Tankless Water Heaters: A More Energy Efficient Choice

Aug 30
10:13

2011

Jay Rakestraw

Jay Rakestraw

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Tankless water heaters are all the rage recently. While the upfront costs of purchasing and installing are a bit higher than tank units, the performance can't be beat. Read on to learn why tankless water heaters are so energy efficient.

mediaimage

Tankless water heaters are a great alternative to the traditional storage style of water heater. Instead of heating up a tank of water and letting it sit in the tank all day waiting to be used,Tankless Water Heaters: A More Energy Efficient Choice Articles a tankless model only heats up water when it is needed. This is important because old-fashioned water heaters use energy on a constant basis to keep the tank's contents ready just in case you may need hot water at some point. This can raise your power bill and waste precious energy resources for no good reason. This would be comparable to running your air conditioning all day everyday even when you are on vacation or gone to work. This would not only be costly but very wasteful. The same principle applies to hot water heating units. That's why a tankless water heater unit is far more efficient. 

Tankless water heaters can be either electric or gas powered. They work by heating up water when it is needed through a gas burner or electrical function. Not only does this save you money and save our natural resources, but it also allows for a steady, non-interrupted hot water supply. You will never take another cold shower if you have a tankless water heater because as much hot water demand as you put on it the tankless water heater will deliver. 

Sizing your unit is important. Some smaller tankless water heaters are manufactured to supply single fixtures or fixture groups. These would have problems heating up enough hot water to supply the needs of an entire house simultaneously. If you need a unit to do this, you can either install a “whole house” tankless hot water system or run more than one at the same time through connections. There are also separate units that you can hook to things such as your dishwasher or laundry area. 

The next time you open your electricity or gas bill take out a calculator and see what a fifteen percent savings would be. If you take that number and multiply it by twelve you can see how much a tankless design heater could save you a year. Heating up water accounts for around thirty percent of a house’s energy costs and installing a tankless hot water heater system could save you about half of what you are spending now. That’s a huge savings that you can use in other parts of your life. Gas tankless water heaters are even more energy efficient and can save you even more on your energy budget. 

Everyone has heard about trying to conserve energy usage to enhance the way that everyone shares the planet. Using efficient plumbing fixtures is an easy, non-sacrificing way to help make your home a more energy-efficient place. Not many people want to sacrifice their lifestyles to create a greener planet but switching to a tankless hot water heating unit will allow you to help conserve energy without the sacrifice. In fact, it will provide a more stable hot water service than your previous one while you enjoy saving money and the planet at the same time.