How to Choose a tankless water heater

How to Choose a tankless water heater?

Want to buy a tankless water heater? Do you know what you need to consider while choosing a tankless water heater?

Replacing the traditional water heaters with an electric water heater is one of the most incredible ideas. The electric water heaters are more energy-efficient, take less space, heat more water, install, and above all, price is affordable.

The water heater provides hot water on demand and has a more powerful heating system. Therefore, the demand for tankless water heaters has risen over the last few years. But, remember that there are certain factors which you need to consider while choosing the best product for your home.

If you will buy a water heater for your bathroom, give a read to this article. It is going to be a great help for you.

Choosing a tankless water heater

Determining the right size of an electric tankless water heater is one of the crucial factors you must consider while buying the water heater. But, besides it, many other factors are equally important and worth considering factors that you must consider while buying the best product.  A few of them are just given below:

1. Flow rate

To determine your total water requirement or flow rate (GPM), you need to count the total number of appliances you have been using simultaneously. You can use this under the given table to calculate your total water capacity.

Fixture TypeFlow Rate
Standard Shower2 GPM
Body Spray2 GPM
High-Efficiency Dishwasher1.5 GPM
Standard Dishwasher2.5 GPM
Faucet1 GPM
High-Efficiency Washing Machine1 GPM

Besides it, you can also use the user manual to know the number of gallons this electric tankless water heater can provide you.

2. Size

The size of the water heater is one of the essential factors to consider. Before you make a choice or by the heater trying to get an idea about your water capacity; therefore, always make sure that you are getting the water tank of the required size.

3. Warranty

Warranty is one of the essential features. It gives assurance and lets buyers get the product with absolute peace of mind. Many companies offer a lifetime warranty, and many give a warranty of about five years.

4. Efficiency

Most of the electric heaters available in the market are energy efficient; they consume significantly less electricity and offer an endless supply of hot water as a result. Thus, this way, they make a massive difference in the electricity bills, making them an efficient and the best option for all the householders.

5. Climate

The climate or temperature is another worth considering factor that can significantly affect your selection. You need to get a more efficient water heater in a cold environment and provide you the hot water at the required temperature. And if you are not living in a cold environment, it would not be a big issue for you.

6. Maintenance

The electric heaters are very easy to maintain and do not require high-cost as well. So, while making a choice, make sure that the maintenance cost would not be high. Besides it, in many cases, the company also takes responsibility for the maintenance.

What Size Tankless Water Heater Do I Need?

Firstly, while selecting the best water heater in the buyer’s mind, what size tankless water heater would I require? Well, it is entirely dependant on your daily usage of water and the number of family members as well. For instance, according to an estimation, each house can consume up to 64 gallons of water every day.

You can find different types of water heaters in the market. Almost all of them have a water capacity of 60 gallons. But tankless water heater gallons per minute is one of the best ways to get an idea about the water capacity of the electric water heaters.

In addition, the water heaters also utilize the British Thermal Unit input to determine the efficiency of the water heaters in terms of GPM.

So, tankless water heater sizing depends on the number of gallons of hot water you would require each day, and then you can get the water tanker in accordingly.

What Size Tankless Water Heater To Replace A 50 Gallon?

You may have been using a 50-gallon water heater and want to replace it with another electric water heater. For instance, you are consuming 15-gallons of water, and you have a total of four members in your family.

Therefore, this 50-gallon water heater would not be enough for you. Therefore, it is a good idea to replace this 50-gallon water with an electric water heater.

There is no set-up to store the water in tankless water heaters. Just because of an efficient heating system, the water heater heats the water and supply it as soon as you open up the tap. You need to determine the GMP or gallon per minute capacity of this electric water heater. So, if you want to replace the 50-gallon water heater:

A 10-GPM gas tankless water heater or a 27-KW electric water heater would be an excellent choice fr you. Besides it, the 7-GPM gas tankless heater or 18-KW electric tankless water heater would also be an excellent choice to replace the 50-gallon water heater.

But, it is just a rough estimation. Before you make a purchase, it is far better to determine how powerful the electric heater and the number of gallons it can provide. For this purpose, you can also use the tankless water heater GPM calculator to get the best product to fulfill all of your needs.

How Many Gallons Per Minute Does A Shower Use?

Many of us take a shower to wash away the dirt or other germs; many take a shower to feel fresh, and for many, showers are the best option to escape from reality. Primarily people take a shower for just 10 to 15 minutes but primarily, people take long showers, which is no surprise.

According to a rough estimation, if you take a shower for at least 8 to 9 minutes, you would use about 18 gallons of hot water with an average flow rate of about 201 gallons per minute. So, the tankless water heater for the shower is a great choice.

It ensures you an endless supply of hot water for a long time and is just enough for a large family. For instance, multiple tankless water heaters for three bathrooms are available in the market.

How To Calculate Tankless Water Heater Size?

The water requirement entirely depends on the flow rate your home requires. So, for the tankless water heater GPM calculator, you need to include all the fixtures which have been using the hot water at the same time. For this purpose, you can sum up the flow rate of all the fixtures you have been operating at the same time.

 For instance, if you have been using the standard shower, a body sprayer, high-efficiency dishwasher, standard dishwasher, faucet, and washing machine machines, sum up all of these flow rates 2+2+1.5+2.5+1+1=10. So, you need to get an electric tankless water heater that can provide you more than 10 GPM of hot water.

How Does A Tankless Water Heater Work?

These devices are so intelligent and efficient that they can recognize that you need hot water as soon as you open the tap. And soon after, they start heating the water. Their heating process is very efficient as it consumes less energy and provides an enormous amount of hot water.

With the help of different preinstalled sensors, the water heater came to know the amount of energy required from the incoming water temperature. And the water heater can deliver the water just at the required temperature this way.

As soon as you just shut down the tap, the water heater realized that there is no need for more hot water and thus shuts down the whole process. The water heater waits until you again feel the need for hot water.

Dangers Of Tankless Water Heaters

The tankless water heaters are very safe to operate, but the central issue is carbon monoxide poisoning and fuel or propane gas leakage. The leakage of the gas most of the time happens due to the installation. The water heaters come along with different built-in safety features, which make them safer to use.

Conclusion

The tankless water heaters are more energy-efficient, easy to maintain and install. And above all, they can make a massive decrease in electricity bills in the long run.

But as the countless number of choices are available in the market, selecting the product could be a difficult decision to make for you. Therefore, some of the factors you must consider while buying the best devices for your home have been described here. Just have a look over all of them before you make a decision.

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