Anyone who loves long, steamy showers understands the appeal of endless, on-demand hot water. If instant hot water is possible, you may wonder why some homeowners hesitate to procure a tankless water heater. After all, tankless water heaters are growing in popularity for benefits like the ability to deliver hot water fast. However, their drawbacks mean that they aren’t always the best choice. Exploring their pros and cons is a smart way to determine whether a tankless water heater is right for you.
How Are Tankless Water Heaters Different?
Traditional water heaters keep a storage tank of hot water constantly simmering. In contrast, tankless water heaters spring into action only when the hot tap is turned on. Then, they push cold water through a heat exchanger, swiftly delivering hot water for as long as it’s requested. They’re also known as instant or on-demand water heaters.
What Are the Pros of Tankless Water Heaters?
Tankless water heaters provide instant hot water for showering, cleaning, laundry, and more. Plus, they deliver higher energy efficiency since they don’t use energy to continually heat bulky storage tanks like traditional water heaters. This design change also makes them notably smaller, so they take up less space.
Tankless water heaters tend to outlast their traditional peers. With proper maintenance, a quality tankless water heater can last more than 20 years. Their energy-efficient natures and lengthy lifespans make tankless water heaters eco-friendly. These qualities can also produce long-term savings.
What Are the Cons of Tankless Water Heaters?
Tankless water heaters have limited flow rates. While they can deliver a steady flow of hot water for as long as you want, the amount of hot water they’re able to produce at once is finite. One endless hot shower is doable. Two steamy showers at the same time may be too much.
Cost can be another concern. Tankless water heaters generally have higher upfront costs. Plus, they may require additional setup. When more water pipes, electrical wiring, or gas lines are needed, it increases the time and expense of an installation.
How Do You Decide?
Weighing a few things can help you decide if a tankless water heater is right for you. Start with your hot water usage. Determine whether you run multiple showers or hot-water hungry appliances at the same time. If so, the limited flow rate of a tankless water heater may be problematic. However, installing multiple tankless water heaters may be a solution.
Your existing system should be considered. If you currently have a traditional water heater, replacing it with another one is easier and faster than upgrading. Finally, your budget is a concern. Tankless water heaters are likely to cost more upfront. However, they do offer greater savings in the long term.
Tankless water heaters offer numerous benefits, but they don’t fit every household. At Advanced Plumbing & Leak Detection in Ventura, CA, we excel at repairing, servicing, and installing traditional and tankless water heaters, so contact us today for help choosing an option that works best for you.
