Your water heater can be responsible for up to 25 percent of your monthly home energy costs. With this in mind, it’s reasonable to want a highly efficient and cost-effective water-heating system. Tankless water heaters (also called demand or instantaneous water heaters) provide that level of efficiency along with considerable savings on utility costs.
Tankless water heaters provide a steady supply of hot water by using a powerful electric or fuel-powered heating element to heat water as required. They have no internal tank where water can cool off and need reheating before being used. Problems with standby heat and energy loss are eliminated with tankless water heaters. However, they must be correctly sized to provide your home with enough hot water to meet the highest level of demand. If your hot water usage is high, you may even need more than one tankless heater for your household needs. To determine the number and size of tankless water heaters you will need, determine the necessary flow rate and temperature rise. The total gallons of hot water needed each minute to meet the highest level of demand is the flow rate. To calculate flow rate, list the hot water devices you are most likely to be using simultaneously. Add up the total gallons per minute of water these appliances use. That total is the flow rate your tankless water heater must supply. Temperature rise is the temperature difference between water entering your house and the temperature you want it to be when you use it. For example, if the temperature of utility-supplied water is 60 degrees and you want your hot water at 130 degrees, your tankless water heater must generate a temperature rise of 70 degrees. For more than 35 years, Russell’s Heating & Cooling has served commercial and residential HVAC customers in the Hampton Roads area, including the Peninsula and Southside. Contact us today for more information on tankless water heating systems and for help finding the type and number of them you need for your home hot water needs. Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about tankless water heaters and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide. Russell’s Heating & Cooling services the Chesapeake, Virginia and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!
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