Apr

2

Tankless Water Heaters: Four Things People Like and Dislike About Their Heaters

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Tankless water heaters are growing in popularity, and with good reason. But not all is rosy with using such a heater. Here are four things that owners of tankless water heaters like and four things that they dislike.

Four Things People Like About Tankless Water Heaters

Owners of tankless hot water heaters comment that they like them for a variety of reasons. Here are the top four:

  1. Endless hot water is great! No more running out in the middle of a long shower. Knowing you will always have enough is a good feeling.

  2. Saving money: Although tankless units generally cost over twice as much as conventional ones, over the long haul you typically spend less, as these units also last over twice as long and can be repaired where a conventional unit would have to be replaced. Also, there are tax credits available in the US for certain gas units that meet Energy Star standards.

  3. Saving space: tankless water heaters are amazingly small. They just hang on a wall and take up way less space than their conventional counterparts.

  4. Doing something for the environment by not wasting energy: It's obvious that heating a large tank of hot water 23/7 is wasteful of energy. In contrast, tankless units only heat water when you need it.

So with these benefits, the tankless units sound great! Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that way.

Four Things People Don't Like About Their Tankless Water Heaters

Because tankless hot waters deliver water so differently from conventional tank water heaters, it takes some getting used to. You will have to adjust some habits. Plus, a lot of owners discovered unexpected obstacles during or after installation. Here are the main four things that owners report not liking about their setups:

  1. Flow delay: unless you happen to be using a unit that is right at the point of use, you will have to wait up to several minutes for hot water. Washing dishes by hand and turning the faucet on and off as you rinse? This habit works poorly with most tankless units because you'll have that flow delay every time you turn on the faucet. Besides your having to wait not necessarily patiently, another drawback is that cold water is most likely just going down the drain. (One Australian study concluded tankless water heaters waste "substantial" quantities of water.)

  2. Not having enough hot water if the water heater wasn't sized large enough: If your unit isn't large enough for your needs, you will have cooler water than you want, or if it is hot enough, there might be less of it than you like. This is more of a problem in the winter in colder climates, where the incoming water will be way colder than it would be in, say, Florida. If you have this problem, the way to fix it is to upgrade your system in one way or another. If you are still just shopping, be sure to do your homework on how to size a tankless hot water system. (Some brands, like Takagi, sell heaters that can be joined together in parallel.) Generally, people in milder climates seem to be happier with their units, probably for this reason.

  3. Problems with the heaters not working right: probably most of these issues can be traced to the installation not having been done correctly. Few contractors have experience with installations. As a result, owners' complaints on forums and review sites are numerous. Less than stellar customer service from some of the manufacturers doesn't help, either.

  4. How expensive they are: It's not too surprising that tankless units cost more than the tank style – especially the gas ones, which are better for the environment. But if you are installing one in an existing home, you are quite likely to have to upgrade your gas or electric inputs, which can be expensive. Gas ones need venting as well. Many owners reported that the totals were higher than they expected, which means their payback period is further off.

So if you are researching whether to get a tankless water heater, consider these factors. If you get one, you'll know what to watch out for!

I hope you are finding the information you need. To keep up with the pages I'm adding, you can subscribe to my RSS feed. Best wishes, Lou Wright

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