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MYTH VS. FACT: TANKLESS VS.TANK-TYPE
SUPERPLUMBER USA IS Here To Educate You On The Future Of Hot Water!
Hot water usage in American households consumes between 15 and 30% of a home’s energy demand, according to the
US Department of Energy. Surprisingly, the technology used to heat water in the US is antiquated and highly inefficient
when compared to the tankless or on-demand technologies now used regularly in Europe and Asia. This primer attempts
to explain the new technology and benefits behind whole-house natural gas-fueled tankless water heaters (TWHs).
Myth 1: Only a tank can provide a large amount of hot water. Heating a tank of hot water is neither an effective nor an efficient way to supply hot water. As hot water drains from the tank, in-flowing cold water lowers the overall temperature of the water in the tank. Traditional tank-based water heaters are not designed to heat the in-flowing cold water rapidly enough to keep the out-flowing water at a constant temperature. In contrast, properly sized TWH systems are designed to keep out-flowing water at a constant temperature.
Myth 2: A tankless hot water system can’t provide enough continuous hot water for an entire household.
The reality is that the heat-exchanger technology used in TWHs is specifically designed to provide a full and
inexhaustible flow of appropriately heated water to an entire household.
Myth 3: Tankless water heaters must heat the water so hot that it is dangerous to use them.
Actually this fear is more relevant to traditional tank-based water heaters than to TWH systems. Tankless
systems are safer to operate since they heat the water to only slightly above the level of intended use.
Traditional tank-based water heaters have to overheat the stored water so that it will remain hot enough as the in-flowing cold water mixes with it.
Myth 4: Tankless water heating systems cost more to operate.
Like any profitable investment there is an immediate outlay of cash, but when you factor in the lower operating
cost and longer (20-year) service life, TWHs save their owners a substantial amount of money. In fact, as illustrated below, it is difficult to construct a scenario where owners of a new natural gas TWH system will earn areturn on investment of less than 45%.
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