Tankless water heaters have already been popular for years in Europe and Japan. North American homeowners are now catching on.  Tankless water heaters, they’re learning, can make sense for the environment and your budget. “Go for a natural gas on-demand water heater for tankless water heating,” suggests Renée Loux, author of Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home. “These systems use loads less energy, offering instantly hot water at a fraction of the cost of water heaters that store hot water in a tank.”

The straight facts

Loux, host of Fine Living TV show It’s Easy Being Green and a celebrated organic chef, owner of Maui’s Raw Experience, calls the water heater “one of the biggest energy hogs at home.” She admits some on-demand water heaters cost more initially than conventional storage models but have lower operating costs longterm. 

She compares high-efficiency storage tanks to on-demand (tankless).  According to US Environmental Protection Energy studies, tankless models offer 20 to 40 per cent savings over storage types and tankless heaters’ expected lifetime is 20 years versus eight to ten. For the energy cost savings over the equipment’s lifetime, research shows tankless saved up to $1,800 and storage up to $500.

Energy Factor (EF) & peak hot water demand?

The editors of the Green Guide Magazine, authors of Green Guide: The Complete Reference to Consuming Wisely, give on-demand tankless heaters, especially gas ones, another green thumbs up. “Gas tankless systems usually cost less than electric to operate; they also tend to have higher flow rates than electric,” say the editors. 

They advise consumers choose the most efficient tankless water heater models by inquiring about their Energy Factor (EF). “This number expresses how efficiently the heat from the energy source is transferred to the water,” they explain. “The higher the number, the more efficient the heater.”

Choose multiple-tank systems for a larger household, the experts advice, so you can run hot water through for a dishwasher, a washing machine and a kitchen faucet. Also, it’s up to consumers to figure out the peak hot water demand, the highest amount of hot water demand and the time of day, so they can select the best water heater technology.

Changing times

“The North American water-heater industry has evolved dramatically over the last several years,” says Home Depot Canada, with locations in Calgary and Edmonton. “What used to be a choice between buying a 40-gallon tank or a 60-gallon tank is now a decision that needs to take energy-efficiency ratings and tank size into consideration. That’s where the tankless water heater comes in.

“The tankless water heater is a huge technological achievement.  These innovative systems not only save valuable space, they also create huge energy savings which translates into huge monetary savings.” 

Interestingly enough it’s international companies Bosch, Noritz, Takagi and Rinnai, who are the main manufacturers of tankless water heaters. 

“The AquaStar 2400ES is our most popular Bosch model as it is a very versatile unit with several installation options,” explains Mat Katz, retail marketing manager for Bosch Thermotechnology Corp. 

“It serves up to two major applications such as two showers running simultaneously. Combined with a high-energy factor and efficiency the concept of tankless is very green in that you are only heating the water that you use (on demand.)

Brad Pitt needs no tanks

Hollywood actor Brad Pitt and his Make it Right Foundation are even using tankless water heaters in building 150 green, affordable, energy-efficient homes in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward. The project has chosen leading tankless manufacturer Noritz and its Next Generation Series with the Dual Flame Burner and the Super Heat Exchanger. 

The Dual Flame Burner is a new technology that provides the stable combustion, which offers consumers a wide range of hot water that can be used from lower flow to higher flow. While the Super Heat Exchanger allows for greater water flow and more durability through its larger tubing size.

Yank the tank 

Earlier this year, Ontario’s EnWise launched its Yank the Tank campaign, encouraging homeowners to switch to tankless water heaters. “Many homeowners don’t realize that with their conventional rented hot water tanks, they are paying substantially more money than they need to, and that they are inadvertently harming the environment at the same time,” says Peter Hwang, chief executive officer of EnWise. The company set up a water heater calculator online on their website so consumers could see how much they could save if they “yanked the tank.” 

EnWise also offers homeowners special deals (based on energy and rental savings, government grants and EnWise incentives) when they replace their conventional water heater with a Rinnai tankless from EnWise. 

Hwang indicates other additional benefits come with using tankless water heaters. “One of the greatest risks of having a standard hot water tank in the basement is its chance of flooding. Just imagine, 50 gallons of water can cause serious damage to a home that would be very costly to repair…,” he says.  “With tankless hot water heaters, the risk of flooding or leakage is significantly reduced.”

No end in sight

An alternative to the tankless water heater is the wall-hung combination boiler in Calgary’s London at Heritage Station by Edmonton-based developer Westcorp Properties. Each suite is equipped with a Baxi Luna-Combination Boiler-Energy Star that provides a furnace and on-demand water heater. 

The boiler, at 30 inches high, 18 inches wide and 14 inches deep, only requires nine square-feet, using less than one-tenth the space needed for a traditional mechanical room. Noiseless and direct-vented, the boiler can provide endless hot water at 3.3 gallons per minute. 

Suppliers of Baxi products say their products are chosen by leading builders, architects, engineers and designers. According to Marathon International, these are Baxi features:

They are between 86 per cent to 98 per cent efficient.

• The fully-modulating Baxi boiler can heat a home from 600 to 6,000 square-feet.
• They can cut fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 59 per cent.
• The boilers are approved for closet installation, freeing up valuable living space.
• They are CSA-approved, Energy Star- rated and ASME H-stamp certified. 
• The manufacturer is ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001-certified (environmental management).
• Each boiler carries a ten-year warranty on heat exchangers.

Alberta going with the flow

In Alberta, Direct Energy is now running a tankless water heater special promotion of its state-of-the-art Rinnai to homeowners. The tankless heater provides over four gallons of hot water per minute with no recovery time. Direct Energy predicts its customers could save between 30 to 40 per cent of their gas bill associated with water heating. In addition, their tankless water heaters would emit 22 per cent lower greenhouse gases than traditional tanks.

 “You can save a bundle, and because it’s available on demand, your tank of hot water will never run out because there isn’t one,” says Loux. CL

Why turf the tank? 

Are there other advantages to tankless water heaters besides saving money? Hot Watersource points out also the tankless water heater: 

Is very small and can hang on the wall, thereby saving you valuable floor space.

Is designed with replaceable parts and is built with such materials as copper, stainless steel, and aluminum so as to last a lifetime. Energy savings is only one segment of savings. With proper care this could be the only water heater one needs in a lifetime. 

Will not develop a corrosive leak like a storage tank water heater, saving you from expensive water damage in your home.

Note: A tankless water heater can leak if it is exposed to freezing temperatures or has a manufacturing defect.

Maintains its efficiency throughout the lifetime of the unit. Storage tank water heaters decrease in efficiency over time due to mineral build-up inside the tank.

Source: Hot Watersource 

www.hotwatersource.com

What is the Energy Factor (EF)?

Alberta’s Utilities Consumer Advocate says the Energy Factor takes into account:

• recovery efficiency—how efficiently the heat from the energy source is transferred to the water,
• standby losses—a percentage of heat lost per hour from the stored water compared to the heat content of the water
• cycling losses—the loss of heat as water circulates through the water heater tank and inlet and outlet pipes.

Source: Utilities Consumer Advocate

Netting more information:

www.reneeloux.com

www.rodalestore.com

www.thegreenguide.com 

www.preserveourplanet.com/books 

www.homedepot.ca 

www.boschhotwater.com 

www.noritz.com 

www.makeitrightnola.com 

www.enwisepower.com 

www.directenergy.com 

www.ilikelondon.com 

www.wallhungboilers.com 

www.hotwatersource.com 

www.ucahelps.gov.ab.ca/133.html