tulsa tankless - water heater services

tulsa tankless - water heaters

The tankless water heater represents the most major advance in residential water heating since the first storage-tank model was invented in 1899. A tankless model generates hot water entirely on-demand. This eliminates many of the limitations of the traditional storage tank heater and improves energy-efficiency. As the typical American household spends about $500 annually on water heating, any cost savings can make a difference in the family budget. Here are some ways a tankless water heater improves both convenience and economy in your home.

• No standby heat loss. A typical conventional water heater utilizes a tank to store about 50 gallons of hot water. As time passes, water in the tank gradually cools, and the burner must activate to maintain proper water temperature. Due to this standby heat loss, energy is wasted reheating water in the tank multiple times until the water is finally used. Instead of storing water, a tankless unit heats only when hot water is needed.

• Unlimited hot water. When someone opens a hot water tap in the house, a tankless unit senses the requirement and instantly begins heating the continuous flow of water for as long as required. You never run out of hot water like you do with a storage-tank unit when demand is high. Nobody ends up shivering in a cold shower.

• Longer service life. The tank is a weak link in a storage-tank water heater. After an average service life of about 12 years, standard water-heater tanks are subject to internal corrosion, mineral accumulation, and leakage that require replacement of the entire unit. Tankless units eliminate these downsides and, with proper maintenance, will usually last more than 20 years.

• Improved energy efficiency and lower costs. In a home that uses up to 40 gallons of hot water daily, tankless heaters are about 30% more energy-efficient than a conventional tank model. According to the EPA, a tankless heater with Energy Star certification can reduce hot water costs by $100 per year in the typical household.

More Benefits Of tulsa Tankless Water Heaters

Not only will a tankless heater save you money on your energy bills, it will also save space within your home since these systems do not require large holding tanks like their traditional counterparts do. This can free up some space in your basement for extra storage, or a kid’s play area.

Another feature that makes these new, more modern heaters very popular is the fact that it is virtually impossible to run out of hot water. It only takes a few consecutive showers to deplete a traditional heater’s tank. Afterwards, it is necessary to wait until the tank’s contents are heated once again before you can access hot water. With a tankless system, the supply is continuous and plentiful.

Tankless Water Heater Installation

The proper installation of a tankless water heater is very important for it to run efficiently and perform as it is designed to do. There are many aspects to properly installing a tankless water heater and you should hire Air Assurance’s professional plumbers to complete the installation.

To properly install a tankless water heater, Air Assurance will first check the gas line. A tankless water heater will typically require a gas line with a larger diameter. There is a little electrical wiring involved as well, and once the old water heater is removed and disconnected, we can begin setup of the new water heater. Tankless water heaters are mounted to the wall, not left on the floor like a conventional water heater.

For more about the efficiency and performance benefits of a tankless water heater, contact Air Assurance.

Put Your Tankless Water Heater in One of These Spots

If you're making the switch to a tankless water heater in your home, or are planning a new home that uses tankless water heating, you'll need to decide where to put the main tankless unit. If it's installed in the wrong location, it won't heat or deliver water as efficiently, and you won't save as much energy — or dollars on your utility bills.

Unlike traditional storage-tank water heaters, a tankless water heater heats your water on demand, as you need it. There's no standby energy loss as water sits unused in a big tank. Tankless systems use either gas or electricity to instantly heat the water as soon as it receives a signal that hot water is needed (someone turning on the tap, taking a shower, running the dishwasher, etc.).

Sizing a tankless water heater is an important consideration, since in bigger households, you may need a main tankless unit, along with one or more point-of-use units located near remote or special water-demand locations.

Where Should a Whole-House Tankless Unit Go?

In most homes, the best place is near the main demand source, such as a main bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room. The closer to the demand, the less distance the water has to travel after it's been heated. It will be hotter and will arrive quicker. In addition, less standing cold water will need to be purged from the supply line, and less hot water will be left in the line after the demand ends. In many homes, a hallway bathroom is positioned relatively close to a master bathroom, so installing a tankless water heater in this area would make sense.

However, you'll also want to consider where hot and cold water lines are located; and if you're opting for a gas-fired tankless system, where the gas lines and vents are located. Usually, the venting will need to be modified to accommodate the tankless unit.

