A payback analysis each power conscious consumer ought to consider
There are a lot of tankless water heater manufactures claiming a wide range of savings on your subsequent water heating bill. A quick search on the net will show you a percent reduction of up 80%.
Even so the question nonetheless exists: how considerably would you truly save on your water heating bill using a tankless water heater?
Most importantly what is the payback or ROI of the average tankless water heater and how does it evaluate to a classic tank hot water system? Let us try to answer these concerns.
Annual expenses related with water heaters of any type are divided into 3 categories:
1.Power costs to heat the water from its incoming temperature to the desired temperature.2.Standby power charges: in the case of conventional tank heaters, standby cost is the price of the energy to maintain the water hot in the tank all day. For a tankless water heater standby expense is the expense of energy when the tankless water heater is running idle (minimal).three.Installation charges: This is the expense to install the heater and all its piping method
So let us examine these fees for each conventional tank heaters and tankless water heaters in detail.
Typical Annual Traditional Tank Heater Charges
1.Annual hot water demand: 87 gallons / day x 335 days / year = 29,145 gallons/ year.two.Energy to heat up 1 gallon of water from 57 oF to 110 oF according to the multi-housing laundry association is .2 kWh three.The annual energy requirement of heating the water from 57 oF to 110 oF for an American household is: 29,145 gallons/ year x .two kWh/ gallon = 5,900 kWh/ year four.The expense of five,900 kWh: 5,900 kWh/ year x $ .11/ kWh = $ 649/ year5.The cost to preserve 1 gallon of water hot is $ .003So, the cost to keep 21,145 gallons of water hot (standby): 21,945 gallons/ year x $ .003/ gallon = $ 87
So the total annual expense of heating water employing a classic tank program is $ 649 + $ 85 or $ 736.
Typical annual tankless water heater fees
1.Average power to heat water to 110 oF is six.2 kW 2.Typical every day usage is 1.5 hours3.Daily power required to heat the water to 110F is: 1.5 hours x six.2 kW = 9.3 kWh four.Annual charges to heat water employing a tankless water heater is: 9.five kWh/ day x 335 days/ year x $ .11/kWh = $ 343 5.Typical annual idle cost for a tankless water heater: $ 17
So the total expense of heating water employing a tankless water heater is $ 343 + $ 17 or $ 360.
What do these numbers mean?
1.The percent annual savings employing a tankless water heater over a traditional tank system is 50% or $ 375 C2.This quantity ($ 375) is equal to the cost of an average mid-size tankless water heater. Please note: Installation charges were located to be comparable for each tank and tankless systems, ~$ 150.3.In addition there is the prospective for tax credits for any tankless water heater. (Please go to http://www.energy.gov/taxbreaks.htm for more information ) 4.Given the longer life of a tankless water heater at 22 years versus a tank method ten years there is the potential of saving over $ four,000 more than the extended term.
Notes:
1.The incoming water temperature from which the department of power (DOE) calculations are created, has been established at 57F. In many parts of the U.S. one particular does not usually expertise inlet temperatures this cost year round nonetheless, we employed 57F as our inlet temperature. 110 oF is the typical household hot water operating temperature. This translates to 53 degrees of temperature rise for both tank and tankless water heating systems two.According to the U.S. department of power (July 2006) the typical American household consumes 87 gallons of hot water per day 3.Average price of electrical energy for the United States at the time of writing, is $ .11 kWh, as per the DOE.
Disclaimer: The data on the program, product or material presented herein is supplied for informational purposes only. Please ensure that you check with a certified technician prior to installing a tankless water heater or any suggestions place forward by e-Wise Living.There are no warranties, either expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy or completeness of this information
Shelley Moore has spent over 15 years in the health and wellness market. She is a certified Individual Trainer and Health and Wellness Specialist and has traveled extensively, studying substitute forms of medicine and ancient healing strategies. Her site http://www.e-smartliving.com provides healthful, protected house items that aid individuals lead a life complete of energy and vitality.
If you have had a reason to think about water heaters lately you have probably heard a lot about tankless water heaters. In the last couple of years the tankless water heater producers have really stepped up their promotional campaigns and spent some huge bucks developing customer awareness and interest in their products. Tankless water heaters have been portrayed as providing massive energy savings and endless hot water. How significantly of this is true?
Just The Details, Ma'am
Right now we are going to begin cutting by way of some of the advertising hype and uncover out exactly how tankless water heaters stack up in the power savings arena. Just how effective are they, anyway?
Electric Tankless Water Heaters
Now is a good time to go ahead and say that we will be discussing gas (or LP) tankless heaters. Electric tankless heaters genuinely make no sense 99% of the time. They just don't do the job in most cases and usually demand substantial (and high-priced) rewiring. Electricity is really a fairly expensive way to heat water in most instances.
While we are on the topic of electric water heaters lets clear up one particular far more issue. Even though most electric tank kind water heaters are rated with a higher efficiency aspect than equivalent gas models, they are not usually an good option to lower your energy bills.
It's accurate that electric water heaters are technically a lot more effective, since there is no power wasted up the flue pipe widespread to all gas water heaters. The problem is that, at least for now in most areas, the electricity required to operate a water heater expenses much more than either natural gas or LP. So even though it takes much less energy, the energy utilized expenses far more. Sufficient mentioned.
Gas Tankless Water Heaters
Let's talk about the feasible energy savings with gas tankless water heaters. It is a truth that gas tankless water heaters are rated virtually 50% far more effective than a normal tank sort gas water heater. The purpose tankless heaters beat tank type in efficiency is since there is no power employed keeping a tank complete of water hot. The only time any power is utilized is when hot water is truly getting utilised. As soon as the faucet is turned off the heater stops heating the water. This is a single of the massive selling points for tankless water heaters.
It is Not All Hype
So it is not all hype, tankless water heaters truly are far more effective, but the payback period that is typically stated in advertising and marketing literature is almost certainly based on the very best case scenario. In the true planet, the much more frequently hot water is utilised the smaller sized the gap in efficiency in between tankless and tank kind water heaters. This is due to the fact there is much less "non use" or "temperature maintenance" energy use as the frequency increases of "hot water usage events" (a fancy way of saying a hot water faucet was turned on).
Basically, if you are using hot water any type of heater will be utilizing power. It takes the exact same quantity of BTUs to heat a gallon of water in either type of water heater. In plain English, the more usually you use hot water the much less a tankless will save you on your gas bill.
Check Your Usage Pattern
So, are tankless water heaters genuinely more much more efficient? The answer, strictly speaking is, yes. How significantly a lot more effective depends on your individual usage pattern. If you are thinking about going tankless you must most likely pay focus to when and how frequently you use hot water now. The more regularly you use hot water, the less funds you will save in power expenses.
