Traditional hot water heaters can’t keep up with today’s appliances.
Not to mention the fact they can be quite expensive, which is why we created found the top water heaters in California for your home.
Newer solutions on the market, including tankless water heaters, change the way your water is heated.
When you turn on the tap, water flows through the unit and is heated before it reaches the faucet.
There is no storing, no useless heating and definitely no wasted energy on keeping the water at a set temperature even when you don’t use it.
Below are some tips on how to choose the best tankless water heater for your home, as well as how to regularly maintain it.
1. Consider the size of your home
If your house is smaller or you don’t regularly use a lot of hot water, buy just one tankless heater for your entire home.
But if you do use a lot of hot water, you can also connect multiple units for whole-house water heating.
2. Gas or Electric?
Did you know that tankless water heaters are available in both gas and electric?
Make sure to choose the one that is most efficient for your home and your wallet.
3. Look for high-energy factors when buying tankless water heaters
The models that meet Energy Star requirements have an energy factor (EF) rating that is equal to or above 0.90.
The EF basically stands for the efficiency of the heater to convert gas into hot water.
Therefore, the higher the EF, the better and more efficiently your water heater will convert the energy into hot water.
If you choose a gas tankless water heater, contact your local gas utility to make sure that your gas supply line is properly sized with your application and the unit you choose.
If you choose an electric tankless water heater, bear in mind that they have limited output which tops out at 36 kilowatts, or about 123,000 BTUs, which may not be enough if you live in a colder climate.
4. Finding the properly sized tankless water heater for your home
Unlike regular water heaters, tankless heaters are sized by the number of gallons of hot water they produce per minute (GPM), not their size.
It is recommended you make a rough list of how much water you use, and whether these usages collide with one another.
For example, you can use the rule-of-thumb sizing to do the estimation on your own.
Here are some rough estimations commonly used:
- 1 bathroom or 1-2 people requires 140,000 BTUs
- 2 bathrooms or 2-3 people requires 190,000 BTUs
- 3 bathrooms or 3-5 people requires 380,000 BTUs
Nevertheless, it is still best that you consult a professional plumber to make sure your tankless water heater is the right size for your home.
5. Call a professional plumbing company
Even do-it-yourselfers need to call on a professional sometimes, especially to install a tankless water heater.
This way you are completely confident your system is installed efficiently, effectively and correctly.
Additionally, you can ask for advice on how to suit this system according to your individual requirements.
6. Sign up for an annual service
Most plumbing maintenance plans will include cleaning or changing your water and air filters as well as checking the burner for optimum safety and efficiency.
7. Experiencing any hard water?
If you live in an area prone to hard water, you should use this trick.
Flushing vinegar every 500 hours or so will prevent mineral buildup from clogging the water heater exchanger.
8. Easily maximize your water heater’s efficiency
You can maximize the potential of your heating system be insulating all of your exposed pipes.
This will make your water output produce 2 to 4 degrees warmer when it comes out of your faucet as well as protect your home’s pipes from freezing in the winter.
Finding a residential plumbing contractor in California provides the convenience of getting to your bay area home without the added stress or cost of waiting around. Instead, your tankless water heater or backflow can start to receive the necessary plumbing repairs you’re looking for right away. Super Service Plumbing is one of the top plumbing companies on the west coast, located in the heart of wine country in Sonoma County.
Super Service Plumbing provides plumbing services in Santa Rosa and throughout Sonoma County and is always available for emergency plumbing repairs 24/7. So call one of the best plumbing companies near you at (707) 544-6444 today.
Proud to help our Sonoma County communities including:
Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Healdsburg, Sonoma, Cloverdale, Sebastopol, Cotati and beyond.