Benefits of Tankless Water Heaters

To understand how a tankless water heater works it is first important to understand how a conventional water heater works. Traditional electric or gas tank water heaters have been used in commercial and residential properties for years. Conventional electric water heaters use a simple heating element to heat the water and a storage tank to hold the heater water until it is needed. Conventional gas water heaters utilize a similar process. With the exception of some minor improvements in energy efficiency, traditional water heaters have remained virtually the same. While the conventional process of heating the water is simple, it does have some drawbacks...:

When hot water is turned on in a conventional tank, cold water immediately flows into the tank, diluting the heat of the existing water. As more and more water is drawn from the tank, the overall water temperature in the tank decreases until eventually it becomes too cold to use for many applications i.e. showering.  Due to this inefficient process, you lose a high percentage of usable hot water because cold water is added to the tank during the process.  Once the tank runs out of hot water you must wait a considerable time for the heater to bring the water in the tank back up to an acceptable level.

In addition, a conventional heater is consistently radiating heat, contributing to the re-heating rate and energy consumption. Even today's highly-insulated "energy efficient" tanks have a considerable standby heat loss. Conventional heaters also require a substantial amount of space that could be put to better use.

Benefits of a Tankless Water Heater:

• Reduce water heating costs up to 50%
• Will not leak or rupture
• Prevents scalding injuries
• Hot Water Never runs out - continuous hot water!
• Heats only the water you use, to the temperature you desire - On Demand
  
• Cold water is not required to regulate temperature
  
• Maintains efficiency throughout its lifespan
  
• Long warranties
  
• Long service life
  
• Not prone to hard water or mineral problems
  
• Hot water...forever!

Tankless water heaters have become all the rage! Tankless water heaters also known as on-demand water heaters, have been around for years but only recently have seen increased demand in North America. In other parts of the world, where energy costs are higher and space is limited, tankless water heaters are the norm. Tankless hot water heaters use a different heating system than the storage tank type water heaters found in many homes. Because of the on-demand system, your hot water faucet or appliance becomes the trigger that will activate this type of water heater.

A tankless water heater is more efficient and can generate a continuous supply of hot water. When a hot water faucet is turned on and the water begins to flow, a sensor detects that hot water is being demanded. This sensor effectively turns on the heating elements/heat exchanger and a computer chip selects the correct power output to the elements/heat exchanger based on the heat setting selected, the flow rate, and other parameters. The water flows across the internal heating elements or heat exchanger and exits the unit at the desired temperature. The start-up process takes a couple of seconds. The electric tankless water heater will remain on until the hot water faucet is closed. As soon as the flow sensor detects that water has stopped flowing, the power to the unit is turned off completely. So when hot water is not being demanded, absolutely no energy is being consumed. The stand-by heating loss is completely eliminated. 

Tankless Water heaters are about the size of a phone book so by switching to a tankless water heater you will save considerable space. Also, an electric tankless water heater typically last 30+ years as compared with traditional water tanks whose average lifespan is about 10 years. Unfortunately, most tanks, once they have reached the end of this short service life, are destined for the landfill - hardly an environmentally-friendly or long-term cost-effective solution.