Copyright 2008 Bryan Stevens
Bryan Stevens is a Licensed Master Plumber and Certified Green Plumber with a knack for teaching homeowners how to do their personal fundamental plumbing repairs. He has created a very helpful mini-course known as "How To Unclog A Toilet And Other DIY Plumbing Ideas". Claim your Free copy here: How To Unclog A Toilet
The province's first "energy saving management advice," introduced draft: proposed residents with solar water heaters Yesterday (9), the provincial government held a "Paul summer peaks in 2005, the province of Guangzhou to promote energy-saving power supply cum experience working meeting", the reporter learned from the conference, our province yesterday (9) issued the "Guangdong Province to energy saving management view "of the draft (the" Opinion "), for the first time on light engineering, residential electricity requirements in detail. Organs and institutions: the promotion of energy-saving lampsUnder the "Opinion" proposal, the province's administrative organs, institutions, office lighting to conserve electricity during office hours to maximize the use of natural light, less use of lighting, promote the use of energy-saving lamp, out of incandescent; office equipment out 1 hour or more, the power to turn off equipment; to reduce air conditioning electricity load in summer air temperature controlled at 26 or more. Large industrial and commercial enterprises are electricity, is the top priority of saving, "opinions" in the proposed industrial enterprises to rationalize production processes, production schedules; production preparation work can be moved forward or wrong until after the peak period; peak periods, which can interrupt production equipment or production lines in the peak averting; arrangements during the summer peak season, non-continuous production or secondary production, have a greater impact on the load demand control equipment used. "Opinions" also requires hotels and restaurants catering to as many as possible of cooking gas, oil and make fuel and less electricity. Residents: try to use the fan peak"Opinions" for the first time the family is given to the residents saving proposals put forward should be to establish a strong public awareness of energy saving, energy-saving lamps wherever possible, advised residents to purchase energy-saving appliances should be chosen frequency products, promoting the use of solar energy water heater. During peak hours (18:30 ~ 21:30) no or little use of air conditioning, full use of electric fans; air temperature controlled at 26 or more, shutting doors and windows. Landscape lighting: the peak to 50% saving"Opinions" in one of the most concern is the clear provisions of the "city of light engineering" of the electricity procedures to provide for peak hours (18:30 ~ 21:30), all of the urban landscape lighting, road street, plaza and other leisure activities to reduce lighting consumption by 50% (major section, except public holidays). And the entertainment, restaurants during peak hours (18:30 ~ 21:30) by 30% of neon or light bulbs. In addition, the province's business class and residential area of neon in the peak hours (18:30 ~ 21:30) all closed down. Various administrative units, night landscape lighting be shut down. Saving incentives: an appropriate target to increase electricity"Suggestions," on energy saving, energy-saving measures for the implementation of effective ground-level city, the modest increase in its index for electricity, reduce their peak load shifting program, otherwise it will reduce its target for electricity consumption, to increase their peak shifting with power program. On energy saving, energy-saving measures to implement effective and obvious effect of the industrial enterprises, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, entertainment and so on, will give priority to ensuring its electricity, reducing the time of its peak load shifting. Violation of energy conservation, energy-saving measures in industrial enterprises, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, places of entertainment, for the first time will be given a written warning, a deadline for rectification; second time will be limited to the implementation of peak load shifting power one day; the third time violation restrictions will be implemented in peak load shifting power for 3 days.
I am a professional writer from China Product, which contains a great deal of information about $ keyword_li, welcome to visit!
The energy we get directly from the sun is known as solar energy. Six percent of the sun’s heat that falls on the earth is reflected back. When you bask on a beach, you take in solar radiation. Similarly, solar energy technology stores the sun’s energy for lighting, heating water and spaces, cooking and generating electricity.
The first solar cooker was probably used by the astronomer John Herschel in the 1830s. He used a box that stored heat from the sun to cook food.
The photovoltaic or solar cell made of silicon alloy was invented in 1954 by scientists of Bell laboratories. Photovoltaic cells use a simple mechanism. They can be used in the form of different kinds of batteries in watches and calculators.
A solar power plant converts solar energy into electricity on a large scale. Solar thermal collectors are used to heat water. The steam generated is converted into mechanical energy in a turbine that moves a generator to produce electricity.
Solar energy is abundant, free and available to several parts of the world. Farmers in India use solar driers to dry their crops before strong them. Solar energy is clean since it does not give out greenhouse gases. But it is erratic and differs according to the location and season. Cloudy or foggy weather affects the working of photovoltaic cell. It is still not as cheap to produce as other forms of energy. Since photovoltaic cells are run on silicon, they to lead some wastage.
Advantages of using solar using
Once the cost of installation is recovered, solar energy is completely free.
It is a clean form of energy, inexhaustible and does not cause pollution.
Solar lighting system, water heaters and cookers can be installed in remote areas, making them practical and cost effective.
The solar systems are maintenance-free and last for decades.
Disadvantages of using solar energy
Its initial costs are sometimes very high.
Most equipment needs a large area for installation.
The presence of clouds or pollution in the air affects the sunlight and hence the solar energy falling over an area.
Sunlight is not available all the time so the energy needs to be stored which is again a problem.
Written by madugundu rukmini handloom weaver master. femous for sarees.
www.campingshowerworld.com This video shows the Eccotemp L5 water heater combined with the Flojet LF122202A Marine Automatic Demand Water Pump in action. This is a quick test that we did to be able to show on video what it looks like when the Eccotemp L5 and the Flojet LF122202A are hooked up together. A demand water pump is normally used in small boats and RVs to provide water pressure to the sink, toilet, etc. but a lot of people have discovered the usefulness of using these water pumps with the Eccotemp L5 to provide excellent water pressure when a garden faucet is not available so we decided to offer both products for sale at our store CampingShowerWorld.com to save you the trouble of finding a water pump that works well with the Eccotemp L5. Why is the Flojet LF122202A perfect for the Eccotemp L5? - The Eccotemp L5's ideal water pressure is between 20-80 PSI and the Flojet LF122202A is rated at 35 PSI which fits perfectly. It pumps water fast enough for good water pressure but not too fast as to not waste too much water in case you've got a limited supply. - It measures less than 6'1/2" and weighs only 1.3 lbs so it's not cumbersome. - Built-in pressure switch starts and stops the pump automatically when soliciting water(Turning on shower head) - Able to run dry for an extended period of time so no risk of damaging the pump when you run out of water at the source. - Includes built-in thermal protector Where can you use it? The Eccotemp normally uses a garden faucet ...
