Choosing a tankless water heater can seem like an overwhelming task for those who are unfamiliar with the technologies available. Consumers must wade through numerous decisions including choosing between electric and gas units, deciding on a brand, and then choosing which model will work best for their application.
Choosing between gas and electric tankless water heaters will depend on a number of factors. The first and most obvious is whether you have the utility available in your home. If you have both gas and electric available you will need to compare the two power sources. The main perk of gas tankless water heaters is that they will often be able to provide you with a higher flow rate than electric units. Aside from this, electric tankless water heaters usually make the most sense as they are often cheaper to purchase, don’t require any venting, last about twice as long as gas tankless, and are more efficient.
Once you have decided on a power source for your tankless water heater your next step is to determine which brand you would prefer. There are numerous brands available on the market today, with more coming all the time. Important things to consider when choosing a brand are the reputation of the company, the warranty on the product, the and the features available. Thermostatic control, which is the ability of the tankless water heater to modulate power output and give a consistent temperature, is also important, especially for those people on wells.
Determining which model will work for your application requires a couple of steps. Tankless water heaters are based on flow rate and temperature rise. The first thing to do is to measure your incoming water temperature. Simply turn on a cold water faucet, wait until the water goes cold and take the temperature of the water. Most people shower at between 100 and 105 degrees. The difference between your incoming water temperature and 105 is the temperature rise that you will need.
To determine the flow rate that you will require, decide what you would like to have running at one time. If you think you might have two showers going at once, turn on both showers and time how long each one takes to fill a 1 gallon container. Sixty seconds, divided by the number of seconds it took to fill the container will give you the flow rate of that application in gallons per minute. If you had more than one application going, simply add the flow rates together to determine the maximum flow rate required.
Each model should have information on what temperature rise it can provide at different flow rates. This should allow you to easily determine which model is best for your application. If you are still having difficulty, simply contact the retailer and they should be able to assist you.
Choosing a tankless water heater can be overwhelming, but if you break it down into smaller steps it can greatly simplify the task. Choose the power source that will be best for you, then the brand, and finally the model.