heaters are little and might be set up in “tight quarters.” They can even be set up on outside walls if your house is terminally space-challenged.

Downsides of Tankless Hot Water Heater:

• They can be “output challenged.”
• Greater purchase cost than tank water heaters.
• Tankless hot water heater setup can be pricey if you’re replacing a storage tank hot water heater with a tankless-type hot water heater
• When you choose to retrofit a tankless water heater in place of a tank range, your plumber-installer will take more time, increasing the installed expense, of replacing a tank water heater because of the complexity of moving existing piping.
• Concurrently taking showers and doing laundry can trigger your tankless hot water heater to fail to keep up with the warm water demand on it. If you have multiple showers in use in your home, you often will have one of the shower-takers sustain a “cold” experience.

Pros & Cons of Tank Water Heaters

( Tank) Hot Water Heater Advantages:

• Tank hot water heater have lower preliminary expense by a substantial margin.
• Storage tank water heaters run simpler than tankless ranges, leading to less pricey maintenance and repairs.
• Their simplicity produces simple, low-priced repairs when these hot water heater are not working correctly. Tankless water heaters are more intricate and pricey to repair and, undoubtedly, replace.

Disadvantages of Storage (Tank) Water Heaters:

• Rather greater utility expenses.
• Because storage tank water heaters heat, then reheat water to pre-set temperature, regardless of what your hot water requirements occur, they increase your utility bills. If these hot water heater operate in a cool environment (area), they’ll work harder in the winter months, driving your gas or electric expenses even greater during the cold winter.
• Occupy more area because of their size than on-demand hot water heater.
  if your house is space-restricted, you’ll have challenges finding adequate area to locate storage tank hot water heater. They can not be located outside your home like tankless water heating systems.
• You do not want to be the last family member to take a shower.
• If you have a traditional tank water heater, you might want to get a bigger one if you typically have multiple showers taken. While this option might relieve the hot water scarcity, however your energy expenses will increase together with your hot water schedule. Average storage tank water heaters can only support 3 showers in a row. You will not like being the fourth shower-taker unless you prefer cold, not hot, showers.
• Need to be replaced more frequently than tankless hot water heater.
• Considering that tank types have a shorter useful life (about 1/2 the life of on-demand water heaters), normally 10 to 15 years, you may need to purchase and install them nearly twice as frequently as tankless hot water heater, lowering your purchase savings.

Summary
If your checking account can handle the greater preliminary expense of a tankless water heater, you’ll conserve more money gradually by picking tankless. If you are on a modest income, a storage tank water heating unit might make more sense for you. Talk about the two kinds of hot water heater with your plumbing technician to weigh your options.

South End Plumbing specializes in water heaters, so remember, we are just a click away. We also specialize in tankless water heaters – give us a call! South End Plumbing is one of the only companies that will give you a free estimate. Call us at 704-919-1722 or fill out the form online to schedule a visit.