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Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning Blog

Before Replacing That Old Water Heater, Consider Going Tankless

Before Replacing That Old Water Heater, Consider Going TanklessIf the storage-tank water heater in your Fresno area home is 10 years or older, it’s probably getting near the end of its useful service life. This is especially true if your conventional storage-tank heater has received minimal preventative maintenance, or if your water supply is full of minerals. While looking at suitable replacement units, or as a first-time installation in a new house, you may want to consider a tankless water heater. Although upfront cost for a tankless water heater is greater than for a conventional storage-tank type, the benefits, including reduced energy use, will last the lifetime of the unit. This should more than make up for the initial price difference.

Tankless water heaters, also called “on-demand” units, are designed to deliver hot water only as needed, in contrast to storage-tank heaters that continually store a supply of hot water, whether it’s needed or not. This is one of the most obvious shortcomings of a storage-tank water heater. Much of the energy used to heat the standing water in the tank is wasted in the form of “standby energy loss.” Since tankless water heaters have no tank, they suffer none of this standby energy loss.

Here are some of the other benefits a tankless water heater provides:

  • Tankless systems are compact and can be installed just about anywhere, even outdoors for weather-resistant models.
  • Garage installations don’t require the same type of protection against vehicle damage as storage tank units do.
  • Tankless units can provide a near never-ending supply of hot water, meaning several people can, for example, shower one after another without depleting the hot water supply. They do have a limited capacity for providing hot water for simultaneous uses, however. This is why some homeowners will supplement a whole-house tankless unit with one or more point-of-use units. Storage-tank heaters require time to reheat more water once the initial supply has been used up

All this is possible because water running through a tankless water heater is heated instantly, either by an electric element or a gas burner. These units require less maintenance and have a life expectancy of nearly double that of a traditional water heater.

Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning, known locally as MR. Cool, has been proudly serving Fresno area homeowners for close to 40 years, providing top-quality products, installation and service. Contact us for advice or information about tankless water heaters or any of your home’s air quality needs.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Fresno, California area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about water heaters and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

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