Buy a tankless water heater

The first decision with water heaters is to choose between the old-fashioned tank style and the tankless variety.  When confronted with this decision, you will notice that the tanks are less expensive than tankless water heaters.  However, the gap between these prices is narrowing as the new technology is being adopted.

Some of the reasons you might want to buy a tankless water heater over a whole tank kind are because they are more efficient and take up less room.  The large tanks keep water warm all day long, which is inefficient.  If you are on vacation or at work, the tank continues to warm the water.  It pulls power to it as frequently as it needs to keep the water in it at a perfect temperature for when you run the faucet or take a shower.  This is very inefficient.  Lame some might say.

No matter which traditional tank you choose, they take up far more space than tankless water heaters. When space is at a premium, like in San Francisco or Tokyo, you do not want your water heater occupying valuable real estate.

This brings us to the fact that many countries in the world have known about the advantages of tankless water heaters far longer than other countries. Japan, has successfully managed to build small spaces for millions of people to occupy in Tokyo and other urban areas. They have dialed it down to making it possible to purchase a whole bathroom, with the tankless water heater included as an individual unit that fits right into your apartment. Pretty smart.

Where tankless water heaters are preferred, they are often installed right in the bathroom to save space. Often being used only for that room as opposed to a whole house water heater or used on the other side of the wall in super efficient designs. Tankless water heaters can handle the demands of big and little living spaces.

Tankless and on demand are the same thing

Tankless water heaters, also known as on-demand water heaters are just as the names imply. They are small boxes, that are installed on a wall, that kick on once you turn on a faucet or appliance making the request or demand. The water needs to a run a bit before the warm water starts running, which may take a bit longer than the traditional large tanks provide, but once the warm water starts, it is sustained. This next sentence is obvious, but needs to be said and that is, you will not run out of hot water.

Some tanks have the capacity to provide warm water to three things at the same time. This might be three showers, or maybe it is one shower, the washing machine, and the dishwasher. It is whatever configuration or use, you want it to be. The old fashioned tanks typically cannot provide enough warm water for two or more appliances or for two or more showers. Expensive homes compensate for this by purchasing a few large tanks. This is another example of wasted space and wasted resources. Why have huge tanks, when you can have one box on the wall that will only run when needed and will provide you with the quantities needed? This seems obvious.

Tankless water heaters do not run unless a request is made. In other words, when you do not need hot water, which is most of the time, no heating is happening. Less power is used, which means more natural resources are available for the future. Wahoo.

When deciding which tankless water heater to purchase, research all the brands that have been producing other high quality products for the building industry and get recommendations from plumbers and HVAC contractors. I have purchased three Rinnai tankless water heaters and have no affiliation with Rinnai. I do not work there and they are not paying me to endorse their product. The advantage to a company like Rinnai is they are focused on this technology, constantly working to improve it and have been doing it for a number of years. I have nothing but good things to say about this brand and tankless water heaters in general.

When you decide which type of water heater to purchase next, I hope you will buy a tankless water heater.  You will have choices about size based on how many appliances/showers you want to use at the same time.  Maybe get the smallest one and stagger your needs.  Alternatively, you can buy a larger one and use whatever you want at the same time.  Additionally, you will need to decide if you want one that runs on gas or electricity.  If you want to move away from the use of fossil fuels, then electric is the way to go.  

Let me know what you pick.  Happy shopping.