Plumber St. Augustine – Tankless Water Heaters

Is a tankless water heater a right choice for you? It might or might not be.

If you’re going to do a remodel especially a master bathroom and change from your old bathtub to a larger soaking tub or a shower with multiple shower heads, a tankless water heater is by far the way to go just because you have endless hot water. Not that we want to waste water but you’ll never run out filling up a big bathtub.

One of the benefits is they only heat when you’re using water. When they are running they are going to take more gas or electricity, but they are not consistently heating a large tank of water like a typical water heater will.

Another benefit is they are much smaller. They are designed to go in a standard set space 14 wide. They are generally about 35 to 40 inches tall and about 6 inches in depth, so they don’t take up a lot of room. If you have an existing water heater that’s in a closet you might want to use that space for a kitchen remodel or a bathroom remodel. You can mount that tankless water heater in that space.

A typical install cost by a licensed plumber with the purchase of the water heater is $2,500 to $4,500 dollars, depending on the size you want to get and they go by gallons per minute and how much they will do. If you are doing just one bathroom, you may get one that’s only 3 1/2 gallons per minute. If you’re going to do the whole house you can go up to 6 or 7 gallons per minute. Again they are a little more conservative on the energy.  So they can save you money in the long run.

Having endless hot water sounds fantastic, but unless you know what’s involved it might not work for you.

It all depends on a few factors that will be described here. Please use this information to educate yourself on what to look for when considering a tankless water heater. Knowing these things will help you understand what qualified, licensed plumbers are looking for to see if installing tankless water will work for you.

There are 2 types of tankless water heaters, electric or gas. Each has some basic requirements that make the difference on whether or not it will work for you.

Let’s start with electric tankless water heater.

Electric tankless water heaters need a lot of power to run. Think how much room for more fuses or breakers you have in your electrical panel. Are you maxed out now with no room for any more circuits? Most models take 4-6 40-amp breakers, so consult an electrician if you are unsure. Electric tankless water heaters may be your only option if you have no gas available to your home.

Next, gas tankless water heaters……..

Gas tankless water heaters are the most common type installed. However there are a few things to make sure you have, if you want to know if it will work for you. Whether natural or LP gas, as long as you have gas coming into your home for other appliances you can rest assure, as far as the gas requirement goes, you are covered, it may have to connect to a large enough size gas pipe or a larger size regulator, but it can be done.

The other hurdle is the venting. Some models that are less efficient can still use a chimney, but are used only when there is just no other way to vent out to an outside wall. The best and most efficient tankless water heaters require 2 PVC pipes, one exhaust and one intake pipe to work, so as long as you can get to an outside wall you should be good to go.

In Florida we actually base a lot of them outside so you don’t see them in the house at all. It’s just a metal access panel outdoors where if you needed to service it you can get to it from the outside.

Tankless water heaters are a great way to save money. Go thru the tips above to see if it is possible for you install this type of water heater. If you would like more information
on tankless water heaters you can always contact me via THIS FORM on the website you are on right now.