Denver Plumbing

Tankless or On-Demand Water Heaters

When money and environmental preservation become important we begin looking at all the different ways we can reduce our demands on either or both, after a little research we find that they tend to parallel one another and the majority of our unnecessary consumption can be traced back to outdated appliances namely washing machines, dishwashers, toilets, refrigerators and water heaters. Although there are other items that consume large amounts of power and/or water, how we use them and our personal habits must also be evaluated and corrected then constantly scrutinized to break those bad habits. Here our Denver Plumbers will specifically discuss the water heaters we offer here at NoProblemPlumbingandDrain, updating your water heater to more innovative technology and how it helps reduce both your monthly utility bill and your impact on your local fresh water supply.

The traditional water heater has been a long standing facet in American homes for decades, not only in America but most of the modern world, the first instantaneous domestic water heater was invented in London, England by a painter named Benjamin Waddy Maughan in the year 1868. His design inspired a Norwegian mechanical engineer named Edwin Ruud to create the first electric water heater in 1889 after immigrating to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Water heaters have gone through various reconstructions some moderate and some extreme throughout the years, adding fuel options from electric, natural gas, propane and recently solar power, which the Denver Plumbers here at NoProblem Plumbing and Drain are excited about offering our customers, but generally the design has been pretty much the same. They are large metal cylinders that fill with water and contain a heating element inside to heat and reheat the water as needed to keep a fairly consistent temperature. The major drawbacks to the design is the standby-losses associated with heating and reheating water that is not in use and the limited capacity of the hot water available for consumption, when the tank is low or empty it takes time for the tank to refill and reheat.

The solution to these problems can be answered by Tankless Water Heaters, also referred to as On-Demand Water Heaters, which provide hot water where you need it, when you need it and without the need for a bulky storage tank by heating the water as it travels to its desired location. Using electricity, gas, or propane as a fuel source, Tankless Water Heaters, in many cases, can cut your water-heating bill by about 10 to 20 percent depending on your personal habits and needs. Economic relief comes from eliminating the standby losses which wastes energy by keeping warm water sitting around unused in a tank going through a repetitive cycle of heating and cooling. It saves water by limiting the amount of water that can be processed through the system to about 2–5 gallons (7.6 – 15.2 liters) per minute versus the 5-7 gallons per minute for the average shower. So if your showers are an average of 10 minutes each and you currently use 5 gallons of water per minute that equals 50 gallons of water used per shower, compare that to 2 gallons of water per minute at 10 minutes per shower that equals 20 gallons. Giving you a savings of 30 gallons of water each time you shower, say you shower twice a day that is 420 gallons a week and an average of 1,680 per month! Plus you can add a nice shower head to compress the water more efficiently providing more comfortable water pressure and reducing the water consumption even further. Units large enough to supply hot water for an entire house can be located centrally. They are commonly placed in a closet or under a sink close to where the hot water is actually used, same as smaller units.

The great thing about Tankless Water Heaters is that they can supplement your current water heater or it can be used as the primary or sole provider for all your hot water needs. However they are not appropriate for all applications, your home may require more than one unit and may not always save you a significant amount of energy or money each month. Residential-sized Gas Fired Tank less water Heaters models that are currently on the market supply only five gallons of water heated at 90 degrees per minute which is a sufficient output for a household with one or two people. However, if you have a large family and need to do laundry and wash dishes at the same time others may be taking a shower, a tankless system will probably not meet your hot water demands. Electrical Tankless Water Heater models provide less hot water than gas models – more like two gallons a minute, heated at 70 degrees. Please contact us here at NoProblem Plumbing and Drain to speak with one of our Denver Plumbers, they will be able to assess your hot water needs and find a solution that will meet your demands, limit your impact on the fresh water supply and reduce your monthly water bill in the most efficient and affordable way possible. We also provide Water Heater Flushes, water heater maintenance and repairs on any and all models of Water Heaters, tankless or otherwise.