Tankless water heaters offer convenience, save on utilities
This week’s column was written by Jose Villarreal, founder of Joe the Plumber LLC. Villarreal has worked as a general and remodeling plumber since the early 1970s. In 1981, Villarreal became a licensed journeyman, and he received his Master Plumber license in 1982.
As is the case with most household appliances, modern technological advancements can result in massive improvements. This means you’ll need to stay up to date on the latest breakthroughs in order to ensure maximum performance and return on investments in the future. i /P NBUUFS IPX GBODZ ZPVS FMFDUSJD XBUFS IFBUFS JT UIF VOJU XJMM TUBSU MFBLJOH BT UJNF UBLFT JUT UPMM "GUFS BMM UIFTF UBOLT BSF DPOTUBOUMZ mMMFE XJUI XBUFS EBZ JO BOE EBZ PVU GPS B QFSJPE PG ZFBST w
You may have heard about tankless water heaters during the past few years. Here are the top benefits of installing a tankless water heater in your home.
• Savings on energy bills
With a conventional water heater, heated water is stored inside a tank for future use.
In theory, this keeps a ready supply of hot water on hand for immediate use — but the fact is that the hot water just sits around when not being used. In time, the heat will dissipate, and the water heater will need to reheat the water. This is not only a complete waste of energy; it also contributes to higher energy bills.
• Instant, endless hot water
A tankless water heater does not store hot water for later use.
Instead, a tankless water heater only produces as much hot water as a person needs. In other words, when the hotwater faucet is turned on, the tankless unit provides the exact amount of hot water dispensed until the faucet is turned off. You can literally leave the hot-water faucet running for hours and the tankless water heater will continue to provide hot water (of course, you don’t want to do this). With the installation of a tankless water-heating unit in your home, you never need to worry again about running out of hot water during a shower.
• No leaks to worry about One of the biggest problems with
conventional tank water heaters is leakage.
No matter how fancy your electric water heater is, the unit will start leaking as time takes its toll. After all, these tanks are constantly filled with water day in and day out for a period of years.
In addition to leaving a huge mess, water leaks can seriously damage your home.
A tankless water heater, on the other hand, doesn’t store water. Therefore, it will never create a big mess to clean up — because there’s no tank to leak.
• Compact size
One of the best advantages of a tankless water heater is its size, compared to conventional units. A typical tank water heater may be several feet tall by 3 or more feet in diameter.
Conversely, standard tankless water heaters are generally no larger than a thick laptop. Thanks to this compact size, mounting a tankless water heater to your wall is much easier than installing a tank-style heater. Ultimately, this makes a tankless system your best option when it comes time for a water-heater replacement.
• Convenient and reliable
State-of-the-art tankless water heaters — taking up minimal space and being leak-free — are far more convenient than traditional units. If you’re tired of running out of hot water and dealing with messes because of leaking water heaters, look into going tankless today, and see how this modern marvel will transform your home life. House to House is distributed by the Arkansas Realtors Association. For more information about homeownership in Arkansas, visit www.ArkansasRealtors.com.