If you are currently choosing between tankless and a traditional hot tank water heater, let us share our observations on the common myths about the tankless units.
No Really Saving Money
Many people are concerned about their old tank water heater costing them extra money in monthly utility bills.
We see it a trend – a large group of people let numbers mislead them. This is also do to the huge amount of informational brochures stating the facts that they are saving from your monthly bills.
But let’s take a look at an example. Below you’ll see a typical Energyguide label you can find on a tankless water heater stating that for an average family this is going to consult $225 per year. If we divide that by 12 and circle up we’ll get to a $19 per month cost in gas propane.
Let’s compare that to what the usage on a traditional tank might look like.
You can find a label like the one below on a typical 2010 Rheem model.
Let’s compare that to what the usage on a traditional tank might look like.
As you can see it say $315 for a year and natural gas use for an average family.
Divided by 12 and the number will give us a cost of $26 per month.
The difference in energy savings is about $7 per month, but think twice – are you really saving these money.
Consider the typical replacement and or installation fees and you’ll quickly realize that the argument for saving money on the brochures is actually misleading.
Instant Hot Water
Instant hot water is another typical myth flowting around tankless water heaters.
The units are often referred to instant hot water heaters. In fact it’s not really ‘instant’. You don’t have instant hot water at your sink, do you?
So when you turn on the faucet when you’re only dump in a cup or two of water down before it gets hot, but this is the way to get instant hot water.
Maintenance
The third kind of myth is related with the maintenance. A lot of people say the tankless hot water heaters are maintenance-free – just set it and forget it.
Without a water softening system, a tankless water heater is going to need either an annual or a bi-annual flush depending on your use. Indeed, with a water softener, you’re not going to do this very often at all, maybe never. A typical maintenance costs about $150 if done once per year which you won’t need on the same level with a standard tank.
In the next blog post we are going to cover the three real reasons for investing in a tankless water heater.
