If you need to perform a water heater replacement, you might wonder if it's time to move to a tankless solution. Continue reading to find out whether a tankless water heater is a good option for replacing your existing system.
No Need for a Tank
One of the main arguments for you to go tankless is that this style of heater only uses electricity or gas on an on-demand basis. With a typical water heater, the water sits in the tank all day whether you need it or not. However, if the sitting water rests too long, it will become cold. Worse, the system will reheat the cold water so you can have readily available hot water. This can lead to high utility bills. This approach can be particularly inefficient if you're not around to use the hot water. If you spend a lot of time away from home with no one there, you're paying to reheat lukewarm water for no reason. A tankless water heater is usually great for folks in this situation.
High Utility Bills
You can mitigate some of the potential issues with a standard water heater by using insulation. However, it tends to lead to high utility bills. This is especially common in cold environments where tanks may cool off more often, but it can happen anywhere. You'll find this is more common when heaters sit on the outside wall, even if it's in a basement. If you can't justify the current utility bills associated with a tanked model, you may want to take the tank out of the equation.
Limited Space
Tanked systems eat up a lot of space in a house. If you need to free up space in a storage closet or basement with a water heater in it, a tankless setup can be a winner. The lack of a tank means only the heating and control elements are present. Even better, you can usually station a tankless water heater on an interior wall. It will only protrude several inches, thereby freeing up a large chunk of storage space once you remove the old tank.
Previous Leaks or Floods
A tank can suffer corrosion, especially in regions that have high mineral or chemical contents in the local water. If you've previously had leaks or floods due to tank failures, it may be time to go tankless. A tankless model has control systems to shut things down if the pressure drops, thereby significantly reducing the odds of a catastrophic failure.
For more information, contact a plumbing service, such as All The Time Plumbing.
