Tankless Water Heaters

Looking for information about tankless water heaters? Also called on demand water heaters or pass-through hot water heaters, these appliances have long been used all over the world. They are now becoming more popular in the United States as well.

TanklessWaterHeaters101.com is designed to provide you with the information you need in choosing whether to install one, and if so, what type and brand would serve you best. Do be aware that many homeowners are not happy with their tankless units. Many of the problems I've seen in discussions around the internet could have been avoided with installations that followed the guidelines strictly, but there can also be problems in adjusting to the way these systems work. See my Tankless Water Heater FAQs page for more on this.

Generally, the gas systems do the best job.

Electric Tankless Water Heaters: A Drawback

It is not widely known that large electric tankless hot water systems can be bad news for the environment. The reason? Any tankless system draws on a lot of power right when you are taking a shower, doing the dishes, washing clothes, or whatever. That is how it is able to supply you with the hot water you need.

But when it's the peak time of day for residential electricity use --after work and into the evening a while-- if a lot of people are using electic tankless hot water heaters, the grid needs a lot more power right then. Since power companies plan their resources to meet the highest demand, that means that electric tankless systems can cause the power companies to increase the amount of power they generate.

The good news here is that there are excellent tankless gas hot water systems available. The small electric ones, not meant for a whole house, present less challenge to the grid than their larger brothers. And even if you have or get a large electric one, if you can timeshift your main hot water activities, then your system will not be a problem for the grid.

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