How to take care of your tankless water heaters

Jun 17, 2017

How to take care of your tankless water heaters

Many people are choosing to switch from their current tank water heater to the new and improved tankless water heater systems that are now available. They are convenient for having hot water ready immediately when you want it instead of having to wait for it to heat up in a tank as with older models of water heaters. However, it is very vital that you understand how to properly install your tankless water heater if you choose to do it yourself.

The most popular type of tankless water heaters uses natural gas. You can visit here for safety procedures that you may need to be aware of before you install one. The most important precaution to follow is to make sure that the gas supply valve is completely turned off. You may also need to disconnect the pipe that runs from the home to the supply of gas. After disconnecting this pipe, the gas will flow into the home, and it can result in death if you don’t shut it off properly.

How to take care of your tankless water heater

Reduce the use of hot water

The first thing you may want to do is to fix leaks in the faucets or shower heads where the water heater device is installed. It is also best to install low-flow tankless water heating device. Maximum should only be 2.5 Gallons per Minute.

Lower the thermostat

This is effective to reduce energy cost. At every 10F decrease will result in 3 to 5 percent energy reduction. Lowering the thermostat not only does it reduce your utility cost, it also keeps users from scalding. By doing this, your tankless water heating device lasts longer as it prevents building up of sediments.

Turn off the water heater when moving out of the house for several days

To do this with the electric type of tankless heater, you only have to switch off the circuit breaker. For gas fired heater, safely re-light the pilot light before turning it off.

Insulation of water pipes

Doing this will only prevent heat loss, but it also raises the temperature with low water temperature setting. Water is also instantly hot hence there is no need to wait too long for it to heat up.

Install a drain heat recovery device

This device pre-heats water and stores heat from the previous usage for use in the next. With a non-storage type of heating device, it uses a copper heat exchanger. This is very effective in small water heating systems.

Make sure you thoroughly inspect it to ensure there is enough ventilation if have installed the natural gas tankless water heater. This includes having a vent that leads to the outside of the home. You won’t be able to vent the unit to an indoor area, or you run the risk of death from the natural gas being in the home.