The Tankless Water Heater vs Tank Water Heater debate is getting closer each year as the price of tankless water heaters continues to go down. Tankless Water heaters, or sometimes referred to as On-Demand Water Heaters, are the type of heating system that provide hot water only when needed. Compared to conventional water heating systems (tank), Tankless Water heaters don’t use up energy when not in use and this brings in a lot of power savings. Also, in general, they take up far less space and can be installed much easier than storage water heaters.

Before, the process of heating water in households is through a water tank. When hot water is needed, you “turn it on” and minutes later once there is enough hot water it is then dispensed. This of course requires continues heating even in stand-by mode and thus it consumes energy. Using tankless water heaters on the other hand, if you need hot water, the regular cold water from the mains simply go through the heater and heating is done by either electricity (through electric elements) or gas (through a gas burner). Typically, gas-fired tankless water heaters can produce a significantly higher rate of flow compared to electric ones.

Considering the Size of the Household

While a typical household generally can be served using a single tankless water heater, larger ones tend to have greater needs and at the same time. This means that if someone taking a bath downstairs and another is doing the laundry outside, a large quantity of water is going through the heater and this can really stretch and strain its components. To circumvent this issue, installing another tankless water heater connected in parallel can divide the load into two and be more efficient in producing hot water in all areas of the house. It is recommended to have dedicated heaters for high demand spots in the house such as for dishwasher and laundry use.

You can actually “increase” the energy savings you get from tankless water heaters by making sure you have a separate unit for each hot water outlet. Why? It is because larger households consumes around 86 gallons of water a day, crunches up the water levels at all the areas in the house – at the same time. As mentioned above, this strains the components of the tankless water heater and negatively affects its efficiency. Compared to a typical small household which consumes around 40 to 50 gallons per day, the percentage of efficiency of larger households in using tankless water heater is significantly smaller if using only a single tankless water heater.

Final Thoughts on the Tankless Water Heater vs Tank Water Heater Discussion

Before you go ahead and buy your own tankless water heater, you will have to consider the size, fuel type, energy efficiency and cost of estimate and installation. Tankless water heaters can remain fully functional for up to 20 years before it requires changing so make sure you get something that fits your needs well and provides the best possible efficiency for your household.