Tankless Water Heaters Advantages

Tankless water heaters offer many advantages, including increased energy efficiency and ease of getting almost unlimited supply of hot water. Those are the main reasons why tankless water heaters have been popular in Europe and Asia for a long time, and now are increasingly popular in USA.
Tankless water heaters can be fueled by natural gas or propane. The operating principle of tankless water heaters is quite simple: cold water enters the tankless water heater and flows through the coils, exiting the heater at temperatures of 100-140 degree F.

A moderate size tankless water heater can deliver 6-8 gallons of heated water per minute. This is enough to supply a shower and 1-2 sink faucets.

Tankless water heaters with higher output rates, such as 10 gallons per minute, are able to supply multiple bathrooms that are used concurrently with heated hot water.

There are always other options available, such as to install multiple tankless water heaters to supply various zones of your home with hot water.

Gas tankless water heaters must be independently vented out of the house with gas rated vent pipe. In many cases, tankless water heaters should be installed with twin-pipe vent system, where fresh air is piped directly into a sealed burner from outdoors.

From cost-of-operation and efficiency standpoint, installing gas-fueled tankless water heaters makes a lot of sense. But installing tankless water heaters yourself is extremely challenging and dangerous task. A permit and on-site inspection are required.

Which types of water heaters qualify for tax credit?

There are currently three types of water heaters that qualify for the tax credit for energy-efficiency:

- Whole house tankless water heaters;

- Solar water heaters;

- Electric heat pump water heaters.

To qualify for the tax credit water heater must have:

- Energy Star designation;

- Manufacturer Certification Statement.



Water Heater FAQs:


FAQ – Do any high-efficiency gas storage water heaters qualify for the tax credit?

A – No. Only tankless water heaters, solar, and electric heat pump types qualify for the tax credit for energy-efficiency.



FAQ – Do small tankless water heaters qualify for the tax credit?

A – No. The minimum approved flow is 2.5 GPM over a 77 degree rise.



FAQ – If I install the water heater myself, can I add the cost of my labor to the total price for calculating the tax credit amount?

A – No, but check http://www.energystar.gov/ before filling out your tax return to make sure the rule hasn’t changed.

How to choose Water Heaters to get Tax Credit?


In an average household, hot water costs accounts roughly at 15 cents out of every dollar paid for utility bills. However, much of this money actually spent for just keeping the water in the storage tank hot. Conventional hot water heaters are relatively inexpensive, but high utility bills will eat up that initial savings within first few years.

Conventional Water Heaters are simply large steel tank wrapped with a thin layer of insulation. In conventional water heaters, water is warmed by a gas or electric heating element that kicks on whenever the water temperature drops below the specified settings.

High-efficiency Water Heaters have basic design similar to conventional water heaters, but use better burners, power venting, and have more insulation to achieve lower energy usage. Many high-efficiency water heaters received the Energy Star designation, but almost none of them are efficient enough to qualify for energy-efficiency tax credit.

Gas-condensing Water Heaters also do not qualify yet for energy-efficiency tax credit.

Gas Tankless Water Heaters eliminate the storage tank and instead just heat water when it’s needed. Gas tankless water heaters have a simple operating principle. The cold water flows into a heat exchanger, where the heat from gas flame is transferred to the water. Typically whole house tankless water heater with an Energy Star label qualifies for energy-efficiency tax credit.

Solar Hot Water Heaters store water like conventional water heaters do, but the energy used for hot water heating comes from solar collectors. Typically solar hot water heaters use a backup heat source for cloudy days. Solar hot water heaters with energy star label qualify for energy-efficiency tax credit.

Electric Heat Pump Water Heaters are relatively a new technology. They work like air source heat pumps, extracting heat from air with a liquid refrigerant and then passing the heated refrigerant through coils in the hot water heater, where the heat is transferred to the water.

What is a thermal plate in brazed plate heat exchanger?

Thermal plate is the one that transfers heat. In brazed plate heat exchangers and PHEs, the end plates do not transfer any heat. End plates in brazed plate heat exchangers and PHEs simply contain the fluid and prevent it from touching the pressure plates, which are generally made of mild steel and mot not suitable for a particular fluid.

Thus, in a brazed plate heat exchanger and PHE with a total of 40 plates, only 38 plates are thermal plates, regardless of the number of passes.

However, if one connector plate is used in between the plate pack, so that on fluid exchangers heat with two others, the plates on either side of the connector plate also do not transfer any heat, and out of total of 20 plates, only 16 will be thermal plates.

What are the different ways of fabricating a product from pieces?

There are different ways of fabricating a product from pieces, such as:

- Mechanical joining – using rivets, bolts and nuts, screws, or interlocking joints

- Welding – metallurgical bond by applying heat or pressure

- Brazing and soldering – metallurgical bond by inserting a metal having a lower melting point than the parts

- Adhesive bonding – using adhesives or resins