Going Tankless: The Hot & Cold on On-Demand Hot Water
There’s a lot of talk about tankless water heaters lately, but are they right for you? Tankless water heaters are perfect for certain situations, such as having a vacation property, like a cabin in the Northwoods. You’re probably not up there all year long, so a tankless water heater is great for this type of residential application.
Traditional water heaters hold heated water in a tank for long periods of time, acting like thermoses. However, while you’re not using it, heat is slowly dissipating through the jacket. This is called “standing loss.” With a tankless, you don’t have standing loss because water is continuously heated on demand, resulting in an endless supply of hot water. Not to mention, without a tank, you’re looking at a very small space footprint; a typical tankless unit is the size of a suitcase, so it hangs neatly on the wall and is directly vented through your wall or roof.
Both traditional tank-type water heaters and tankless water heaters are available in high-efficiency models; however, the tankless, with its lack of standing loss and ability to fit in small spaces and that means additional energy savings.
So if tankless water heaters are great in residential applications, then you might think they must be really great in commercial applications, too. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
