On Demand Hot Water Heaters

On Demand Hot Water Heaters

The first thing you will have to understand about on demand hot water heaters is there is not tank to have to deal with, and can often be placed in spaces you could never fit a tank heater, no matter how small it was. In order to understand this, here is how on demand hot water heaters work.

Usually you have a heater casing, and depending on the size of the heater, it could fit easily under a kitchen sink. On demand water heaters contain two coils inside a case. The first coil contains water. You cold water line comes on one side, coils around and around in the box, and out the ‘hot’ side. Then another heating coil wraps around the first one. Also, the cold water goes through, it s heated up and comes out the other side as hot water.

One of the biggest benefits of an on demand hot water heater is that there is no large tank storing hot water, which cool down after usage and have to be heated back up. Imagine how much money is wasted every day having to keep fifty gallons of water at 120degrees all the time. With an on demand, the only storage is in the coil, and it’s heated as you need it.

Because you aren’t keeping many gallons of water heated all day long, you save a bunch of money over the initial costs, and are available in both electric and gas models, even ones using LP gas. While electrical units do save you money, the best ones, that heat up water quickly safely as without many problems, gas heater is your best bet, especially if you have gas available in your area.

You should really look around before you buy, because it is a big investment. You are looking to spend up to and over a thousand dollars for a quality unit, any that has any kind of warranty or guarantee. If you see one advertised without a warranty, don’t buy it. Right now, Paloma, Takagi USA, and Bosch seem to be among the top brands.

For sure, just like your normal tank hot water heater, the more demand you put on your unit, the longer it will take to heat the water. You are also going to find that the less distance between the heater and the faucet, or usage the better. Take some time and think about where you will need it the most, or even better yet, install two instead. You can use the larger one close to a well used area, like bathrooms or laundry, and a smaller unit for under the kitchen sink, which can also be used for the dishwasher.

For more energy savings, some units that run on electricity, also run from a solar panel. These can be ideal for lesser used hot water demands, like a pool or hot tub. Solar can run a variety of different things, including your whole house. The nice part about using solar to power an on demand hot water heater, is you can still have a nice hot shower, even in a power outage.

Finding a retailer for an on demand hot water heater isn’t hard, either online or at a local home improvement retailer. While it is a good idea to put these heaters in new construction, you can easily adapt one to fit your own needs.