Is it time to replace your water heater? Most Wichita homeowners are familiar with traditional tank–also called storage–water heaters. But there’s another type of water heater that you’ve probably heard about, and now might be an opportune time to explore that option. Is tankless water heating a good fit for your Wichita Home? Here are some key considerations. 

Distinct Advantages of Tankless Water Heating

  • Unlike traditional water heaters, which keep anywhere from 30 to 80 gallons of water warm all the time, tankless water heaters supply hot water on demand. Tankless heaters use energy to heat water only when a faucet is turned on, thereby reducing energy loss and increasing energy efficiency by as much as 50 percent. Water is warmed when it travels through small pipes that are heated by electric coils or a gas burner.
  • Hot water is available on demand with a tankless heater. If you have a smaller storage water heater, your hot water has probably run out from time to time when too many people have been using the hot water. You’ve been forced to wait 20 minutes to an hour for the heater to warm a fresh supply of water. A tankless water heater, on the other hand, can provide hot water for an extended period of time.

The Downside of Tankless Water Heating

  • While a tankless water heater can provide heated water for an extended period of time, it cannot produce a large amount of hot water all at once.
  • The flow rate of a tankless water heater is slower than that of a storage water heater. Tankless heaters have flow rates of 2.5 and 5 gallons per minute. This is typically sufficient to handle two uses simultaneously. For example, you can take a shower and run the dishwasher. A tank water heater has a flow rate of 7.5 and 9 GPM and can handle as many as four uses at once.

Is tankless water heating a good fit for your Wichita-area home? To find out more, contact Comfort Systems. We can answer all of your questions and help you find the water-heating solution that’s ideal for your home.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Wichita, Kansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about tankless water heaters and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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