Are You Ready For A Tankless Water Heater
At Murrayville Plumbing & Heating Ltd. we get a lot of calls from customers that have an older or leaking hot water tank. When its is that time to replace are you ready for a tankless water heater? There are many benefits of going to a tankless water heater but the real question comes to the choice you must make. One thing for sure the upfront cost of a tankless water heater is much higher than a regular hot water tank. That can be easily made up through rebates from Fortis BC and long term savings on your utilities. The bottom line will if you want to bite that bullet and go tankless.
THE PROS TO USING A TANKLESS
There are a variety of advantages to going tankless:
- Long-lasting: Thanks to rugged construction and materials, they typically have a long life expectancy and operating costs are usually very low. Plus, because most models have replaceable parts, there’s less of a long-term impact on the environment.
- Endless hot water: While storage tanks are limited by the size of the tank – as you’re coldly reminded early in the morning after all your kids shower before you do – tankless water heaters can provide continuous hot water as long as there’s fuel or energy to heat it.
- Energy conservation: As soon as water sits in a tank, it begins to lose heat and that means a traditional water heater is continually turning on and off to keep water warm and ready to go. With tankless, because water is heated quickly and only when it’s needed, it’s more energy-efficient. In fact, our condensing models start at an energy factor of 0.94, which means 94% of the fuel is being used to heat the water and only 6% is wasted. A tankless water heater can lower your energy bill.
- Space saving: With the high price of real estate, many of us are tending to live in smaller homes and tighter space means that a giant 40- or 60-gallon storage tank that’s 5 feet high and 2 feet wide isn’t exactly convenient. A tankless water heater, on the other hand, hangs on a wall up and out of the way, providing more usable space on the ground – imagine more space freed up in your cottage, bathroom or basement.
- Reduced eco-impact: Tankless water heaters not only reduce consumption of non-renewable fuel sources, they’re repairable with replaceable parts, unlike traditional water heater tanks that often need to be replaced entirely.
THE CONS TO USING TANKLESS
While the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, there are still a few issues to think about:
- Installation costs: With a switch in any technology, you may pay some initial upfront costs to get a tankless heater, both for the water heater itself and for the installation. Also, tankless water heaters often require new venting and gas lines as part of the installation. However, the additional costs begin to be recovered upon installation, with the energy savings of not constantly re-heating water in a tank.
- Water output: While a 60-gallon tank filled with hot water is definitely wasteful it’s also undeniably convenient, particularly when your household needs include showers, laundry and a dishwasher, often at the same time. A tankless water heater is more efficient but its output is also more limited, which is why it may make sense to install more than one in your home – Murrayville Plumbing offers a variety of models to fit your needs and lifestyle, as well as a recirculating unit that can reduce your water usage.
Are you ready to install a new tankless water heater? Give us a call and we can give you all the information you need. If you require any other plumbing, heating, drainage or gas fitting we are ready with 24 hour emergency services. We serve the entire Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Call the number one trusted name in Langley BC, that is Murrayville Plumbing 778.888.6451