In the past few years, everyone has looked for the best way to save money at home. People are buying CFL light bulbs, shopping for energy-efficient windows, and finding small ways to cut down on their electric bill. One of the best ways to do this is to get an electric tankless water heater.
With regular water heaters, homeowners are constantly heating their water in a huge tank in their basement. This is inefficient and wasteful in light of alternative options available. In general, going tankless will give homeowners increased energy efficiency, lower operating costs, save on space, and extend the lifespan of the appliance.
The first thing homeowners want to know is how much energy, and therefore money, they are going to save. Initially, homeowners will be spending more money to get a tankless heater and all the plumbing that it requires. Traditional tank heaters start off as cheap as $300, but they can go up to $1,000 depending on the different options available.
However, a tankless heater will start at $1,000 and go up from there, making a huge price difference than if homeowners were to go traditional. Even though the first cost is more, the tankless heater will make up for the extra cost as they use less energy overall. The amount of money needed up front is not possible for everyone, however.
Operating costs of a tankless heater will be less over time as opposed to monthly electric and water bills every month for a year. Homeowners save over time because they are not wasting money on standby heat that is heating water sitting in a tank for someone to use.
Tank heaters are constantly losing heat because the water is idly sitting. With tankless, homeowners do not lose the heat being used for the water.
A tank water heater will last between 10 and 13 years while tankless water heaters can last up to 20 years. When homeowners do not plan on moving for a while, getting a tankless heater will save them money on expensive replacement fees. If homeowners do plan on moving before 20 years, having a tankless heater drastically raises the value of the home.
A huge, and not often talked about, advantage to a tankless heater is the amount of space homeowners will save in their basement. Traditional heaters have a 40 to 60 gallon capacity. This makes them around 60 inches tall and 24 inches wide. Tanks can take up a lot of room that, in smaller homes, is very difficult to come by.
Tankless heaters are usually the size of a large computer. On average, tankless heaters measure 20 inches wide and 28 inches tall. They are also no more than 10 inches deep. Imagine a little box hanging on the wall. That is all the space a heater takes up.
The only major disadvantage to the tankless heater is limiting output for big and busy families. Traditional tank heaters store 40 to 60 gallons of hot water at a time and can reheat more supply quickly so hot water does not run out as easily. This allows large families to do multiple hot water tasks, like shower and laundry, at the same time without running out of hot water.
These heaters can supply a couple gallons of hot water at all time, but they also can only supply that much at a time. So if you have a huge, busy family that needs to take multiple showers at the same time, run the dishwasher, and do laundry, a tankless might not output enough for that need.