Tankless Hot Water Heaters
What are they and how do they work?
The instantaneous hot water heating systems, or tankless hot water heating systems available on the market today are fantastic ways to save money, reduce energy waste, and can enhance the ease of getting hot water faster.
Benefits:
-
They are small
- Easy to install for trained professionals
- Heat water on demand and as needed only
- Save energy and money
- Next step in creating a more energy efficient, sustainable household.
The hot water heater of a household is one of the top 3 energy-consuming items. Using an instantaneous water heater can reduce that energy consumption by half, and do it without a large start-up cost. This is especially true if you are in the market for a new water heater already.
New hot water tank systems start at around $300 Canadian without installation and go up from there depending on the size of the tank you buy. Instantaneous hot water systems start at $600 Canadian without installation and go up depending on how much hot water you want at any one time. The purchase price is about double, but you will easily save that money on your energy bill in the first year or two. Each additional year will be pure savings in the area of hundreds a year.
Instantaneous hot water heaters and tank hot water heaters are the same in regards to the fact that there are multiple capacities/sizes available, but that's where the similarities stop. Instantaneous water heaters heat water upon demand and heat a certain amount per minute. Some small units heat enough for as much that can come out of a regular bathroom sink tap and are installed under that sink. Other units for the whole house heat enough water per minute to power a shower and a sink or two at the same time. Some units generate enough hot water per minute to have 3 showers running at the same time with sinks and anything else.
Houses that use a lot of hot water will buy a larger tank hot water heater in the beginning and pay the higher bill every month for using a lot of hot water and keeping all the water hot when your not using it. Buying a tankless water heater that can power 3 showers at once will also cost more, as well as the higher monthly bill from more hot water being heated, but the larger systems have levels of heating. It will only heat as much as your asking for, so if you only have 1 shower running, it is only heating that much water. Not making sure there is lots of hot water in case 3 showers are had very close together.
The size of instantaneous systems required depends upon how much hot water you want in any one-minute (flow), not how long you want hot water for because with these heaters you can never run out of hot water. With tank systems, running 3 showers at once is not an option or else each shower needs to be only a couple minutes and the hot water is not consistent. If your household is used to only having one shower at a time even though you have more than one shower, and you already don't use the dishwasher and washing machine while showering, then the one appliance house units are perfect. If you want to experience hot water like you have never before, then you can buy a bigger unit and it will heat enough every minute to run a couple showers and a dishwasher at the same time. Either way, there is no water being heated and no energy wasted while you're not directly asking for hot water (i.e., not showering or washing).
All instantaneous hot water systems are currently powered by electricity, natural gas, or propane. Some units can be Propane and Natural Gas so the buyer can choose. Electric ones are only electric. These systems do use a good amount of electricity or gas when they are in use so a venting system to vent the hot air is required in most cases. In some instances this hot air can be used for other purposes reducing energy waste. | 
