Very common in Europe and Asia, tankless water heaters are less well known in the US and Canada.
If you are often the last person in the shower so you have to take a lukewarm shower, then you may be asking if there is a better way to heat your water.
The answer is a tankless water heater that supplies endless hot water. There are a lot of benefits to owning one, but the biggest reason they are so popular is the fact that you never run out of hot water no matter how long it is on.
If you are buying a new house and setting up your plumbing, or think your traditional tank water heater may need to be replaced soon, then here are some things to think about.
Is a tankless water heater right for you? Read on to find out.
Find a plumber that knows tankless water heaters
Tankless water heaters are fairly easy to install. In fact, anybody that is even slightly handy can probably manage themselves. But, it always pays to have a professional do the job. After installation, if you face any problems go here for finding the best water heater repair near Toronto.
For instance, if you are in Florida then Local Gladesville Plumber would be the ones to call. They, or somebody like them, can come and give you an estimate on installation based on your gas and water lines as well as the venting necessary.
Since tankless water heaters cost more than a tank it is wise to find out how much you are getting into.
Know your water demand needs
Figuring out the right tankless heater is different than buying a tank water storage system. The size of a tank is easy to determine. They come in small sizes like a 5 or 50-gallon tank.
Tankless, on the other hand, don’t have a tank so getting the right size for your tankless water heater is a bit different.
Instead of determining water capacity, you only need to know how much water you use at any one time. For instance, if you run two showers at once plus a dishwasher then you need at least six gallons per minute. That means you need to buy a tankless water heater that has the ability to heat more than six gallons of water per minute to provide enough hot water.
How cold is your incoming groundwater?
The reason I listed a plumber in Florida earlier in the article is that a warm area is the most ideal for using a tankless water heater. Since the water is heated as it comes into the unit, the temperature of the incoming water plays a big part in how many gallons per minute you can get.
If your incoming water is cold, then your GPM (Gallons Per Minute) is going to be low. The warmer the water is, the less work the heater has to do to get it to the right temperature. You can check out this map of the groundwater temperature in the entire US to get an idea of what it is where you live.
People who live in warm climates get a much higher GPM then those in Canada for example. That doesn’t mean you can’t use a tankless water heater in a cold climate. You just need to find one that has a high GPM to make sure you always get the water hot enough.