Department of Energy Gives the Thumbs-Up to Tankless Water Heaters

Posted: Mar 12, 2013
Author: Minyard Plumbing, Inc.

Do you know that water heating can account for as much as 25 percent of the energy consumption in your home? You could lower this somewhat by turning the thermostat down when you’re out of town, but the best option to achieve long-term savings is to replace a conventional storage tank heater with a tankless (also called on-demand) water heater.

As their name suggests, tankless water heaters are just that – they don’t have storage tanks. Unlike storage tank heaters, they avoid standby losses because they only heat water when it is needed. Cold water travels through a pipe to the unit, where it is heated by either an electric element or a gas burner - like this:

You don’t have to wait for a tank to fill before taking a shower. Actually, tankless water heaters deliver an endless supply of hot water, so be careful that your five-minute shower doesn’t become 20 minutes of wasteful consumption!

According to the US Department of Energy, tankless water heaters are more energy efficient in homes that require less hot water. For example, in a home that uses around 40 gallons (or less) every day, a tankless water heater saves 34 percent more energy than a conventional unit. And it can save up to 14 percent more energy in a home that has a high demand for hot water – say 84 gallons a day. Moreover, if tankless water heaters are installed at every hot water outlet, your energy saving could be anything from 27 – 50 percent.