Tankless water heaters are a great option for providing hot water delivery throughout your home more efficiently than a traditional tank-based system.
With a tank-based water heater, the basic idea is to keep a ready supply of water maintained at a hot temperature so it can be distributed throughout your home. However, there are two reasons why this is an inefficient system.
First, the water temperature needs to be constantly maintained so that the water is available for use. Even in the middle of night or when no one is home to use it, the water heater continues to run to keep the water hot.
Second, a tank-based water heater has a limited supply of hot water. If you have a teenager that likes to take long showers, you're well aware of this limitation. Inevitably the hot water runs out, and you have to wait until the water heater heats up more water.
Tankless water heater systems eliminate these problems by heating water on demand using a heat exchanger. The tankless system senses when hot water is needed and provides hot water on demand. In addition, tankless systems take up a lot less space, plus they have double the life span of a tank water heater.
Because of the high cost of electricity, and usually the need for electrical modifications, we typically do not recommend electric tankless water heaters. However, if you have natural gas or propane available, a tankless water heater is a great solution that saves water, heats more efficiently, and provides hot water faster and for longer periods of time than a tank-based system.
If you are interested in finding out more about tankless water heaters and if this would be a good option for your home, give us a call. We'll be happy to give you a free estimate on a Rinnai gas tankless water heater system. We've been installing tankless water heaters in the Olympia area for years and have many satisfied customers.
