What is a Tankless Water Heater?

One of options we had to choose recently was the type of water heater we wanted in our new home.  The standard choice is a Tankless Water Heater. The model offered is the Navien Tankless Gas Water Heater.  We chose an upgrade to a larger unit that also has recirculating technology.

How Does It Work?

A tankless water heater does not store water in a tank like traditional water heaters.  Instead, cold water passes through the a small gas powered flame (heat exchanger) in the heater, and heats it immediately.  Tankless water heaters must have outside venting as well, so the gases from the heating elements are vented outside. 

 

Good Things.

Tankless water heaters save space.  Instead of the old heaters that look like minature silos taking up space in your garage that needs to be put up on blocks, a tankless water heater can be mounted and is much smaller comparatively.

Tankless water heaters are also more energy-efficient.  Instead of maintaining a water tank, tankless waters are more energy efficient as they do not require additional energy to keep the water in the tank warm.  They require less energy, since water is heated instantly, instead of sitting in a tank that has to be kept hot. 

The water comes out HOT!  Yes, it takes the same amount of time for the water to travel through the pipes, but the water comes out hot faster than traditional systems.  For any of Betty's friends who have lived in Japan, you may be familiar with a smaller tankless water heater that instantly heated up your hot water for showering or washing dishes, and if you remember, it comes out piping hot, really fast!!

You may save some money too.  PG&E, our local utility company offers a rebate for Hot Energy Savings. 

Pacific Gas and Electric Rebate for Energy Efficient Water Heaters

Also looking into if we can get a federal tax credit.

It does kind of look like a Lego block.