Installing a tankless water heater could make cold showers a thing of the past, unless you want one, of course. As the name implies, these heaters do not have a storage tank for hot water. Instead, when you turn on the faucet, they respond immediately, warming the water as it winds through the unit, and out your spigot.
If you’re thinking of replacing your existing water heater, there are important factors to consider when you’re sizing a tankless water heater to meet the needs of your household:
- Your household’s demand. Paramount when sizing a tankless water heater is the amount of hot water that you and your loved ones require. If there are several people in your household, and you have simultaneous demands for hot water (someone’s showering, while the dishwasher and washing machine are running), you’ll likely need a larger unit. You need to add Think about what your average demand is likely to be, and add up the flow rates for the various tasks, or how much hot water they require per minute. That sum is the number of gallons your tankless water heater should be able to produce per minute. For example, showers command up to three gallons of water per minute, depending on the bathroom fixtures. Dishwashers use about two gallons a minute, and washing machines may use as much as three gallons. Add those flow rates together, and you’ll find that you need a tankless water heater that provides eight gallons of hot water each minute. In such a case, it may be more feasible to service the household with more than one unit.
- The temperature of the incoming water. This is an important consideration when you are sizing a tankless water heater. The heater’s flow rate declines as the incoming water temperature drops. In colder climates, such as in the Indianapolis area, the incoming water temperature is assumed to be about 50 degrees. Because most household tasks require 120-degree water, your tankless heater must be able to raise the water temperature by 70 degrees as it’s flowing through the unit.
Let Mowery Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing help you with sizing a tankless water heater to fit your needs. Contact us for information or an in-home consultation and estimate. We’ve proudly served the Indianapolis area for more than 40 years, and look forward to helping you with all of your heating, cooling and plumbing needs.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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