Whether it's a hotel, apartment building, or any other residential building – you need a water heater that is reliable and efficient. You may have heard about tankless water heaters but, are they right for your building?
Tankless water heaters work differently from standard water heaters and this gives you a lot of benefits if you're the maintenance facility for a residential building. Otherwise known as instantaneous water heaters or demand-type water heaters, how they work is that they heat the water that is needed without having a storage tank. The hot water is turned on wherever it is needed and then cold water travels through the pipe into the unit. The water is then heated by an electric element or a gas burner and what you get is constant water with no worries of running out of hot water. There is one caveat, these water heaters output limits the flow rate.
There are a few pros and cons on using a tankless water heater.
Benefits
- These water heaters are not only energy efficient but considered “green” as well
- They are space savers
- There is a constant source of hot water
- The water heating overhead is reduced
- There is no water damage unless the unit itself malfunctions since there is no tank
- When there is proper preventative maintenance, these have a life of around 20 years
- Operating costs are lower
Drawbacks
- These are more difficult to install than a traditional water heater
- The initial investment is much higher than a traditional water heater
- Must be connected to a flue or vent
- Yearly maintenance is required (more so for those with hard water)
With preventative maintenance on these units, they will last you a lot longer even though the initial investment is higher. Not to mention that the energy savings are quite high – even for a residential area, the savings are up to 34%.
Read More: Simple Energy Saving Tips Using CMMS
A tankless water heater may not be ideal for every residential building but in terms of longevity while making sure residents are happy with an unlimited supply of hot water, you can't go wrong with a tankless water heater.
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