SAN RAMON — If your water heater needs to be replaced, you may be considering switching to a tankless model. However, while a tankless water heater certainly has its advantages, it’s not necessarily a good investment for every home. Before making a decision, it’s important to learn about the pros and cons of tankless water heaters.
Pros 
The biggest selling point for tankless water heaters is the fact that they can provide an endless supply of hot water. Unlike a conventional water heater, which can only provide as much hot water as its tank holds, a tankless model has no such limits. However, while endless hot water may sound great, it’s simply unnecessary for many homeowners. If you don’t use a lot of hot water to begin with, a tankless water heater’s capabilities won’t bring many benefits.
Of course, there are scenarios where a tankless water heater makes sense. It can be great if you have a large Jacuzzi tub in your master bathroom or if you have a big family and are constantly running out of hot water. However, if your old water heater has never given you such problems, your life likely won’t be much different with a tankless model.
Tankless water heaters also offer superior energy efficiency. On average, they perform at 98 percent efficiency—far better than their conventional counterparts. Due to the reduction in energy waste, a tankless water heater is better for both the environment and your bank account.
Cons 
While a tankless water heater can save you money on your utility bills, it tends to be an expensive investment at the outset (about three times as much as a traditional water heater installation). Not only are the units themselves pricey, the installation can cost more, as switching from a conventional model often requires modifications to your existing plumbing. For example, you may need to install a larger gas supply valve and modify the ventilation.
Another disadvantage of tankless water heaters is the fact that they’re complicated to work on. Most plumbers can work on conventional water heaters, but it takes factory-trained technicians to work on tankless ones. For this reason, a tankless water heater is generally more expensive to maintain and repair.

Pros and Cons of Tankless Water Heaters

by Bill Van Mastrigt, a Diamond Certified Expert Contributor

2 Household Water Conservation Tips

Advantages of Hot Water Recirculation

Video: 2 Household Water Conservation Tips


many customers are concerned about water
conservation I just want to give you a
couple of tips that can help with that
the first one being hot water
recirculation now they say that an
average family of four can waste over
10,000 gallons a year just letting cold
water run down the drain hoping that the
water gets hot someday well we have a
solution for that it's called a hot
water recirculation system each system
is custom built for your house but ask
your plumber about that we think every
house should be recirculating hot water
and the second thing obviously is
knowing whether or not you're wasting
water without knowing it and leak
detection is a huge part of that so find
a company that has credible Leak
Detection equipment and technicians that
are experienced and trained in finding
those leaks so you're not wasting that
water


Video: 2 Things to Look for During a Plumbing Inspection


when you're calling a plumber and you're
looking for somebody to take care of
your problems we think it's important
that some sort of Home Inspection or
safety checklist is done at the time of
the plumbing service and here's a couple
reasons why many times there are
problems that are underlying that lead
to additional symptoms and problems that
you're just not aware of so by having a
checklist any professional plumber can
check the things that are important in
your house that might lead to these
additional problems and cause further
problems for example water pressure
water pressure is a huge deal and if
your water pressure is outside the range
of what it should be it can cause a
major problem in your house water
quality is another thing and we know
that the water that is sent to us from
the Municipal Water districts can have a
lot of chlorine and contamination those
things should be removed to protect you
your house and your Plumbing Systems
water hammer is a huge one that most
people don't even think about if a
plumber's on site and has an inspection
checklist he can easily go through your
house and try to identify these places
in your house that need that additional
attention to prevent further problems
for you and your family


Video: Advantages of a Hot Water Recirculator


If you're tired of wasting time, water, and money, you'll want to consider installing a hot water recirculate ER. Today, we're in San Ramon with Diamond Certified expert contributor Bill Van, master of Advanced Plumbing and Ruder Service. To learn more, like most people, you probably had the experience of turning on the shower and waiting for hot water. What's the problem with that? Number one, you're wasting water. Number two, you're wasting money. And number three, you're wasting time. There's a solution to that problem, and it's called hot water recirculation. It's a very simple concept, and it's an easy-to-install system that can save you time, money, and water just by recirculating from the water heater closer to your fixtures. This can cut your wait time from two and a half minutes down to about five seconds. Imagine the advantage of not having to wait for hot water. To learn more from local top-rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified expert reports at experts Diamond Certified org. 

Video: Tankless Water Heater Considerations


If you're thinking about switching from a conventional water heater to a tankless model, there are a few practical considerations you'll need to keep in mind. Today, we're in San Ramon with Diamond Certified expert contributor, Build and Mastering of Advanced Plumbing and Murdock Service, to learn more.

Today, I want to talk to you about a subject that is an everyday question for us, and that is when my water heater goes bad, should I get a tankless? Well, it's a great question, and my answer usually is that it depends. Tankless water heaters definitely have an advantage, but there are some disadvantages, so let's talk about it.

Okay, your average water heater in your house is going to be much less efficient than a tankless water heater. That being said, there is a tremendous cost savings using a conventional water heater. Now, what are the advantages of a tankless water heater? Well, number one, you have an endless supply of hot water. Okay, you can let this thing run for 24 hours, and you'll never run out of hot water. That's a huge advantage if you have a need for that.

Okay, and I'm a real big believer in selling people what they need and not so much just what they hear is the next greatest thing. So, what is the good need for a tankless water heater? Well, for example, if you have a large jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom and you have a 50-gallon water heater, it won't fill that tub and maintain the temperature that you want. So, that might be a good reason. And you know, if there's a medical need and/or you just like to fill this tub often, you know it's a good reason to consider switching to a tankless water heater.

There's another good reason could be that there's many people living in the house that are, you know, sharing a 40 or 50 on water heater and the water heater is just constantly running out of hot water. That might be a good reason. So, another advantage of a tankless water heater is the efficiency. Now, what efficiency means is how much is it costing you to use the water heater when it's on. So, tankless water heaters compared to a conventional water heater are typically about ninety-eight percent efficient. Well, that's a good thing. So, when you're using natural gas, you're not wasting to me that that gap it's going that heat value is going right into the water.

Okay, so let's talk about some disadvantages. Tankless water heaters are expensive. Oftentimes, you can spend three times the price of a conventional water heater installing a tankless water heater. Another disadvantage is they're complicated to work on. You know, usually you need somebody that's trained by the factory that can get into this thing and take it apart and service it and make it work again. A tankless water heater can use three times the gasps of a regular water heater when it's operating. Therefore, we have to look at number one, do you have a large enough gas supply?

Okay, and the other thing that a tankless water heater requires is a different type of event system. Typically, we can't use the existing event of a conventional water heater when we install a tankless water heater. Oftentimes, we have to drill a hole in the side wall and rear out that vent to the outside. And when you look at the disadvantages versus the advantages, you really just have to ask yourself, is it worth spending three times the price of a regular water heater to go tankless?

So, the decision whether or not switch to a tankless water here really depends upon your personal circumstances, your situation, and what it is you're turning to learn more from local top-rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified expert reports at experts Diamond Certified org. 

Bill Van Mastrigt: Keeping the Faith

Companies Rated Highest in Quality and Helpful Expertise