5 Essential Tips For Sizing A Tankless Water Heater
An economical and energy-efficient alternative to standard storage water heaters is a tankless water heater, a unit that produces hot water on demand. Also called demand or instantaneous water heaters, they must be the correct size to provide all the hot water you and your family need. Here are five important tips to keep in mind when sizing a tankless water heater.
Know the flow rate.
Flow rate is the total number of gallons of hot water needed each minute to meet the highest demand. Determine the flow rate by identifying the hot-water appliances that are likely to be in use at the same time. Add up the total gallons per minute of hot water these devices use to find the flow rate. The tankless water heater you choose must be able to meet this flow rate.
Know the temperature rise.
Temperature rise is the difference in temperature between water as it enters your home from the utility supply and the temperature the water should be when it comes out of your faucets. If water enters your home at 50 degrees and you want your hot water to be 130 degrees, the tankless water heater must generate a temperature rise of 80 degrees.
Determine if you need more than one.
If your household uses a large amount of hot water, you may need more than one tankless model to accommodate the demand.
Consider thermostatic controls.
These types of controls can effectively vary the temperature of the hot water flowing out of your faucets in response to factors such as water flow rate and the temperature of the water coming into your house from the utility lines.
Be aware of temperature limitations.
Factors such as faster flow rates or cooler incoming water can decrease the water temperature at faucets farthest away from the water heater. Keep this in mind when sizing a tankless water heater for your home.
Sobieski Services provides reliable expert HVAC services to Wilmington-area customers who need professional heating, cooling and plumbing work. Contact us today for more information on sizing a tankless water heater and for advice on how a tankless water heating system can be more convenient and efficient for your household’s needs.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Wilmington, Delaware and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).
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