Tankless water heaters have quite a lot of benefits when it comes to heating your home. Over the past decade or so, manufacturers have made improvements with the technology used to run tankless water heaters, along with making developments with the features that they offer. Our expert Guelph plumbing services team has some tips to help guide you when buying a tankless water heater for water heater installation.
ENERGY STAR Certification
If you want to be sure that your tankless water heater is high-performance and highly efficient, make sure that it has ENERGY STAR certification. It means that the water heater has met high-efficiency standards. ENERGY STAR tankless water heaters use around 30% less energy than the traditional water storage heater, which will save you money over time. Look for a UEF rating of between 2.3 and 4 for an electric tankless heater. For a gas run heater, it should have an EF rating of at least 0.90 or 0.87 for the UEF rating.
Low and Ultra-Low NOx Emissions
You can find some tankless heaters that work to lower nitrogen oxide emissions, which is beneficial for the environment.
Condensing Technology
A condensing water heater has a secondary heat exchanger that can recover any energy and heat that may otherwise be lost through venting. This feature can be a bit more expensive but it is much more efficient.
Recirculation Pumps
While a tankless heater is known for giving you hot water on demand, you still have that bit of lag between turning your tap on and getting hot water, more so when the tap is furthest from the water heater. With a recirculation pump, you can significantly reduce your waiting time.
Wi-Fi Compatibility
While not everyone needs Wi-Fi compatibility in their tankless heater, it can be a helpful option. It allows you to use smart technology to control the settings of your heater remotely, like adjusting the temperature of the water, keeping track of fuel consumption, monitoring how much water is being used, and getting updates on maintenance.
Smart Preheating Technology
Some smart technologies are able to keep track of the peak usage times, which allows them to make sure that your hot water is ready when you are.
Modulating Burners
A modulating burner saves energy by adjusting the water heaters burner to meet demand. For instance, when you are only using one tap to get hot water, the burner will reduce its output and vice versa.
Digital Displays
Having a digital display is another way of letting you monitor and operate your water heater. Depending on the technology used for the display, you may be able to view and adjust the temperature setting, track the heater’s flow rate, change between different modes, monitor your water pressure, and get alerts about required maintenance.
Considerations of Using a Tankless Water Heater
While there are many benefits to using a tankless water heater, there are a couple of downsides to consider as well:
- Limited Flow Rates – may not be able to keep up with high demand. You can fix this issue by making sure that you have the right size heater for your home consumption use.
- Cost more than a storage-tank water heater – however, the amount that you save over time can offset this cost.
- Higher cost to install – tankless heaters often use a different diameter pipe and need special venting. While there isn’t really a way around the added cost, making sure you enlist the help of an expert, such as our Guelph plumbing services to install your water heater, will ensure that the installation has been done properly.
If you want more information regarding tankless water heater installation, give our expert Guelph plumbing services team a call today!