Why Does My Tankless Water Heater Take Longer To Heat Water?

Although a number of different surveys reach different specific conclusions, it seems that water heating accounts for no less than 30 percent of the average family’s utilities budget. Warm water isn’t a facility many households are prepared to cut down on, though, with Wilmington’s average lows below freezing for at least four months every year. In the right situation, a tankless water heater operates at much reduced costs, compared to its conventional cousins, but performance hiccups can occur.

Going Tankless

For many, tankless water heaters are an extremely useful investment. Not only are they are more economical to operate, they typically supply heated water more swiftly, and – because they heat water as its needed – they never “run out.” Like most options in life, though, certain circumstances can cause them to operate at less than their optimum. For homeowners who’ve already invested, the question “Why does my tankless water heater take longer to heat water?” could be answered by one of the three following considerations.

Push On Through

Pipework runs are typically longer from a remote storage tank, to the point use, than from a tankless unit. Nonetheless, the water in any “downstream” supply line isn’t heated. This means that the first water to emerge from the tap isn’t heated.

Demand Issues

Some tankless units do not ignite when only a trickle of water is demanded. If a tap isn’t fully turned to the on position, because only a partial flow is required (when shaving, for instance), that reduced volume may not cause the burner to kick in. Cold water will be the result.

Power Supply

Should a utilities outage occur – either natural gas or electric – a storage system will probably have gallons of hot water in reserve, held in its insulated tank for use until services are reinstated. A tankless unit will not work while the power is out.

At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.

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