Most people spend a lot of money on heating water—more than they may think. Water heating makes up about 17% of the average household’s utilities, which is a lot when you consider how much you actually use the hot water in a given day. If you’re like most people, it’s not very much, and certainly not 17% of the day!
A water heater is a necessary appliance, and most water heaters have to run all day every day in order to ensure you are always in supply of hot water. A tankless hot water heater, though, is not like this. So can you really expect to save money when you trade up to a smaller tankless unit?
What about the initial cost?
Many people see the price of a tankless water heater and automatically think, “Not worth it.” Before we go on: Yes, buying a tankless water heater does cost more money upfront than a conventional tank water heater.
In addition, it is possible that you’ll need multiple tankless water heaters if you have a larger home or a large household. The main complaint about tankless water heaters is that they take a while to heat the water up, so you might want to place more units closer to the bathrooms. And for a larger household, it becomes necessary to install multiple units so people can use separate showers at once.
So is it really worth it?
While that initial cost is enough to scare many off, we’re here to tell you that a tankless water heater will save you money over time (provided it is properly installed and maintained). Tank water heaters suffer from “standby heat loss,” meaning a lot of the heat generated by the system is never actually used.
A tank water heater, on the other hand, uses nearly all of the heat it generates. It only activates when you turn on a hot water tap in the home and then shuts off immediately afterwards. That means it only uses natural gas or electricity when you actually need it.
Because it takes a while for the water to heat up, some water will be wasted in the process of waiting several seconds for hot water. Still, this doesn’t nearly amount to the cost wasted by the standby heat loss of a tank water heater. In the end, you’re likely to see a return on investment.
How long will this last?
Tankless water heaters tend to have a longer lifespan than tank water heaters. While tank water heaters have a life of about 10-15 years, tankless water heaters can last 20 years or more! However, we should note that proper maintenance is required throughout the system’s life. Scaling can build up on the heating elements from time to time and should be checked.
The low energy bills should offset the extra cost of installation within about 10 years of the system’s lifespan, so you can feel confident your investment was worth it. This is especially true with gas tankless water heaters, since the cost to use natural gas tends to be lower than electricity in most areas.
Contact Admiral Plumbing Services, LLC to know that you’ve got the right plumbers on the job. We install and service tank and tankless water heaters in Jupiter, FL.
