Go Tankless: Hot Water on Demand

 :: By Joyanna Laughlin

Nobody likes to take cold showers or waste money. Here’s a great way to solve both these problems.

Hot water on demand. Tankless water heaters serve unlimited hot water on demand, which means that each member of your family who takes a shower in the morning gets a hot one. They’ll thank you for it, and if you have teenagers, you’ll thank yourself.

Tankless heaters save you money. They’re 30% more efficient than the best tank-type heaters because you’re not continually heating (and paying for) water that sits in a storage tank 24 hours a day. (Would you leave your car running in your driveway 24/7?) If your gas water heater is more than 10 years old, you’re probably wasting even more money because its efficiency has deteriorated over time.

Tax credits save you even more. Right now you can receive a federal tax credit of up to $300 when you purchase a qualifying tankless hot water heater (with an energy factor of .80 or greater) by December 31, 2007.

Plumbers go tankless. Thanks to improvements in technology and growing customer demand, more plumbers are installing tankless water heaters than ever before. (If you call a plumber who says you don’t want to go tankless, tell him most other countries use tankless hot water heaters and you want to, too. If your plumber seems uninformed about tankless, consider a second opinion.) When retrofitting in an existing home, tell your plumber to make sure your vent pipe is 5" compared to the standard 3" and 4", and your gas line is 3⁄4".

Community Voice

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