Tankless Water Heaters

Those people who have traditional water heaters in their homes are probably experiencing problems right now. A traditional water heater uses the system of constantly heating stored water throughout the day, meaning that obviously bills will be higher as at times this heating is unnecessary. There’s plenty more disadvantages to the traditional type as well, with some tanks requiring extensive maintenance while some work that inefficiently that as soon as you run the tap or shower, the temperature is varied to the extreme of either being boiling hot or freezing cold.

Please enter the tankless water heater. As the name suggests, this version does not require a large tank like the traditional models meaning that it can be put nicely out of the way without being on view. In fact, most people just put them on the outside of the house, whereas the traditional boilers are more often inside.

But let’s get onto how they provide the consumer with an advantage – an estimated 20- 50% reduction in energy bills in fact. To describe the mechanics, it’s easier to compare the device to the old fashioned traditional heater. A traditional model works by holding a large tank of water, which is heated all through the day so there is enough hot water to provide the house. A tankless version on the other hand works a lot differently, only heating water when hot water is requested (i.e. when someone is taking a shower). This means that instead of paying for water being heated all throughout the day, your water is just being heated periodically when needed meaning that the costs are much, much lower.

It’s not just the cost that is a benefit though and these tankless devices provide many other advantages to the consumer. In the traditional models, especially the older ones, problems often occur and this means that frequent maintenance is required. One such problem could be leaking, which due to the amount of water held in these tanks, is a fairly common issue. After a while, the problems get more severe and in the end a whole new boiler is required – which is obviously very expensive. A tankless water heater on the other hand usually comes with a lifetime warranty, meaning that you can live knowing full well that it’s not going to bring any unexpected costs.

Although perhaps smaller and not as important to some people, the new versions also are better for the environment and healthier. The environmental issue seems fairly self explanatory, as if a person is using less energy it’s bound to help the planet. As for being healthier, this is because there is no tank holding large amounts of water for long periods. Although it’s not that common, bacteria can form in the traditional models due to the water sitting for too long.

Of course, everything has its drawbacks and there is one for this. The traditional water heater wins in one department where multiple appliances can work synchronously due to the sheer volume of water contained in the tank. This isn’t always the case with the tankless heaters and some will limit households to using two, maybe three, appliances at a time. There is an easy way to get around this problem by installing multiple heaters, or a “whole house” version which coincidently, will supply enough for use by a whole house!

As you can read, there are plenty of positives to a tankless water heater and should your finances allow, it should definitely be something worth considering. The bill savings are fantastic and while it will cost a little time and probably hassle to initially set up, you will be sure to reap the rewards in the future.