[With Solar Energy Water heater technology has matured, its security, Environmental protection Economical, and popular among consumers. Vigorously promote the national situation of ecological civilization construction, solar energy products will undoubtedly be very useful for ecological construction. In order to guide the consumer awareness of the advantages of solar water heaters, active use of solar water heater purchase, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Deqing Consumer Protection Consumer Protection Committee of the Joint Committee, Wuxing Consumer Protection Committee carried out a solar water heater consumer survey. By understanding the consumer present situation on the consumption of solar water heater and the existing problems so as to operate the relevant departments standardizing the order of the proposed solar water heater, solar water heaters to promote consumption of healthy and rapid development. One investigation The solar water heater consumer survey of Deqing County Consumer Protection Commission by the organization within the county staff to implement a total of 300 surveys issued, 300 copies of the actual recovery, recovery of 100%. Meanwhile, the Wuxing Consumer Protection Committee also organized 11 solar water heater Sell (Production) companies, 30 community residents were investigated, mainly home and the telephone survey. Second, the findings Survey results from the consumer perspective, like the installation of solar water heaters, 87%; have installed 36%, 41% are ready to install, because of housing or property issues that can not be installed, 23%; its quality is satisfactory accounted for 61%, 10% dissatisfied. 29% of people think that the installation of solar water heaters save money, 52% thought life was easy, 19% green. From the survey of 11 enterprises summary of the circumstances, the total annual sales of more than Taiwan in 4700. There are over 1,000 North Building, Huzhou, Zhejiang, Huzhou Wuxing Run Young heater operations department, Huzhou cubic Solar Technology Co., Ltd. 3, less than 100 have four. 11 operators to provide solar water heaters more than 20 brands. Comparison of the large consumer brand recognition. From the survey of 30 community point of view, the new district's households install solar water heaters more than the old liberated areas, such as Bi Chao Yuan reached 27%, while the old district is relatively small, as the Hongfeng a community only 13.7%. 3, problems Questionnaire on recall of this arrangement, the current solar water heater in the sale, use and other aspects of the following major issues: (A) of the housing structure or residential property management that can not be installed. As the solar water heater is a new product developed in recent years, therefore, not considered before the construction of solar water heater installation, use and other issues, some residential property management, that the installation of solar water heaters, water Luanla affect communities up and down, and some are simply roof not designed specifically for the installation location, so not allowed to install solar water heaters. (2) propaganda is not enough, consumers are not familiar with the relevant knowledge. At present, government, media publicity on the solar water heater is not enough emphasis on the solar water heater business-related expertise propaganda enough, consumers do not understand knowledge, including solar water heater works, how to choose and install solar water heaters, use during the relevant precautions. (C) of the brand is not focused, more service problems. Solar water heaters on the market is not enough focus on the brand, likely to cause scattered after-sales service, it is difficult to set up a service point scale to provide professional service to consumers, competition in the market is difficult to base, resulting in after-sales service can not keep up. Service problems mainly in one door is not timely; second is unreasonable, no specific standards; Third, maintenance staff, sense of duty. 4, comments and suggestions For the current solar water heaters in the production, sale, installation, problems in using the process, especially the following recommendations: (A) advocacy and support efforts to strengthen. Government should support consumers to use solar water heaters, issued favorable publicity, use of solar water heaters support policy. Media, enterprises should increase the solar water heater propaganda, engage in more targeted, thematic campaigns, so that consumers fully understand the use of solar water heater Energy, Environmental, economic and other advantages of solar water heaters fully familiar with the knowledge, confidence to buy solar water heaters. (B) the construction and property matching to further improve. Currently the rate is still low solar water heater installed, to take into account other than the top of households can enjoy the benefits of solar energy, green building sector provisions from the policy measures on real estate development company, in the standard design and housing construction, the pre-solar water heater solar water pipes and the installation location, in order to facilitate the owners choose, they will not affect the residential environment, such as the popularity of solar water heaters to create more opportunities, but also to provide consumers with more and better choices. (C) the ability of consumers to improve purchase. Consumers in the purchase to pay attention: First, select the monopoly of reputable dealers. Second, selecting a brand, usually a good brand factory are more focus on product quality and after-sales service. Third, the tube is not the more coarse the better. Too rough too long, the invalidity of the water tube increase the heat radiation from outside at night would be great the next day to enter the work state will be very slow. Fourth, the stent design and materials to understand. Support the overall structure of solar water heaters designed, strong, and materials should have sufficient strength, rigidity and resistance to corrosion to ensure long-term adequate load-bearing capacity. 5 is the right choice of solar water heater is installed. Consumers should pay attention during the installation check the installation condition (solidity), to avoid the impact of the roof by the wind. (D) of the service to further place. Operators to integrity management, focused brand, focusing on manufacturers of brand quality, to select the size and strong technical force, capable of setting up a maintenance point of local brands to provide consumers with quality and cheap solar water heater, to provide professional after-sales service. Consumers in the course of problems, maintenance personnel should be home in time maintenance fee in accordance with specific criteria to meet the needs of consumers, to further improve service levels.
I am a professional editor from China Product, and my work is to promote a free online trade platform.http://www.himfr.com/ contain a great deal of information aboutlateral stepper, yoga towelwelcome to visit!
Channel Recommended: HC Trade 100 Thanksgiving activitiesNew standard provides up to 84% thermal efficiency of gas Water Heater Be listedWater heater market after years of grappling, not enough time to form a water heater, gas water heaters and Solar water heaters Third of the world situation, it popped up a can of air Heat pump water heater This makes the water heater market has been very busy even more dazzling.
The face of all types of water heaters, dazzled by the you wait for them to pick only one kind of water heater market, like do not have to buy a home directly. But the market to meet the needs of various people, various types of water heaters, innovation, new technologies continue to refresh the knowledge base of your appliances, water heaters said his various good, which makes the use of water heaters for years Which in the end you are still not clear water heater is more suitable for you. In fact, to understand the various types of water heaters is not difficult, this month we launched the "water heater comprehensive look good" to use from the water heater cost, technology and safety, an analysis of the consumers, most consumers want to help.
Save money Air to water heater firstSecond water heater The State Council Development Research Center of Institute of Market Economy Appliance discussion group in recent years, survey data, consumer products elements of home appliances, energy saving as the most important element of reference. June 1 this year, just the implementation of fast gas water heater for domestic energy efficiency labeling system for the State, gas water heater started a war in the field of energy. Today, oil and electricity prices, making confront the process of upgrading, water heaters, new and old generations will inevitably have been "involved", consumers are most concerned about the question is: Which is the most power in the end, the most efficient?
