How Exactly Do Tankless Water Heaters Work?

Tankless water heaters are a popular plumbing upgrade for homes all throughout Northern Utah!

A tankless water heater installation can assist with boosting your home's value

There’s absolutely no denying that tankless water heaters have grown a lot in popularity in recent years throughout the entire Northern Utah region, and this is largely because these state-of-the-art plumbing appliances eliminate many hassles associated with traditional water heaters.

But it’s likely that you’re still rather confused in terms of how tankless water heaters function, which is why you’re going to need the support of Master Plumbers like the Beehive Plumbing team to help you better understand the true value of these water heater options. The truth is that there’s a lot of clever engineering involved in tankless water heater development, but there are also some rather simple concepts that make traditional water heaters seem outdated and impractical.

Many homeowners that make the switch to tankless water heaters are incredibly happy with their investment and wish they’d made the switch sooner, so below we’ll be explaining how these appliances work and why they’re a great option for you and your home!

The Heating Process For Tankless Water Heaters

Tankless water heaters and conventional tank water heaters do have a few things in common, one being that they rely on electricity or gas for ignition and overall control. Another commonality between both types of water heaters is that they’ll both be directly connected to your home’s hot water lines and main water input so your hot water can successfully reach each faucet or shower throughout your home within seconds.

But beyond those two commonalities, these two water heater systems are very different from one another! Traditional water heaters will require large tanks to be filled up, and then they’ll continuously utilize an electrical heating element or gas burner to sustain the water’s set temperature. This heating process is always rather inefficient and slow, and some larger tanks can take upwards of an hour or more to full heat back up once it’s been drained. This would mean that in the meantime your water supply would be cold, which can be pretty uncomfortable for showering and other household water usages!

Tankless water heaters on the other hand are completely different. As may be self-explanatory, these water heaters don’t utilize a tank but instead heat up small quantities of water at an extremely fast rate. The way this works is through a heating coil that’s located within the water heater unit, so water will flow through the heating coil where it’s then heated up via several heating elements. This heating process inevitably uses much less energy as compared to heated storage tanks, and within seconds your home’s water supply is reaching its ideal temperature.

What’s remarkable about tankless water heaters is that they heat up water instantaneously and on-demand, which means that when you’re not in need of hot water your water heater will idle until it’s needed again. This subsequently means that you’ll never run out of hot water when using a tankless water heater, which is something that a lot of homeowners love about them!

Tankless Water Heaters Provide Energy Savings

Another important benefit oriented around tankless water heaters other than a limitless hot water supply is that you’ll save money on your monthly utility bills while you’re getting instantaneous hot water for your home. This is largely because traditional water heaters waste A LOT of energy on a daily basis just by maintaining the warm levels of the water within the tank. Water inside a water heater tank cannot remain hot forever, which is why the unit will consistently require re-heating (which adds up over time even when you’re not in need of hot water).

Tankless water heaters only turn on their heating elements when you actually are in need of hot water, which means you’ll only be consuming energy when it’s 100% necessary to do so. Over the course of a year, a tankless water heater owner can save hundreds if not thousands in comparison to having a traditional water heater.

Tankless water heaters also pay for themselves because they last much longer as compared to traditional water heaters, and some tankless water heater units can last upwards of 30 years!

Contact Beehive Plumbing To Learn More About Tankless Water Heaters

Beehive Plumbing has been a plumbing industry leader throughout Northern Utah for over 20 years, so we’ve seen firsthand how popular tankless water heaters have become in recent years. Our plumbing specialists have supported countless homes and businesses interested in these technological innovations, and we’ll be more than happy to answer your questions or concerns that you may have about tankless water heaters at your convenience.