Finding The Best Tankless Water Heater For Your Needs
Tankless water heaters (also called “on demand” or “instant” hot water heaters), have gained in popularity over the past few years because of their ability to deliver an endless supply of instant hot water. They also offer the additional advantages of being highly efficient, compact in size and very durable..
With the huge array of tankless models on the market, and the confusing marketing claims, many buyers have been seeking guidance in choosing the best tankless water heater.
If you are looking for a high capacity, whole house tankless water heater, you should first decide whether a gas or an electric model will best suit your needs. If you compare the prices of units of the same capacity, you will find that both types of tankless water heater are very similar. However, gas models come in higher capacities, and are best suited to larger homes. In fact, if you even have a medium size home in an area which has cold winters, you may not be able to find an electric model that will be able to handle your hot water demand. If this is your situation, and you don’t have gas lines, you may need to purchase two electric units and install them in parallel so that they work in tandem.
If you wish to replace your old gas storage tank unit with a tankless gas water heater, you will have to upgrade your ½ inch gas lines to ¾ inch lines, and you will need to install stainless steel venting. Depending on the size and the layout of your home, this upgrade may not be economical. If this is the case, it would be best to install an electric tankless system. You will need a 240V, 200 amp electric service, but this upgrade will be much cheaper than replacing gas lines. Whole house tankless gas water heaters are available in both indoor and outdoor, propane (LP gas) and natural gas models. Indoor units offer direct vent or power vent exhaust systems to suit different water heater locations. Some direct vent models have concentric venting ducts, which vent exhaust gases and bring in air from the outside, through two concentric channels in a single duct. Outdoor models are all weather units that can be mounted on an exterior wall of your house and serve the water fixtures inside. They have a vent on the front of the unit, and have no other venting requirements. Before you buy a whole house tankless water heater, it is very important to size your water heater correctly. To do this you will need to know your hot water demand at peak usage times, as well as your average winter ground water temperature. Your plumber can assist you in this regard. Noritz, Takagi, Rheem, Rinnai, Bosch, Paloma, and Bradford White, all make excellent tankless gas water heater models. Many units have commercial grade heat exchangers, are ASME certified and have low NOx and carbon dioxide emissions. . If you want to know the answer to the question, “Who makes the very best tankless gas water heater?” the answer is Navien. The best standard tankless gas water heater models have an efficiency of about 83%. There are, however, gas condensing tankless water heaters that have efficiencies of well over 90%. These units do not waste the heat in the exhaust gases, but use it to heat the water. Utilizing the latest advances in tankless technology, Navien has created high capacity condensing tankless water heater models that have an efficiency of 98%. Noritz, Takagi and Bosch make condensing water heaters that are not too far behind. By replacing your tank water heater with one of these models you can lower your water heating bills by up to 40%. When purchasing a whole house tankless gas water heater you should choose one that is Energy Star certified. You will then be eligible for a 30% tankless water heater tax credit for energy efficiency. This credit is applied to both the purchase price and the installation cost. You may also be eligible for additional rebates from your gas utility company. The best electric whole house tankless water heater models are manufactured by Stiebel Eltron, Bosch, and Eemax. Very popular models are Stiebel Eltron’s Tempra Series and the PowerStar models made by Bosch, such as the Powerstar AE125. Unfortunately, electric tankless water heater models are not eligible for Energy Star tax credits. Because of their compact size, electric tankless units can easily be installed under a sink. Low capacity electric models are, therefore, widely used as point-of use water heaters that serve one or two sinks in residential and commercial bathrooms. Over the years, Titan tankless water heater models have proven to be some of the most reliable point-of-use, under sink water heaters. PrecisionTemp manufactures the best propane tankless RV hot water heater models. Their RV-500 model can be used in RV coaches, trailers and fifth wheels. They also make a space heating tankless water heater for RV’s, as well as a marine tankless water heater. There are also several tankless portable water heater models that are designed for use as a portable camping shower or as a shower for an outdoor shower enclosure. Some of the best known models are the Coleman portable water heater, the Eccotemp L5 and the Zodi camping shower.
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