Should You Switch to a Tankless Water Heater?

Tankless water heaters have earned rave reviews for their ability to produce endless, on-demand hot water for your home. However, there are drawbacks as well as benefits to replacing your storage water heater with a tankless model. If you’re ready to replace your water heater and aren’t sure whether you should go tankless, keep reading to explore some of the pros and cons of switching to a tankless water heater.

Tank Water Heaters

Traditional tank water heaters store heated water inside a tank. Because water is kept hot even when it is not needed, your water heater experiences standby heat loss. Standby heat loss refers to heat that is lost through the insulated walls of the tank. Energy—which costs money—is used to compensate for this heat loss whenever the temperature of the water inside the tank falls too low. A tank water heater also produces a limited supply of hot water. Although water is continually fed into the tank and heated to replace lost volume, if you use all the hot water in your tank at once, you must wait before you can enjoy hot water once more. However, a properly-sized tank water heater can provide sufficient hot water for all your needs and represents a lower initial investment than a tankless model.

Tankless Water Heaters

A tankless water heater does not maintain a reservoir of heated water. Instead, these appliances work by heating water quickly as it flows through a heat exchanger. Water is only heated when you turn on the hot water tap, meaning you are only paying to heat the water you’re using. Tankless water heaters don’t suffer from standby heat loss, and a properly-sized water heater can provide enough hot water for many plumbing fixtures inside your home simultaneously. Because hot water is produced on demand, as long as you don’t exceed the capacity of your water heater, you will never run out of hot water. Additionally, installing a tankless water heater may qualify you for a federal tax credit or rebate on your purchase.

Considerations Before You Go Tankless

While tankless water heaters have many benefits over storage models, there are some drawbacks as well. A tankless water heater is harder to flush and clean than a tank water heater, and is more likely to require professional servicing if there is a problem. Tankless water heaters cost more to purchase and install than storage models, and you may need to increase the capacity of your home’s natural gas line to accommodate its energy needs. A tankless water heater requires a minimum flow rate of 0.5 gallons per minute to activate its heat exchanger for the production of hot water. If your home utilizes low-flow fixtures at or near this rate, you may experience problems with your hot water. While tankless models advertise instantaneous and endless hot water, if you exceed the capacity of your water heater, you can still experience a shortage of hot water.

Are you considering installing a new water heater in your Knoxville home? You can explore your options with the help of a professional plumber when you visit our website. We invite you to click through the articles on the Mrs. Rooter blog to find more information about home plumbing appliances and how to choose the right one for your needs.