Tankless Hot Water Heaters

As you can see, the space being smaller limits how much water can be heated at one time. Generally, a tankless water heater puts out about 5 gallons per minute of hot water, with some putting out up to 12 gallons per minute. On average, a regular shower will use 7-10 gallons of water per minute and a water-saving shower may use 2-4 gallons of water per minute. This gives you a basic idea of what you may be looking at with a tankless water heater. Of course, most people also don’t use straight hot water for their showers, but other appliances such as a dishwasher or washer at times do. These are all things to take into consideration when looking at a tankless water heater.

Generally, a tankless can save you money over time if you are converting from an older electric water heater, but that savings can be nominal when looking at the more efficient well-insulated gas tank-type heaters.

The lasting hot water is the real selling point with this item. There is no reheat time.  If you are filling one of the modern soaking tubs (which generally hold several more gallons than a typical hot water heater) or have people taking back-to-back showers, a tankless hot water heater may be your best bet.

Another selling point is the space-saving you get out of this item. Who isn’t looking for more closets or other space in your home?

The last and potentially most important advantage of the tankless is that it simply lasts longer – as much as 3X longer than a tank heater. Regardless of the tank or tankless heater when it goes out it will take a chunk of money to replace, the tankless a little more if you are converting from a tank system. However,  if the tankless is maintained thru a maintenance program it should last well past 20 years whereas if you have a tank system you are looking at putting out that install money more times in that time frame as the generally last about 8-10 years even maintained.