Sound Heating and Air Conditioning Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Tankless Water Heater’

Common Tankless Water Heater Repairs

Friday, March 20th, 2015

Tankless water heaters have garnered quite a bit of popularity recently, mainly for their advantages over traditional storage tank water heaters. Compared to tank water heaters, tankless water heaters are more energy efficient and less likely to cause water damage to the surrounding area by rupturing. However, tankless water heaters are not immune to all problems. They still experience repair needs, of which you should be aware. Let’s take a look at the kinds of repairs tankless water heaters commonly need.

Gas or Electric Problems

Tankless water heaters rely on gas or electricity to heat the water they distribute. Even in gas water heaters, there are still electrical components. If your water heater seems to be having trouble starting, or distributing hot water, it is very often due to a problem with your gas or electrical supply. The specific repair is going to depend on the individual problem. If your gas pressure is too low, it may be because you have a blockage in the gas line or because your meter is maladjusted. If your electric tankless unit is malfunctioning, you could have a short or a burnout somewhere in the circuitry. Either way, you’ll want to contact a professional to have a look at your system.

Lime Scale

Lime scale is the result of hard water leaving mineral deposits on the inner walls of your pipes. In tankless water heaters, this tends to affect the heat exchanger more than anything else. Once the mineral deposits build to a certain point, they begin to restrict the flow of water through the heat exchanger. This can cause an increase in pressure and eventually rupture the pipe, though that is rare. Either way, you’ll want to have your tankless water heater inspected at least once a year to make sure that there isn’t lime scale building up inside it.

Most of the problems that tankless water heaters have to deal with are pretty tame, compared to other water heaters. However, that’s no reason to ignore them. If you suspect that your tankless water heater has a problem, call Sound Heating right away. We service tankless water heaters throughout Bellevue.

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Will a Tankless Water Heater Really Save Money?

Monday, February 16th, 2015

When it comes to water heaters, one of the biggest questions our Sound Heating specialists get asked is, “will a tankless unit really save me money?” The answer is yes, but it takes some explaining, which we will do below. You can also access direct help with any questions you may have about installing a tankless water heater in your home by making an appointment with one of the experts from Sound Heating.

How the Costs Breakdown

The initial costs of a tankless water heater are typically more expensive than that of a storage tank water heater, but this isn’t where the savings comes in anyway. Where the savings comes in is over time, in the form of less energy usage. Storage water heaters not only use a greater amount of energy, they also lose a greater amount of energy, something known as “standby heat loss”; this type of heat loss can account for up to 30% of the energy a storage tank water heater uses. So how do you determine how a tankless water heater can save you money? First, you take into consideration that a tankless water heater will save you about $100 per year in annual energy costs. Second, you look at the lifespans of a tank water heater versus a tankless water heater: tank water heaters have an average lifespan of 8-12 years while tankless ones have a lifespan of 20. When you multiply $100 by 20 years, that’s a total savings of $2,000. Of course, these numbers represent averages, but it stands to reason that you will save money over the lifespan of your tankless water heater’s life.

Other Tankless Benefits

Money savings is just one benefit a tankless water heater can offer you. Some other benefits include:

  • Endless hot water – because tankless systems provide hot water on demand, you won’t ever have to worry about running out of hot water.
  • Gas or electric options – tankless water heaters can use either gas or electricity for power.
  • Space-saving – tankless water heaters are considerably smaller than storage tank ones, which opens up a lot of room for your home.

If you’ve been looking for a way to save on your energy costs, and a tankless water heater sounds like it may be a fit for your home in Auburn, WA, call Sound Heating today!

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How Tankless Water Heaters Work

Friday, August 22nd, 2014

We use hot water for a variety of tasks around the house, but we rarely think about where it comes from. If you’re a homeowner, you may be used to seeing storage tank water heaters, which use a large tank to heat water and store it so that it is available at any time. But tankless water heaters have grown in popularity over the years thanks to their ability to heat water quickly and efficiently. So how can a unit heat water instantly without the use of a tank?

A tankless water heater is a “green” alternative to storage tanks that can help you save money over the years and may last longer than conventional units. Curious about how they work? In order to understand tankless water heaters, let’s a take a look at how standard units heat and store hot water.

Storage tank water heaters store water in a large tank to use whenever it is needed. First, cold water enters through a tube that leads to the bottom of the tank. Then a heating mechanism—either a gas-powered burner or an electric-powered heating element—heats the water, which rises to the top of the tank since hot water naturally rises above the denser, colder water. A tube sits at the top of the tank to supply hot water to the home, and cold water continues to cycle in as a replacement.

The problem with storage tank water heaters is the standby energy loss associated with continuously heating standing water. With a tankless heater, water is heated instantly to eliminate this loss. Tankless water heaters simply work through the use of a heat exchange system. Electric coils or gas activate to generate heat as soon as a hot water tap is turned on in the house so that hot water can immediately reach the faucet. Tankless water heaters may not be able to handle multiple jobs at once, so some homes may have several tankless water heaters, each mounted near the tap that activates it.

Want to know if this system is right for your home? Call Sound Heating for more information about tankless water heaters in Gig Harbor!

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