In the following table in order to fuel water heaters, gas water heaters, general electric water heater, and the fourth generation Heat Pump Water heater to a particular brand of air to the central water heater, for example, under the same conditions in 1 ton of the initial temperature of 20 for heating water, so water temperature to 55 heat required to: 1000kg
If you have had a reason to think about water heaters lately you have probably heard a lot about tankless water heaters. In the last couple of years the tankless water heater manufacturers have really stepped up their promotional campaigns and spent some big bucks building consumer awareness and interest in their products. Tankless water heaters have been portrayed as providing huge energy savings and endless hot water. How much of this is true?
Just The Facts, Ma'am
Today we are going to start cutting through some of the marketing hype and find out exactly how tankless water heaters stack up in the energy savings arena. Just how efficient are they, anyway?
Electric Tankless Water Heaters
Now is a good time to go ahead and say that we will be discussing gas (or LP) tankless heaters. Electric tankless heaters really make no sense 99% of the time. They just don't do the job in most cases and usually require extensive (and expensive) rewiring. Electricity is really a fairly expensive way to heat water in most cases.
While we are on the subject of electric water heaters lets clear up one more thing. Even though most electric tank type water heaters are rated with a higher efficiency factor than similar gas models, they are not usually an good choice to lower your energy bills.
It's true that electric water heaters are technically more efficient, because there is no energy wasted up the flue pipe common to all gas water heaters. The problem is that, at least for now in most places, the electricity required to operate a water heater costs more than either natural gas or LP. So even though it takes less energy, the energy used costs more. Enough said.
Gas Tankless Water Heaters
Let's talk about the possible energy savings with gas tankless water heaters. It is a fact that gas tankless water heaters are rated almost 50% more efficient than a standard tank type gas water heater. The reason tankless heaters beat tank type in efficiency is because there is no energy used keeping a tank full of water hot. The only time any energy is used is when hot water is actually being used. As soon as the faucet is turned off the heater stops heating the water. This is one of the big selling points for tankless water heaters.
It's Not All Hype
So it's not all hype, tankless water heaters really are more efficient, but the payback period that is often stated in marketing literature is probably based on the best case scenario. In the real world, the more frequently hot water is used the smaller the gap in efficiency between tankless and tank type water heaters. This is because there is less "non use" or "temperature maintenance" energy use as the frequency increases of "hot water usage events" (a fancy way of saying a hot water faucet was turned on).
Basically, if you are using hot water any type of heater will be using energy. It takes the same amount of BTUs to heat a gallon of water in either type of water heater. In plain English, the more often you use hot water the less a tankless will save you on your gas bill.
Check Your Usage Pattern
So, are tankless water heaters really more more efficient? The answer, strictly speaking is, yes. How much more efficient depends on your individual usage pattern. If you are thinking about going tankless you should probably pay attention to when and how often you use hot water now. The more frequently you use hot water, the less money you will save in energy costs.
Copyright 2008 Bryan Stevens
Bryan Stevens is a Licensed Master Plumber and Certified Green Plumber with a knack for teaching
homeowners how to do their own basic plumbing repairs themselves. He has created a very helpful mini-course
called "How To Unclog A Toilet And Other DIY Plumbing Tips". Claim your FREE copy
Water heaters provide a very cost-efficient, safe and energy-efficient way to heat water for almost any kind of application you can imagine. They can be used in a wide variety of circumstances from heating up a shower in your home, providing instant hot water for a commercial coffee urn or generating heat for your entire home. Innovative and ecologically-friendly solar water heaters can also be used to heat up the water in your outdoor pool to a warm, comfortable temperature.
The use of tankless water heaters can reduce your water heating costs by up to 60%. Reduce your energy bill, save water, and money. Enjoy endless hot showers. Our extensive selection of top rated tankless water heaters carries a model for every application.
Tankless water heaters can supply you with hot water almost instantaneously! Depending on where your water heater is located in your home, the hot water may take a while to get to the sink, shower or bathtub. Sometimes it may seem you're waiting for an eternity.
Over Sink Water Heater
Over Sink Water Heater is a simple to install traditional vented over sink water heater. With a neat design and supplied complete with tap and spout, oversink water heater an effective, practical solution whenever time and simplicity are the key priorities. Over Sink Water Heater incorporates a thermal cut-out that can be re-set rather than requiring to be replaced. The unit simply needs to be switched off and it will automatically re-set itself. This feature is particularly useful when the heater is likely to be drained frequently (e.g. when fitted in Portable Buildings)
Under Sink Water Heater
Simple to install and a very low price means you can have hot water anywhere where these is cold water (and an electric supply), instantaneous water heaters use simple electronics to control flow and temperature making them extremely safe, reliable and energy efficient. Undersink water heaters are extremely compact this then provides you with a more usable space within a sink cabinet and makes the units easier to install.
Instant Water Heaters
In a gas-powered instant heater, water flows in a pipe over a burner, heating the water as it goes. The exhaust gas is then vented, as in a traditional heater. In an electric instant water heater, an electric element provides the heat instead of a gas burner.
Instant water heaters are not on all the time. Instead, they turn on only when a flow meter detects that the hot water valve has been turned on and water is flowing through the heater. The flow meter sends a signal that turns on and ignites the gas in a gas heater or turns on the current to the electric element in an electric one. This results in a short delay between the time the water is turned on and the time it is heated and a little bit of water is wasted, but usually not very much.
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Philips is a professional freelance writer. He has written about various home improvement topics.
The Water heater is one of neglected appliances in homes, usually tucked away in some corner of the garage. We don’t pay much attention to it until it breaks. It has been around in its current form for a long time. It was invented in the 1889 by Edwin Ruud and it hasn’t changed much since then. It consists of a 40 or more gallon cylindrical container with a gas burner or sometimes an electric element. It heats the water slowly and keeps it hot all the time. Its burner has a pilot light that is burning gas all the time and the main burner comes periodically into action to heat the water again because the water in the container has cooled off. Well, that goes on day in day out even if the water is never used. That is because the water loses its heat to the surrounding. It is like having a kettle full of water on the cook top all the time. The newer tank water heaters are better insulated than before to reduce the standby heat loss but never the less they lose heat and the water must be constantly reheated. In today’s times where energy has become expensive and will become even more that is a total waste of energy and money. It burdens the environment even unnecessarily and contributes to earth warming and climate change.
