More tankless factors to consider when shopping for a water heater

More tankless factors to consider when shopping for a water heater:

Water heaters are easily damaged during shipping so don't accept one where the packaging is dented or broken. As an added measure, check the water heater for dents after delivery but before installation.

Confirm with your plumber the water heater is easy and economical to maintain and repair. Difficult to obtain parts means delayed repairs.

Just because the appliance comes with a long warranty, doesn't mean it will be well fulfilled. In fact, the warranties on some budget models may not cover labor costs even for as long as a year; and most warranties aren't transferrable to a new owner. What's more important, is good customer service and quick repair parts.

When looking at the tankless factors to consider, bear in mind the cost of installation varies widely. Add-on heat pump water heaters and point of use water heaters which plug into a regular outlet, cost very little to be installed, while switching fuel types can cost around $1,200 because of the additional plumbing and electrical modifications needed.

Advantages of natural gas tankless water heaters:

Provided you have a properly sized and installed unit, a gas water heater produces an endless supply of hot water.

Its small profile of 30 x 15 can be mounted to a wall to save space.

With normal maintenance, they are designed to last 20 years or more, twice as long as the standard tank heater.

The real upside is, because point of use water heaters heat water as you need it, you get to enjoy endless hot water whenever you want it, for as long as you need, saving water and money on energy costs.

Save even more energy by changing old pre-1992 faucets and shower heads to current 2.2 GPM models.

Although more expensive at first, tankless water heaters are affordable with excellent returns, and take up very little space.

Installing tankless water heaters is simplest for new construction, rather than retrofitting an existing home from tank to tankless and incurring the cost of new gas pipes and plumbing.

Although these costs may be recouped by energy savings and incentives, it may take a while.

If you decide to add a gas water heater to an older house, the tankless factors to consider are the following:

Whenever you deal with high BTU rated gas, you require proper venting. You might also need a special high volume gas line run to your house, which will add to the initial outlay of your upgrade.

In case you are confused, the difference in BTU rating between gas and electric is that gas is rated at the heat output of the burner, whereas electric is rated for the heat going directly into the water.

In short, installing an electric version is simpler than gas when added to an existing home.