One of the modern conveniences that your household likely can’t live without is hot water. Whether it’s used for taking a hot shower or cleaning the dishes, having hot water is a necessity of our day-to-day lives. If you’re in the market for a new water heater for your home in Camp Verde, AZ, you may want to consider investing in a tankless model.
What Is a Tankless Water Heater?
Most people are familiar with traditional tank water heaters. These have a large storage tank filled with water that gets heated continually until there is a use for it. Tankless water heaters do not have that large cylindrical storage tank. Instead, hot water is delivered on demand. They only function when you turn on your hot water faucet. As water passes through the heater, it is warmed to your desired temperature and then sent directly to your plumbing fixture.
Enhanced Energy Efficiency
When comparing the operating efficiency of a traditional tank water heater to a new tankless water heater, there is a very stark difference between the two. Tankless water heaters have a much higher efficiency rating because they only come on when you need hot water. Traditional water heaters are constantly drawing power as they’re keeping the water in their storage tank warm.
Lower Energy Bills
With energy being one of the most expensive bills for a household after the mortgage payment, it’s no wonder that homeowners are always looking for ways to reduce their energy consumption. Switching from an outdated tank water heater to a new tankless water heater can be a great tactic for lowering your consumption. Since these tankless models use much less energy to operate, they can be a great long-term investment for your household.
Tax Incentives
While tankless water heaters can initially be a bit more expensive than the traditional tank option, they also make you eligible to receive a tax incentive from the federal government. Under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, designated ENERGY STAR-certified units allow you to claim a significant amount as a credit on your tax return for the year in which you purchase the device. This can help you to recoup some of the up-front cost of buying the tankless water heater. You may even find that local utility companies and governments offer rebates and incentives as well.
Longer Life Span
When you upgrade to a tankless water heater, you can enjoy knowing it’s going to work for you about twice as long as a traditional water heater. Tankless water heaters can last up to 20 years assuming they receive proper care and upkeep.
Less Space Required
Another advantage of a tankless water heater is that it’s much smaller in size than a traditional model. There’s no need to take up a lot of floor space to house a tank. Rather, a tankless water heater is a small rectangular box that gets screwed onto the wall, which allows it to sit up and out of the way. You won’t have to worry about giving up much of your living space with a tankless water heater. Consequently, they’re often ideal for those living in a small home.
Endless Hot Water
One of the most desirable benefits of a tankless water heater is that it can supply you with a virtually endless amount of heated water. Since it doesn’t have a storage tank, this water heater will continue to heat up water as it flows through your water lines. It doesn’t matter if you run your faucet for a minute or two hours; you can enjoy having hot water the entire time.
Fewer Maintenance Requirements
Just as with a traditional water heater, a tankless water heater needs to receive annual maintenance service to stay in good condition. Apart from having a professional come in to perform this service, you also need to make sure that you’re regularly washing the filter inside of the water heater. Ideally, you want to clean this filter every one to two months, depending on your water usage. That said, you won’t have to worry about flushing sediment from a tank or replacing a corroded anode rod.
Fuel Type
If you’ve come to the conclusion that a tankless water heater is a great investment for your home, there are various factors you’ll want to take into consideration when choosing the perfect unit. One of the first decisions you’ll have to make is the type of fuel that the system uses. Tankless water heaters can run on electricity, natural gas, or propane.
Selecting the appropriate fuel is going to depend on the fuel prices in your area as well as the availability of different fuel types. If you already have a natural gas hookup at your home and your natural gas is cheaper than electricity, you’ll probably want to choose a natural gas tankless water heater.
GPM Rating
Another very important factor to consider is the GPM or gallons per minute rating. This is somewhat analogous to the capacity of a traditional water heater. A tankless water heater’s GPM will tell you how many gallons of hot water it can produce in a given minute. To determine the appropriate output for your new water heater, it’s important to think about all the different fixtures that you may be running at one time in your home.
All your appliances and fixtures should have a flow rating. You’ll want to add up the flow rate on all the different items to get a minimum flow rate for your water heater. Our plumbing professionals can help assess your home to determine the appropriate size of tankless water heater necessary to meet your needs.
You never want to just guess on the appropriate GPM, as choosing one that is too low can result in lukewarm water coming out of all your fixtures. It’s also important to take your future water demands into consideration when choosing a GPM size. You don’t want to have to upgrade your new water heater again in a couple of years because you finally got around to putting on that new addition.
UEF Rating
As with any new appliance, you’ll also want to take the efficiency rating into account when determining the appropriate model for your residence. When it comes to tankless water heaters, their efficiency rating is given in the form of a uniform energy factor, or UEF for short. The higher the UEF rating, the more efficient the system will be and the less money it’s going to cost you to run. While units with the highest UEF ratings are going to be the most expensive to purchase, they can save you a bundle on utility bills throughout their entire life span.
Local Experts on Tankless Water Heaters
At Goettl's High Desert Mechanical, we’re ready to assist you with tankless water heater installation, maintenance, or repair, and we’d be happy to arrange a consultation about making the switch. In fact, we offer a complete line of plumbing services for the entire Camp Verde community. Call us today to book an appointment with one of our plumbing professionals.
