Tankless water heater or On-demand water heater is among the latest appliance utilized nowadays for an efficient energy solution at most households. With the use of either high powered electric coil or gas burners, a tankless water heater instantly generates warm water, unlike traditional water heater that needs to endlessly heat water for maintaining its temperature.
Regardless of the amount of energy required for instantly heating the water, the overall energy consumption of these heaters is much less as compared to the tank water heater because these water heaters do not require to reheat the water repeatedly.
Several reports from consumers with extensive study of these appliances show that in comparison to the standard water heater, tankless gas-powered water heaters are about 22% more proficient.
In tankless water heaters, water is heated instantly as it flows through the heat exchanger coil and isn’t stored internally. The heat exchanger coil generally used in these water heater is made of copper due to its fabrication simplicity and high thermal conductivity.
People searching for an eco-friendly method of heating water in the most cost-effective way as possible should consider the use of on-demand water heaters. However not every residence can benefit from the use of these water heaters. There are several aspects to be considered before determining whether this appliance is advantageous to you or not and hence here we are about to witness some pros and cons of these water heaters that might help you make a decision.
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Pros of Tankless Water Heater
Making use of a tankless water heater can be advantageous in the following ways:
In the case of traditional water heaters, the water is needed to be continuously heated such that the stored water in the tank remains warm. This regular on and off of the device causes more consumption of energy. However, in tankless water heaters, water is heated instantly whenever required, and thus minimal is the heat loss. This makes the on-demand water heater energy as well as a cost-efficient approach in a household appliance.
One of the major advantages of going tankless is the durability and live expectancy it offers. It is known through observation that where traditional tank water heaters serve well for about a decade, the tankless water heaters can serve a double of that time.
The efficiency of a tankless water heater is somewhat in the range of 80 to 99 percent, meaning in the tankless water heater, the whole unit of fuel is converted into work which lowers the fuel usage as compared to the traditional water heater that regularly heats the same amount of water stored in the tank. Thus, with less usage of fuel, on-demand water heaters are more eco-friendly water heating approach.
4. Less Spacious
Unlike standard water heaters that eat up space in a house with the installation of a storage tank that is huge enough, the tankless water heater can just be hung on the wall near one’s bathroom. This proves to be a convenience especially in case of compact houses where the space to be taken by the storage tank could come very handy for other household needs.
5. Prompt and Boundless Hot Water
With the application of a tank less water heater, one can instantly acquire an endless hot water stream of water after the cold water is flushed out the spout from the pipes. Hence, as long as the power to heat the water is present, an on-demand water heater continuously supplies warm water without the need for massive tanks.
Cons of Tank less Water Heater
Before making a decision, some of its disadvantageous aspects are listed below:
1. Inadequate Water Output
For most households, a 60-gallon tank with hot water inside might be a waste, but the same isn’t the case for several other houses especially when there is a need for using hot water to do laundry, wash dishes, and shower all at the same time. In the case of efficiency, there is no doubt that tankless water heaters are on top but the fact that it has a limited output is also true.
2. Initially Costly
The cost of a tankless water heater during its installation is far higher than standard water heaters and with the requirement of new gas lines as well as a venting system, initially tankless water heaters prove to so much costly that only after a long duration one can take advantage from it.
3. Varying Temperature
One of the biggest concerns of a wide variety of consumers is the inability of tankless water heaters to supply a constant temperature flow of the water. Especially when more than one outlets are open, tankless water heaters aren’t equipped to supply consistently warm water through each outlet.
4. Annual Repairs
For validating the warranty of the device, the owners are required to conduct annual repairs of the tankless heaters. Sometimes a water softener process is also needed to be conducted and an annual flush out of the system for averting the build-up of mineral in the water line or the heater. The collective cost of all these procedures is enough to empty the savings that were possible due to the efficiency of these heaters.
Finally, I can hope that the above-briefed points regarding the pros and cons of the tankless water heaters are sufficient for aiding you to make a decision. On one hand, getting a tankless water heater could result in saving your money by limiting the consumption of energy and thus having a very less impact on the environment. One can also make good use of the space that might have been consumed by the storage tank of the standard water heaters.
However, on the other hand, it will cost you a fortune to install these heaters and not every household could have an efficient outcome from this device. Not to mention the cost associated with the maintenance of these heaters annually could eat away all the savings you made from lessening energy output.