Tankless water heaters perform, but at a cost

It seems we struck a nerve with a couple of recent columns about on-demand water heaters. Also known as tankless water heaters, on-demand heaters deliver an almost-never-ending supply of hot water if properly sized and installed.

Our first column on the subject responded to a reader who wondered whether replacing a conventional water heater with a tankless model was a smart move. We said that conceptually that was a reasonable way to go. Heat only the water you use, rather than heating, storing and then reheating when needed. It makes perfect sense -- we thought.

Wrong!

The column produced a flurry of reader comments enumerating a plethora of problems they encountered in going tankless. Two weeks later we devoted the column to their comments under the rubric that "the devil's in the details."

This generated a firestorm of e-mails in favor of tankless heaters.

One reader wrote:

"Your article was discouraging. In Europe, I've used many on-demand heaters, both gas and electricity fired, and have had no problems. The wait for hot water rarely exceeds 20 to 30 seconds. They rarely use a single heater for all the hot water needs, rather having a small heater in each bathroom and one for kitchen/laundry. Some systems in the United Kingdom have central hot water for laundry and kitchen and individual on-demand units for bathrooms. Why are these innovative water heaters such a problem here in the United States? And why do you exclude electric heaters in your discussion?"

We can think of one reason: cost. Multiple on-demand units replacing a single conventional water heater with their multiple gas lines/vents or electrical service will increase the cost exponentially and eliminate any energy savings that might be generated by the change in system.

We continue to believe that on-demand water heaters make sense. Whether they're cost-effective is another matter. Installation often requires retrofitting by increasing the size of gas and water lines. Installation of a recirculation pump is often required to enhance the performance of the heater. ...CONTINUED

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