Tankless water heaters are growing in popularity in homes and businesses because they are incredibly energy efficient. If you are just starting your own business or your established business needs a new water heater, consider switching to tankless. Check out these three questions to help determine if a tankelss system is right for you and your business needs.

How Often Do You Use Hot Water?

If you run a restaurant, you likely use hot water frequently for cooking and cleaning, but if you own a small clothing store, you may only need a little hot water for cleaning and bathrooms. If you only use hot water in a few areas, such as the bathroom, a tankless water heater could be a good choice because you can get a point-of-use system. A point-of-use tankless system is stored near a specific faucet, and it only heats water to that faucet. This makes them extremely affordable. Some people choose to have a standard water heater with a point-of-use system at a faucet that demands high quantities of hot water.

If you use a lot of hot water in many locations, it may be better to get a whole-building system. These units are still small (much smaller than bulky water heaters and boilers). However, they are typically stored in a universal location such as a utility closet, and they heat water to every faucet in the home or business.

Do You Want to Save Money?

The downside to purchasing a tankless system is that they are expensive. In some cases, you may spend more than with a traditional water heater. However, tankless systems are energy efficient, so you will see monthly savings. If you use about 41 gallons of hot water or less in your business each day, you can see savings of up to 34 percent when you switch to tankless systems from traditional water heaters.

You can save so much with a tankless water heater because it is only using energy when you need hot water. The benefit of a standard hot water heater is that it stores a big amount of hot water, ready whenever you need it. However, to keep that water hot, the system must run continuously. Good insulation can help, but the system is nearly always consuming energy to keep the water hot. A tankless system starts using energy once you turn on the hot water, and it stops using power once you turn off the faucet or switch to cold water.

Do You Need Immediate Hot Water?

True, tank systems require a lot of energy to keep that water hot and ready, but there is a benefit to having a tank full of hot water: you don't have to wait. If you want to take a hot shower or do some dishes, you can simply flip the switch, and the hot water starts pouring. Of course, the downside to this is when the tank runs out of hot water. If you want to take that hot shower, but someone already used up all the hot water, you'll have to wait for the tank to refill and heat the water.

With tankless systems, there is not a ready store of hot water, so the water must be heated once you turn it on. This takes time, so you may have to let the water run for a bit before it gets hot. Luckily, you don't have to wait as long as it takes for a tank water heater to refill. Also, once the water is hot, it won't run out unless you run out of power to the system.

A tankless water heater can be a huge benefit for any small business because it saves you money each month. If you want to save money each month on water heating costs, and you don't need instant hot water, you should consider switching to a tankless system. Contact a company that offers commercial plumber services for additional advice.

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