If you have recently installed a tankless water heater and are hoping your new unit can heat water faster, learning more about how a tankless water heater functions can help you use your device in the most efficient manner possible.
Because tankless water heaters operate differently than traditional storage heaters, household occupants need to adjust their hot water usage style in order to obtain an endless supply of hot water in the shortest time possible.
With a storage tank, using hot water with your faucet wide open will provide you the hottest water possible in the quickest amount of time. This works until, of course, the hot water in your tank is drained, requiring your water heater to heat a whole new tank of cold water. A tankless water heater is different; instead of using extra energy to hold hot water at the set temperature in a tank, your tankless unit will use just the right amount of energy to increase the temperature of the water moving through its piping system at that particular moment.
Your tankless water heater will heat a certain amount of cold water moving through the system at one time. Units are rated by their maximum hot water output in gallons per minute (GPM); once you have reached your unit’s maximum heating ability, opening your faucet further to increase the flow of water will not increase the water’s temperature, but will actually lower it.
For example, if your tankless water heater produces 3 GPM but the full water pressure in your home is 4 GPM, opening your faucet all the way will provide you with water that’s cooler than the water leaving your tankless heater. Adjusting and/or reducing the flow to match the heating capacity of your tankless water heater is the best way to help your new unit heat water more quickly.
If you are in the Indianapolis area and would like additional information about tankless water heaters or any other home comfort issue, contact the friendly folks at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing today.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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