The tank water heater is also very inefficient, not only loses its heat, standby heat loss, but it also doesn’t do a good job heating the water through its inherent design. When new, tank water heaters have an efficiency of about 55%. Depending on the hardness of the water it can rapidly fall to 30 or so percent because of water sediments buildup at the bottom of the tank, just like the kettle in which water sediments build up when water in it is heated over and over. The tank water heater has health issues as well. Bacteria and germs love the standing warm water and grow easily and rapidly in that environment. The water is usually not hot enough to kill them. Over time there can also be rust build up in the water tank that reduces the heating efficiency of the water heater in addition of it being delivered to the bathroom faucets and kitchen sink. Sometimes you can see the rust in the tile grout discoloration. Not all of that is unhealthy but a lot of times just undesirable. The tank water heater does push out some of these sediments and some of it remains in the tank and keeps building up. It is not just in the bathrooms we use hot water although the most of it is being used for bathing. We use hot water also to wash dishes sometimes and prepare food. Now if you could see all those microscopic foreign elements, bacteria and sediments you would think again of using it for food or even bathing the kids in tub with that water.
It has happened to all of us that we ran out of hot water taking a shower or a bath. And there is no quick heat up of the water. The water heater is just not designed for that and it takes a lot of energy and time again to heat 40 or more gallons of water. A lot of families have to schedule their showers because in a household with multiple persons you quickly run out of hot water. To make that hot water last a bit longer you can run the water heater at a higher temperature; say 180 degree Fahrenheit so that you mix more cold water with the hot water. Running the water heater at higher temperature wastes even more energy and with it of course money. Typically people take showers in the morning before leaving home for work. The water heater is not intelligent to know that after the shower you all leave the house and won’t be needing hot water until later in the afternoon when everybody gets home again. So it heats up the water again and keeps it hot all day long by heating and heating it again and again. And of course it doesn’t know that you won’t be needing hot water after taking shower and going to sleep, so it heats up the water again and keeps it hot during the night.
Storage tank water heater leaks can be expensive
Well, the other issue with tank water heaters is that they tend to leak water over time. Sometimes this happens for a long time without being noticed. Since most water heaters are placed in the garage they are usually out of sight and nobody pays attention to them. So water damage because of a water leak can go on for a very long time unnoticed and cause considerable damage to the home and surrounding in addition to wasting water and energy. Water damage to subfloors or other structures of homes is not uncommon and the repair of it tends to be costly because it wasn’t detected early.
Earthquake considerations
In earth quake prone areas water heaters pose a different problem as well. If not properly anchored they can tip over and cause water damage, physical damage and of course fire. Water heaters have fallen on cars parked close to them in the garage and considering the weight of a 40 or so gallon water heater full of water is approx. 330 pounds plus approx. 120 pounds for the heater itself, so a total of 450 pounds falling let’s say on a car’s hood. Now that will do significant damage not just to the hood of the car but also to what is underneath it.
And in this case it will also disconnect the gas line and we will have a gas leak as well that can lead to fire and more damage. So it is very important to make sure that the tank water heater is properly anchored to something that can hold the weight just in case. Bolts and steel straps should be strong enough and anchored to main wood studs or masonry walls.
Pressure relief valve on Tank Water Heaters
One other thing to pay attention to is the pressure relief valve. As its name implies it releases the water pressure to the outside by releasing excess water from the tank to avoid an explosion of the tank water heater. You may be surprised to know how often that happens that a small pressure valve fails and the water heater literally explodes. The excess water from the pressure valve of course should be routed to the outside or a drain that won’t cause water damage.
In some older homes the water heater is located inside the house in a place that looks like a pantry from the outside. That of course poses even a greater danger of something catastrophic happening in case of a failure. The idea of a constantly burning fire in an appliance is very unsettling to most people once they are made aware of it. The water heater burner or its pilot is always burning, not just when you use it.
For all the above reasons and more the time of the traditional tank water heater has passed long ago. In other parts of the world mainly Asia and Europe tank water heaters are hard to be found for many decades. There hot water is prepared by something called tankless water heater sometimes referred to as on-demand or instant water heater or point of use water heater.
Tankless Water Heater
The first tankless water heater was invented by an Englishman named Maughan in the 1870s. The idea of tankless water heater is to heat the water only when you need it and almost instantaneously, so no storage of hot water. Like many inventions tankless water heaters went through many designs over the decades. Most of the tankless water heaters were designed to be used at point of use. That is that wherever you needed hot water you would install an electric or gas powered unit and have hot water at the point you needed. This reduced also the plumbing of a house since you didn’t need to run another water pipe for the hot water. Typically you had a small unit in the kitchen; the unit incorporated the kitchen faucet and maybe a very small tank of one gallon or so. Whenever you turned the hot water faucet open you would get hot water automatically after a few seconds. In the bathrooms you had larger units, mostly gas operated that would do the same. No tank and no constantly heating water and with excellent efficiency that would remain largely the same. Efficiencies of 80 plus percents were common plus since there isn’t a tank of water with its associated standby heat loss the overall efficiency would be very much higher. Compared to tank water heater where you heat the water and keep it hot the tankless water heater heats the water only once for immediate use with higher efficiency.
Later years as the technology advanced came along the whole house tankless water heater or on-demand water heater as it is called alternatively. Here the idea is to supply the entire house with hot water on a needed basis only. Large amount of water would be heated as it is needed, be it for a shower or in the kitchen or for the washing machine all at the same time. And the worries or cold running showers were a thing of the past. Now you could fill up the bath tub and not worry to have enough hot water afterward.
That is because tankless water heater provides endless hot water as long as there is water and gas or electricity to heat the water on the go. No storage tank and therefore no ending hot water, and of course with incredible efficiency of 80 plus percent. The newest Noritz 842 tankless water heater has an unbelievable efficiency of almost 94%. Its exhaust venting is made of PVC, almost no energy is wasted and therefore no need to exhaust it. Now that is a contrast to the regular water heater. Since tankless water heater has no storage tank it comes in a small package, roughly 5 times smaller than the tank water heater. It can be mounted on a wall outside of the house and free up valuable space in the garage or in some cases turn that look alike pantry where the tank water heater was into a real pantry inside the house.
The tankless water heater doesn’t use energy when there is no need for hot water and has no standby heat loss. The showers can now be truly endless and no worry for the next person wanting to take a shower. The typical shower uses 2.5 gallons of water per minute and a mid size tankless water heater can supply roughly 6 to 7 gallons of hot water per minute. Now here 2 persons can take shower simultaneously or at the same time and still have enough hot water for the washing machine or the kitchen sink. Today’s Tankless water heaters are very sophisticated computer controlled appliances. They control and keep the water temperature to preset level regardless of water volume and pressure. In other words the water temperature at the shower head is the same regardless of how much water is being used, a second shower is turned on or third user draws hot water. The gas burner or electric heater modulates the energy, gas or electric to the desired level to achieve the set temperature. All this is possible with modern electronics and having a closed loop circuit with high accuracy. The leading manufacturer of tankless water heaters are Noritz, Takagi, Rinnai and Bosch. They have refined their products for extreme reliability and durability. Typical tankless water heater lasts 3 times as long as a tank water heaters with no noticeable degradation in performance or efficiency. Tankless water heater models like Noritz 751 can supply an entire house with continuous hot water and save energy and money.
