Top Reasons To Consider a Tankless Water Heater

Tankless Doesn’t Run Out, Saves Energy, and Space.

If a continuous supply of hot water is needed for your business or home, it may be time to ditch your old water heater. A tankless water heater will secure energy savings while delivering all the hot water you need to stay afloat.

Key Advantages
Tankless water heaters run on electricity or gas (recommended) and can supply hot water for a variety of uses, including showers, dish washers, washing machines, bathroom faucets, and kitchen sinks. They are suitable for any commercial or residential setting that has high water demands, even if those periods are intermittent.

“When a tankless heater starts up, it senses the temperature of the water and an internal computer determines the amount of energy that’s needed to deliver the water at the temperature set point and flow rate,” explains Robert Dulin of South End Plumbing. The benefits of tankless go beyond longer showers – they will lower your electric bill, ensure demand is always met, and free up space in your home.

1) Avoid Down Time
For many businesses, having hot water for customers is part of the experience they provide – it’s a necessity that directly connects to the bottom line.

“If you don’t use several gallons per hour of hot water, tankless is simply nice to have. But if you do and your demand is high and your business depends on hot water, you can’t afford to have down time when you run out,” says Paul Duffey, Small Business Owner.

Not limited by the gallons your storage tank holds, tankless water heaters provide an unlimited amount of hot water. Think of settings such as a hotel, hair salon, or spa – customers walk away dissatisfied if they aren’t provided with services that depend on hot water. It can be equally bad for a restaurant to have to close their doors for health reasons if not enough hot water is available. Tankless technology ensures these scenarios are a thing of the past.

“You can also create redundancy by chaining multiple units on a rack,” explains Dulin. “If one fails or goes down for maintenance, your entire system won’t be compromised as other units can pick up the slack. If your water demand changes in the future, you can scale up or down accordingly.”

2) Conserve Energy
The brilliancy of Tankless is they only consume energy when there is a need for hot water. Traditional storage tanks continuously use energy to keep a reserve of hot water even when not in use.

Consider your home or businesses’ peak times for hot water. In a school, there may be a rush after gym for showers and a period over lunch for cafeteria preparation, but otherwise how water needs are minimal. Also there are holiday and summer breaks when demand drops even lower. Every hour you aren’t using energy to heat water provides instant savings.

Hotels and lodging also experience high demand but for limited blocks. They typically see a peak in the morning for bathrooms and sporadic usage in the afternoons for laundry. A tankless water heater will ensure you never runs out of hot water, yet save energy when guest volume is down.

Switching from a traditional water heater to a tankless water heater can yield a 29% savings on the water heating portion of your utility bill. Note that return of investment is highly variable depending on utility water rates and you might have a higher water or energy bill if your consumption increases to meet demand.

3) Save Space
There’s no denying that traditional water heater tanks take up a lot of room. Tankless units have a small footprint compared to their traditional counterparts. Also they’re lightweight enough to wall mount, which means you no longer need a dedicated utility room for water heating. You could save 12-15 square feet per unit or approximately 100-150 cubic feet of storage by switching to tankless. Also you don’t have to retrofit them in the same spot as the original tank. Tankless units can be installed away in utility closets, basements, attics, or even outdoors.

Maintenance Needs
Some water heaters receive little upkeep and consequently have to be replaced at the first sign of failure. Rather than a total replacement, individual parts of a tankless heater can be exchanged to extend its life. The heat exchanger is the most important component, and a unit will need to be flushed periodically to minimize lime scale and hard water deposits. Periodic flushing should be done once a quarter or every year depending on water quality. You can use inexpensive products such as vinegar or a lime-and-rust remover. You should also perform a full drain. This maintenance can be performed by South End Plumbing at a minimum charge with discounts ff signed up for our service agreement programs. South End Plumbing also recommends scheduled burner check and evaluations to the vent for cracks as a safety precaution.