For more information on tankless water heating in your Oklahoma home, please contact us at Air Assurance.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Accurate shot/Shutterstock”

Protect Your Tankless Water Heater From Freezing This Winter

If your tankless water heater freezes, it may be subjected to severe internal damage and leakage, which can affect heating efficiency. What’s worse, the cost of repairing or replacing it probably won’t be covered by your warranty. Most manufacturer warranties require homeowners to take appropriate winterizing steps to ensure their heaters don't freeze when it’s not in use for an extended period of time.

While most indoor and outdoor units incorporate a freeze protection function for short-term dips in temperature, this option probably won’t protect your tankless water heater from long exposures to more acute temperatures, especially during periods when you may be away from your home for several days.

This is why homeowners who live in areas where winter temperatures drop into the freeze zone should have a qualified plumber winterize their tankless heater during periods of non-use. Here’s what should be done:

• If your heater has been operating in the last hour, let your unit cool down, so it can be handled.

• Your heater should be disconnected from the electrical outlet or electricity should be shut off at the breaker.

• The gas supply should be shut off at the valve on the gas line.

• Water supply to the heater should be turned off at the inline shut off valve.

• Faucets located near your heater should be opened to bleed off pressure inside the plumbing.

• Both the cold water inlet and hot water outlet pipes should be disconnected from the heater before the inlet water filter is removed.

• Residual water inside your heater and pipes should be drained out into a bucket. Your plumber may utilize an air compressor to blow the pipes clear of all remaining water.

• For long periods of disuse, both the intake and exhaust vents should be capped to prevent accumulation of leaves and other debris.

To protect against freezing weather during severe cold spells in Broken Arrow, contact a qualified plumbing professional at Air Assurance.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Mile Atanasov/Shutterstock”

Why Your Tankless Water Heater Takes So Long to Heat

Tankless water heaters are considered among the most energy efficient water heaters available. A traditional water heater keeps water in a tank heated until it is needed. Keeping the tank heated requires energy.  A tankless water heater, on the other hand, heats water on demand thus saving the consumer the cost of keeping water heated continually. And while the tankless heater may offer an endless supply of hot water where the traditional model has only a 50-gallon capacity that does not necessarily mean that the hot water will appear instantly. There are several reasons that your tankless water heater may not produce hot water quickly.

1. The distance between the water heater and the outlet. If your water heater is not located near the outlet you are using, especially in a large house, it may take some time for the water to travel from the water heater to the faucet or outlet. It is not unheard of for lag time between heater and faucet to be as long as three minutes.

2. An outlet nearer to the water heater than you calls for hot water. If another outlet is seeking hot water and is closer to the heater than you are, then it will get the hot water first. You will either have to wait until the other person is finished or until the heater senses that it needs to make more hot water.

3. You don’t have the faucet open enough. If you have your faucet set at a trickle, the water heater may not be triggered. You may need to open the faucet more.

4. Calcium buildup. It is not uncommon for tankless heaters to develop a build-up of calcium which can affect efficiency. It is recommended that you have a professional flush out your tankless heater about once every year.

If you are thinking about installing a tankless water heater or need to service the one you already have, contact the professionals at Air Assurance.Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Mile Atanasov/Shutterstock”

Water Heaters: For Some Households, Tank Types Work Best

There are a variety of water heater options available to any homeowner when it’s time for a replacement. While tankless water heaters have many benefits and are becoming more popular, the conventional tank water heater is still often the best option for your home because of the following reasons.

Massive capacity. Running out of hot water in the middle of needing it is the worst. This is a problem rarely encountered once you have a properly sized tank water heater, which can store anywhere from 20 to 120 gallons.

More affordable. Tank heaters are by far the cheaper option when compared to tankless units. If you had a tank heater in the past it will also be easy to put in a new one, whereas tankless heaters often require some extra work to be done.

Good range. There are no issues providing hot water to any number of outlets in your home with a tank heater. On the other hand, a tankless heater must be installed close to the point of use, which means that big homes often need multiple units.

Consistent Flow. It’s easy to get frustrated if the water pressure from your taps consistently varies. Since tankless heaters have a limited capacity, this is a major problem in many home. A conventional tank heater on the other hand has a large reserve capacity, which means that water flow will largely be uninterrupted.

Easy to maintain. Tankless heaters may take up less room, but can often be difficult to access to maintain or repair. Your tank heater is accessible enough that all parts are easy to inspect, clean and fix if needed.

If you’re unsure of the best type of water heaters in your Broken Arrow home, feel free to contact Air Assurance for help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). 

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