Getting Best Performance From Your Tankless Water Heater

Installing a tankless water heater, or a series of smaller units, in your home will go a long way toward slashing water-heating costs -- without sacrificing your hot-water needs to the energy gods. However, just like any other system with moving parts, and one that uses water, tankless water heaters require due diligence when it comes to selecting and installing them -- especially if you want to get maximum performance potential from your tankless water heaters.

In order to keep all systems go, here's what you should know about ensuring peak tankless water heater performance:

• Size it right: Your contractor should select a unit that will meet the needs of the specific water application for which it's installed. A unit installed in a bathroom, for instance, will need to supply enough water for a shower and sink to operate at the same time. To calculate the unit's size, the flow rate (how much water can flow out of the unit) and the temperature rise (or the maximum degree to which the unit can heat up the water) should be calculated.
• Use an experienced contractor: Tankless water-heating technology is relatively new to contractors in the United States, although long used in Japan and Europe. Take the time to select a contractor that's had experience installing and sizing a tankless water heater, and you'll see a direct correlation in how well the system performs and how long it lasts.
• Choose the best configuration for your needs: Most experts agree that tankless water heaters can greatly outperform conventional tank-type systems when homeowners adopt a point-of-use strategy. This means installing several smaller units around the home, instead of one large unit. With the latter, you'll experience lag time between turning on the tap and hot-water delivery. Installing multiple systems, however, will help you achieve maximum savings, while ensuring that you can access heated water quickly and enough of it to meet your needs.
• Give it regular maintenance: Just like any other water heater, tankless units require annual servicing. That's because water flowing through the unit will leave deposits, mineral and otherwise. When left unchecked, these deposits will build up and decrease the performance potential of the units. During service, your technician will flush out the unit to keep debris and buildup at bay.

Ready to take the plunge and install tankless water heaters in your home? Contact Jones-Rogers Inc. today, your local tankless water heater experts. Serving homeowners in northern Virginia since 1970.