Gas Tankless Water Heaters: How Energy-efficient Is A Gas Tankless Water Heater?

For those who have had a reason give some thought to water heaters these days you have most likely seen a lot about tankless water heaters

. In the last couple of years the tankless water heater producers have actually stepped up their marketing efforts and invested some big bucks creating consumer awareness and need for their products. Tankless water heaters happen to be described as providing big energy reductions and continuous hot water.

Today we are going to start cutting through some of the marketing hype and find out exactly how tankless water heaters stack up in the energy savings arena. Just how efficient are they, anyway?

Let's talk about the possible energy savings with gas tankless water heatersIt is true that electric water heaters are technically more efficient, because there is no energy wasted up the flue pipe common to all gas water heaters. The problem is that, at least for now in most places, the electricity required to operate a water heater costs more than either natural gas or LP. So even though it takes less energy, the energy used costs more.

It is a fact that gas tankless water heaters are rated almost fifty percent more efficient than a standard tank type gas water heater. The reason tankless heaters beat tank type in efficiency is because there is no energy used keeping a tank full of water hot. The only time any energy is used is when hot water is actually being used. As soon as the faucet is turned off the heater stops heating the water. This is one of the big selling points for tankless water heaters.

So it is not all hype, tankless water heaters really are more efficient, but the payback period that is often stated in marketing literature is probably based on the best case scenario. In the real world, the more frequently hot water is used the smaller the gap in efficiency between tankless and tank type water heaters. This is because there is less "non use" or "temperature maintenance" energy use as the frequency increases of "hot water usage events"

So, are tankless water heaters really more efficient? The answer, strictly speaking is, yes. How much more efficient depends on your individual usage pattern. If you are thinking about going tankless you should probably pay attention to when and how often you use hot water now. The more frequently you use hot water, the less money you will save in energy costs.

Copyright (c) 2011 Sylvan Newby

by: Sylvan Newby

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