None of the safety issues of tank water heater applies to tankless water heaters. Their burners come on only when hot water is needed, they don’t have a permanent pilot. The gas burner is electronically ignited and if installed outside it constantly monitors the outside temperature and activates its anti freeze circuitry preventing a pipe freeze when needed. Its electronics also monitors incoming water pressure, flow and regulates outgoing hot water pressure and flow. The highly efficient burner and heat exchanger achieve high efficiency and save energy. Incoming gas volume and pressure is also monitored and in case of a malfunction the unit shuts itself off and provides diagnostic information. Takagi TK 3 is closely related to Noritz 751 and is also able to supply an entire house with hot water. Another saving aspect of tankless hot water heater is that since you never run out of hot water there is no need to mix the hot water with cold water and therefore the water temperature can be set lower. For example the tank water heater is typically set to 160 to 180 degree F even though the water temperature used for shower is roughly 105 degree F. This is done to not use so much of the hot water in the storage tank and make the hot water last longer by mixing it with cold water at point of use. With tankless water heaters there is no need for this, there is endless hot water and therefore the temperature can be set to 110 degree F and there is no need to mix as much cold water. That saves energy too because the water is not heated to the higher temperature. Any time cold water is mixed to the hot water that reduces the efficiency indirectly. Tankless water heaters are green products and help reduce the carbon footprint.
Thanks to government subsidies, tax credits, tax rebates and sometimes additional local utility rebates tankless water heaters can compete favorably with the old fashion tank water heaters. Their initial cost has come down and the payback on energy savings can be very substantial. According to various statistics 30% to 40% of the energy cost of a typical home is consumed by the water heater. Tankless water heaters can reduce that by more than 50%. Tankless water heaters are also popular for commercial and industrial applications. Models like Noritz 751, Noritz 842 and Noritz 931 can be installed in series to provide almost boiling water. Restaurants, Hair Salons, Gyms and many other commercial businesses can benefit from the energy savings of tankless water heaters in addition to the space savings. Smaller units like Noritz 631 are well suited for smaller applications, like apartments or smaller homes. Most units allow you to set the desired temperature via a control panel that can be conveniently installed in the bathroom or any other place. This gives you immediate control of setting the desired water temperature. There may be times that there is a need for higher temperature of 180 degree F for example, this is easy to set through the digital control panel. This is very useful when filling a SPA or filling a large bath tub.
Because tankless water heaters are sophisticated appliances the more critical is their correct installation. They should be installed by licensed, factory certified and experienced professionals. By far the most installed type of tankless water heater is the one powered by natural gas. Electric models are not very economical because of mostly higher electric rates and potentially higher installation cost. Electric units usually have a high power demand and may need supply circuits of 100 or more amperes. This would require an upgrade to the existing electric system of the house that becomes costly. Smaller electric tankless water heaters can be easily used in point of use locations, for example for the kitchen sink. They require much less power.
The most important factor is the location where the tankless water heater is going to be installed. It is crucial to be close to the gas meter and the gas line to be properly sized so it is able to supply the volume of gas needed. Utility gas meters can also be restrictive and not able to supply enough gas. This is usually not a problem, most utility companies can exchange the meter free of charge. Since the tankless water heater modulates its burners it adjusts the gas flow to the burner for desired temperature.
Problems usually occur when the unit needs to supply greater amount of hot water and is not able to receive enough gas volume for the burners. The gas supply and volume is very important to have a trouble free operation. It is not that tankless water heaters use more gas; they use more of it when heating the water instantaneously versus the tank water heater that slowly heats the water. The energy it takes to heat water to a certain temperature is the same. It is important how efficiently that energy is used. A professional installation also tries to minimize the pipe length from the tankless water heater to the next bathroom. This reduces the amount of cold water that is flushed before the hot water reaches the faucet.
There are some pump products on the market that continuously circulate hot water in the pipes so that hot water is immediately available when you open the hot water faucet. These pumps are very wasteful of energy because in most homes the hot water pipes are not insulated and made of copper. Copper is a very good heat conductor so all the hot water in the pipes are constantly radiating heat to the surrounding and cooling quickly. It works sort of like the radiator or the heater in a car. Hot water is pumped through it to cool. These pumps and the associated valves use the cold water pipes for the circulation of water, so the cold water in the pipes become warm as well.
This company http://www.chilipepperapp.com/ has come up with an innovative solution. A tankless water heater pump or better a recirculating pump that is electronically controlled and turned on when needed. Tankless pumps like these add additional Convenience.
Because of the small size of the tankless water heater it can be installed almost anywhere and not necessarily where the old water heater was. It is also important to make sure the water pipes can carry the volume of water. The tankless water heater of course regulates the flow but having not the capacity means the heater can’t run at full capacity when needed. This means that multiple showers may not have enough hot water at the same time. One thing that tankless water heaters require is a minimum flow of water to start heating the water. That is usually around 0.5 gallons per minute. This is not a problem except when you want hot water at or below that flow rate. A very low flow rate causes the tankless water heater either not to come on at all or to come on and turn off again quickly. This can also happen with newer one handle shower faucets. Here the water mixture for hot and cold water is preset and the volume is increased or decreased. The mixture ratio is set according to the tank water heater temperature which is higher than the tankless water heater.
Here you have potentially a situation that there won’t be enough flow of hot water to keep the unit on and the water coming out of the shower won’t be hot enough. It is easy to fix and adjust the mixture ration of the valve to match the tankless water heater temperature. This situation of course is not directly related to the tankless water heater but it affects the operation of it. A professional experienced with tankless water heaters will know about this and other little things that make the difference.
Storage tank water heater leaks can be expensive
Well, the other issue with tank water heaters is that they tend to leak water over time. Sometimes this happens for a long time without being noticed. Since most water heaters are placed in the garage they are usually out of sight and nobody pays attention to them. So water damage because of a water leak can go on for a very long time unnoticed and cause considerable damage to the home and surrounding in addition to wasting water and energy. Water damage to subfloors or other structures of homes is not uncommon and the repair of it tends to be costly because it wasn’t detected early.
Earthquake considerations
In earth quake prone areas water heaters pose a different problem as well. If not properly anchored they can tip over and cause water damage, physical damage and of course fire. Water heaters have fallen on cars parked close to them in the garage and considering the weight of a 40 or so gallon water heater full of water is approx. 330 pounds plus approx. 120 pounds for the heater itself, so a total of 450 pounds falling lets say on a car’s hood. Now that will do significant damage not just to the hood of the car but also to what is underneath it.
