Replacing The Ageing Water Heater In Your Home With A Tankless System
When you need to replace the water heater in your home, you may want to consider a tankless water heater. A tankless water heater can add some convenience to your daily routine and save you money if you select the right unit.
Selecting the Right Water Heater
If you are looking at tankless water heaters, you need to take the size of your home, the number of bathrooms in your home, and the number of people who use the hot water daily into consideration. The tankless water heater needs to produce enough hot water to keep up with the demand because it does not store the water; it heats it as it is required.
The contractor doing the tankless water heater installation can help you select the right unit for your home, and may even suggest something a little larger than you think you need. Since the water is being heated on demand, the cost of operating the tankless system will still be lower than a standard water heater in most cases.
Installing the New Water Heater
Removing the old water heater from the home and installing a new tankless system is not difficult, but since the tankless system is smaller, and often mounted to a wall, the contractor may need to reroute the plumbing to make it work. Usually, the hot water lines are in a space away from the wall because the tank on the old hot water tank needed to sit out away from the wall because of its size.
The water heater installation contractor may even want to cut the old lines and run some new ones to make them easier to access in the event of an emergency. If the house's water lines are older iron lines, this might be a good opportunity to upgrade to copper or PVC lines.
Smaller Systems
If you have a large home with some very specific water heating needs, you may want to consider putting a dedicated tankless water heater in the bathroom to supply the tap's in that room. If you have a bathroom with a steam shower or a very large soaking tub, having a dedicated system to feed them can make it easier for the system to keep up with the demand.
Talk with the water heater installation contractor about using one large tankless water heater for the entire house, and whether you can benefit from several smaller tankless water heaters in your home.
