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Tankless water heaters are all the rage right now, especially in communities like Fort Worth, TX, where utility bills take a big chunk out of the family budget. Purchasing and installing a tankless system, however, isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly. While in the long-term families will save money, conserve energy, and even take back some storage space in their home, the upfront costs of making the switch from a traditional tank heater deserves some consideration.

The most important decision to make when considering the switch to a tankless water heater is whether or not your home is powered by natural gas or electricity. If your home is an electricity powered home then you’ll want to be sure that your current wiring can support an electric tankless heater. If you have to re-wire to support it you may be facing a larger upfront cost than another family with a gas-powered home.

Upfront costs can be one of the largest things stopping a family from making the switch to a tankless water heater, however these costs should be weighed against more than the long-term savings on your energy bill. There are a number of other important considerations to take into account.

Firstly, a gas-powered tankless water heater will last double or triple a standard tank water heater and an electric tankless heater, while its life-span may be shorter, will still last longer than its electric counterpart. Secondly, if your home is gas-powered chances are you’ve worried more than once about the various appliances in your home springing a leak and flooding your home with dangerous gases that can cause serious harm! A gas-powered tankless water heater isn’t running 24/7 like a regular water-tank heater so there is less worry about it leaking into your home.

No family should ever have to worry that they’ll come home from a day out enjoying the all the activities that Fort Worth, TX has to offer to find their water heater has sprung a leak and filled their bathroom, basement, garage or other storage location with water that is quickly spreading through their home. A tankless system is much less likely to spring a leak and flood your home. This peace of mind, while priceless in some ways, has a very real effect on your wallet in the long-term.

Are you planning on remodeling your bathroom? Do you have a water heater tank sitting in a spot that you know would make a great storage location? Tankless water heaters take up significantly less space than a traditional tank water heater. A modern tankless system is about the size of a briefcase and can fit into many places you wouldn’t think your water heater could go. This frees up space in your home for whatever remodeling project you have in mind.

Is your home a smart home? Do you have appliances you can control and communicate with via your smartphone? Modern tankless heaters have these features as well. You can adjust the water temperature, see your usage, and even identify problems and display them so you can tell your Fort Worth, TX plumber exactly what’s wrong with your unit.

The time you wait between turning on your shower water and enjoying a nice, hot shower is no different between a tankless heater and a standard tank heater. It takes only 15 seconds for a tankless heater to heat the water to the temperature you’ve set and send it along the pipes for you to enjoy. Tankless units that have more than 50 feet of piping between the unit and the water fixture can be purchased with a recirculation pump. This pump will pull any cold water standing in the pipes between uses back into the heater so that it comes out your taps nice and hot with only a few seconds of waiting.

Your efficiency in heating your water will reduce your electric bills right from the get-go and this is the feature about tankless water heaters that everyone is most excited about. In the winter your house costs money to heat, and in the summer, it costs money to cool – no one can change the weather, but you can change the way you heat your water. A tankless unit removes the need for a giant tank to hold 40 to 50 gallons of water that must be constantly heated and re-heated until used. This reduces a huge portion of your energy consumption and that matters during high energy use periods like summer and winter. Tankless water heating units save between 25 and 50 percent of the fuel costs that would be used by a regular tank unit.

Before you go off to buy a tankless water heater be sure you call in the professionals and discuss your household’s needs. The size of tank you’ll need, including how many gallons your household will need to heat at a time and how many BTU’s the heater will need to successfully heat that water. You should also plan on hiring a professional plumber to install the unit and ensure everything is working correctly. Your plumber can also figure out where the best place is to install your water heater and whether or not you need a water softening system to reduce water hardness and sediment build up that can destroy your heating element.

Once your tankless water heateris installed, however, you can enjoy instant savings in the form of energy rebates and lower utility bills. You’ll have more space in your home, and a water heater without the limitations of a tank, able to provide as much hot water for as long as you want it. The pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to having a tankless water heating unit installed in your home. For all of you plumbing needs contact Benjamin Franklin Plumbing!