And in this case it will also disconnect the gas line and we will have a gas leak as well that can lead to fire and more damage. So it is very important to make sure that the tank water heater is properly anchored to something that can hold the weight just in case. Bolts and steel straps should be strong enough and anchored to main wood studs or masonry walls.
Pressure relief valve on Tank Water Heaters
One other thing to pay attention to is the pressure relief valve. As its name implies it releases the water pressure to the outside by releasing excess water from the tank to avoid an explosion of the tank water heater. You may be surprised to know how often that happens that a small pressure valve fails and the water heater literally explodes. The excess water from the pressure valve of course should be routed to the outside or a drain that won’t cause water damage.
In some older homes the water heater is located inside the house in a place that looks like a pantry from the outside. That of course poses even a greater danger of something catastrophic happening in case of a failure. The idea of a constantly burning fire in an appliance is very unsettling to most people once they are made aware of it. The water heater burner or its pilot is always burning, not just when you use it.
For all the above reasons and more the time of the traditional tank water heater has passed long ago. In other parts of the world, mainly Asia and Europe tank water heaters are hard to be found for many decades. There hot water is prepared by something called tankless water heater, sometimes referred to as on-demand or instant water heater or point of use water heater.
Tankless Water Heater History
The first tankless water heater was invented by an Englishman named Maughan in the 1870s. The idea of tankless water heater is to heat the water only when you need it and almost instantaneously, so no storage tank of hot water. Like many inventions tankless water heaters went through many designs over the decades. Most of the tankless water heaters were designed to be used at point of use. That is that wherever you needed hot water you would install an electric or gas powered unit and have hot water at the point you needed. This reduced also the plumbing of a house since you didn’t need to run another water pipe for the hot water. Typically you had a small unit in the kitchen; the unit incorporated the kitchen faucet and maybe a very small tank of one gallon or so. Whenever you turned the hot water faucet open you would get hot water automatically after a few seconds. In the bathrooms you had larger units, mostly gas operated that would do the same. No tank and no constantly heating water and with excellent efficiency that would remain largely the same. Efficiencies of 80 plus percents were common. Since there isn’t a storage tank of water with its associated standby heat loss the overall efficiency would be much higher. Compared to storage tank water heater where you heat the water and keep it hot the tankless water heater heats the water only once for immediate use with higher efficiency. This goes for electric tankless water heaters as well as for gas tankless water heaters.
Whole House Tankless Water Heater
Later years as the technology advanced came along the whole house tankless water heater or on-demand water heater as it is called alternatively. Here the idea is to supply the entire house with hot water on a needed basis only. Large amount of water would be heated as it is needed, be it for a shower or in the kitchen or for the washing machine all at the same time. And the worries or cold running showers were a thing of the past. Now you could fill up the bath tub and not worry to have enough hot water afterward.
The best tankless water heater provides endless hot water as long as there is water and gas or electricity to heat the water on the go. No storage tank and therefore no ending hot water, and of course with incredible efficiency of 80 plus percent. The cutting edge tankless technology leader Noritz introduced the newest Noritz 842 tankless water heater. It has an unbelievable efficiency of almost 94% achieved with tankless technology. Its exhaust venting is made of PVC, almost no energy is wasted and therefore no need to exhaust it. You may ask who makes the best Tankless Water Heater and the answer would have Noritz at the top of the list as the largest tankless water heater manufacture in the world.
Since tankless water heater has no storage tank it comes in a small package, roughly 5 times smaller than the tank water heater. It can be mounted on a wall outside of the house and free up valuable space in the garage or in some cases turn that look alike pantry where the tank water heater was into a real pantry inside the house.
No Energy wasted with Tankless Water Heater
The tankless water heater doesn’t use energy when there is no need for hot water and has no standby heat loss. The showers can now be truly endless and no worry for the next person wanting to take a shower. The typical shower uses 2.5 gallons of water per minute and a mid size tankless water heater can supply roughly 6 to 7 gallons of hot water per minute. Now here 2 persons can take shower simultaneously or at the same time and still have enough hot water for the washing machine or the kitchen sink. Today’s Tankless water heaters with best tankless technology are very sophisticated computer controlled appliances. They control and keep the water temperature to preset level regardless of water volume and pressure. In other words the water temperature at the shower head is the same regardless of how much water is being used, a second shower is turned on or third user draws hot water. The gas burner or electric heater modulates the energy, gas or electric to the desired level to achieve the set temperature. All this is possible with modern electronics and having a closed loop circuit with high accuracy. The leading manufacturer of tankless water heaters are Noritz, Takagi, Rinnai and Bosch. Noritz Tankless Water Heaters are among the best on the market. They all have refined their products for extreme reliability and durability. Typical tankless water heater lasts 3 times as long as a storage tank water heater with no noticeable degradation in performance or efficiency over time. Tankless water heater models like Noritz 751 or Takagi TK-3 can supply an entire house with continuous hot water and save energy and money.
Tankless Water Heaters are Safe
None of the safety issues of tank water heater applies to tankless water heaters. Their burners come on only when hot water is needed, they don’t have a permanent pilot. The gas burner is electronically ignited and if installed outside it constantly monitors the outside temperature and activates its anti freeze circuitry preventing a pipe freeze when needed. Its electronics also monitors incoming water pressure, flow and regulates outgoing hot water pressure and flow. The highly efficient burner and heat exchanger achieve high efficiency and save energy. Incoming gas volume and pressure is also monitored and in case of a malfunction the unit shuts itself off and provides diagnostic information. Takagi TK 3 is closely related to Noritz 751 and is also able to supply an entire house with hot water. Another saving aspect of tankless hot water heater is that since you never run out of hot water there is no need to mix the hot water with cold water and therefore the water temperature can be set lower. For example the tank water heater is typically set to 160 to 180 degree F even though the water temperature used for shower is roughly 105 degree F. This is done to not use so much of the hot water in the storage tank and make the hot water last longer by mixing it with cold water at point of use. With tankless water heater there is no need for this, there is endless hot water and therefore the temperature can be set to 110 degree F and there is no need to mix in as much cold water. That saves energy too because the water is not heated to the higher temperature. Any time cold water is mixed to the hot water that reduces the efficiency indirectly. Tankless water heaters are green products and help reduce the carbon footprint.
