According to the U.S. Department of Energy, heating water for bathing, dishes, laundry and other uses comprises between 15 and 25 percent of the average household’s energy bills. In a conventional storage tank water heating system, a large portion of that money goes to keeping hot water ready 24/7, even when you’re not using it for hours at a time.
How tankless water heating systems work
Tankless water heating systems heat water on demand, rather than having a tank of water ready at all times. In a tankless system, water passes through a superheated fixture, delivering heated water in around two seconds. Tankless water systems are available using electricity, natural gas or propane.
Benefits of a tankless water heating system
There are many benefits to switching to a tankless water heater. Just a few of these include:
- Cost savings. As discussed above, tankless systems use much less energy than traditional water heating systems, as a result of no standby heat loss.
- Unlimited hot water. With a tankless system, you’ll never run out of hot water in the middle of your shower, provided you’ve sized the system properly.
- Space savings. Most tankless systems hang on the wall and take up much less floor space than a traditional water tank.
- Long life. The average tankless water heating system lasts around 20 years, compared to the 12-year average life span of a traditional water heater.
Considerations when adding a tankless water heater
Though adding a tankless water system offers many benefits, there are a few things you should consider before making the change. Tankless systems work best when there are just one or two demands on the system at the same time. If you have a big family where someone may be showering while someone else is doing dishes and someone else is doing laundry, your system probably will need more than one tankless unit, perhaps a whole-house tankless heater and one or more point-of-use tankless units.
If you’d like to discuss replacing the water heater in your Indianapolis area home with a tankless water heating system, please contact us at Mowery Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. We’ve been helping homeowners in the Indianapolis area with their water heaters for more than 40 years.
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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