Government incentives make Tankless Water Heater more affordable than ever before
Thanks to government subsidies, tax credits, tax rebates and sometimes additional local utility rebates tankless water heaters can compete favorably with the old fashion Storage tank water heaters. Their initial cost has come down and the payback on energy savings can be very substantial. According to various statistics 30% to 40% of the energy cost of a typical home is consumed by the water heater. Tankless water heaters can reduce that by more than 50%. Tankless water heaters are also popular for commercial and industrial applications. Models like Noritz 751, Noritz 842 and Noritz 931 can be installed in series to provide almost boiling water. Restaurants, Hair Salons, Gyms and many other commercial businesses can benefit from the energy savings of tankless water heaters in addition to the space savings. Smaller units like Noritz 631 are well suited for smaller applications, like apartments or smaller homes. Most units allow you to set the desired temperature via a control panel that can be conveniently installed in the bathroom or any other place. This gives you immediate control of setting the desired water temperature. There may be times that there is a need for higher temperature of 180 degree F for example, this is easy to set through the digital control panel. This is very useful when filling a SPA or filling a large bath tub. Tankless water heaters are also well suited for vacation homes. Electric Tankless Water Heaters are also highly efficient and can be easily installed where there is enough electrical power. In most areas electricity tends to be expensive compared to natural gas and a natural gas or liquid propane or LP tankless water heater may be more economical. Today's units are among the most compact tankless water heaters ever built and carry the energy star classification
Correct Installation makes the difference
Because tankless water heaters are sophisticated appliances the more critical is their correct installation. They should be installed by licensed, factory certified and experienced professionals. By far the most installed type of tankless water heater is the one powered by natural gas. Electric models are not very economical because of mostly higher electric rates and potentially higher installation cost. Electric tankless water heaters usually have a high electric power demand and may need supply circuits of 100 A or more amperes. This would require an upgrade to the existing electric system of the house that can be costly. Smaller electric tankless water heaters can be easily used in point of use locations, for example for the kitchen sink. They require much less power and are very useful.
The most important factor is the location where the tankless water heater is going to be installed. It is crucial to be close to the gas meter and the gas line to be properly sized so it is able to supply the volume of gas needed. Utility gas meters can also be restrictive and not able to supply enough gas. This is usually not a problem, most utility companies can exchange the meter to a larger unit free of charge. Since the tankless water heater modulates its burners it adjusts the gas flow to the burner for desired temperature.
Problems usually occur when the unit needs to supply greater amount of hot water and is not able to receive enough gas volume for the burners. The gas supply and volume is very important to have a trouble free operation. It is not that tankless water heaters use more gas; they use more of it when heating the water instantaneously versus the tank water heater that slowly heats the water. The energy it takes to heat water to a certain temperature is the same. It is important how efficiently that energy is used. A professional installation also tries to minimize the pipe length from the tankless water heater to the next bathroom. This reduces the amount of cold water that is flushed before the hot water reaches the faucet.
There are some pump products on the market that continuously circulate hot water in the pipes so that hot water is immediately available when you open the hot water faucet. These pumps are very wasteful of energy because in most homes the hot water pipes are not insulated and made of copper. Copper is a very good heat conductor so all the hot water in the pipes are constantly radiating heat to the surrounding and cooling off quickly. It works sort of like the radiator or the heater in a car. Hot water is pumped through it to cool. These pumps and the associated valves use the cold water pipes for the circulation of water, so the cold water in the pipes become warm as well.
This company http://www.chilipepperapp.com/ has come up with an innovative solution. A tankless water heater pump or better a recirculating pump that is electronically controlled and turned on when needed. Tankless pumps like these add additional Convenience and prevent waste of water. The cooled off water in the hot water pipe is returned to the cold water pipes instead of being drained.
Because of its compact size the tankless water heater can be installed almost anywhere and not necessarily where the old water heater was. It is also important to make sure the water pipes can carry the volume of water. The tankless water heater of course regulates the flow but having not the capacity means the heater can’t run at full capacity when needed. This means that multiple showers may not have enough hot water at the same time. One thing that tankless water heaters require is a minimum flow of water to start heating the water. That is usually around 0.5 gallons per minute. This is not a problem except when you want hot water at or below that flow rate. A very low flow rate causes the tankless water heater either not to come on at all or to come on and turn off again quickly. This can also happen with newer one handle shower faucets. Here the water mixture for hot and cold water is preset and the volume is increased or decreased. The mixture ratio of cold and hot water is set according to the storage tank water heater temperature which is higher than the tankless water heater.
Here you have potentially a situation that there won’t be enough flow of hot water to keep the unit on and the water coming out of the shower won’t be hot enough. It is easy to fix and adjust the mixture ratio of the valve to match the tankless water heater temperature. This situation of course is not directly related to the tankless water heater but it affects the operation of it. A professional experienced with tankless water heaters will know about this and other little things that make the difference. For more information please refer to http://www.justtankless.com .
Al is California licensed General Building Contractor and electrical contractor with many years of field experience. He also hold a Master of Science in electrical engineering. He is very active in renewable energy (http://www.allied-solar.com) and energy saving measures (http://www.justtankless.com) and (http://www.alliedelectricservices.com)
One of the most common problems with a gas water heater is the pilot light going out, as this can result in only cold water coming through. Discover how the pilot light lies within an outer and inner cover with help from a master plumber and heating specialist in this free video on hot water heaters. Expert: Chris Spannagel Bio: Chris Spannagel has been a master plumber for 17 years and is licensed in Arizona. Filmmaker: Chuck Tyler Video Rating: 4 / 5
Eric from Harpiris Energy tells us about their Suncache product which is a passive solar water heating system made out of plastic. With $2M in grant funding from the Department of Energy, Harpiris Energy brought their Suncache product to the market. The units have been shipping for about a year.
Harpiris Energy just finished installation in two apartment complexes in Sacramento, and they are looking forward to another project in Hanford. This is a passive system where there is no electricity being generating. The cold city water enters the collector when someone turns on the faucet and moves through the copper piping. Subsequently, it extracts heat from the 50 gallons that are held in the unit. Finally, the water enters whatever kind of heating system one uses in their home whether it is a tankless or a conventional water heater.
The Suncache is cheaper and lighter than conventional solar thermal units because the Suncache is made out of plastic. The unit is sent in one big box with all the elements needed to install it. There was a bill passed in California not too long ago to incentivize solar water heaters; the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) just released a draft proposal that is $275M dollars over the next 8 years, includes $35M for marketing. There may potentially be rebates for those installing solar water heaters.
Cost savings: Versus a natural gas system, one can expect to save $150 dollars a year. Compared electric water heaters, one may save $1000 dollars a year. The Suncache costs $2,000 dollars, and with installation, it is about $3,500.
At Harpiris they expect that the solar water heating market is expected to grow tremendously in the next few years due to new incentives in states like California. They are currently looking to recruit new dealers to help them handle the increased demand.
Eric from Harpiris Energy tells us about their Suncache product which is a passive solar water heating system made out of plastic. With $2M in grant funding from the Department of Energy, Harpiris Energy brought their Suncache product to the market. The units have been shipping for about a year. 
