Pasadena, MD & Nearby Areas 
If your Pasadena, MD, home needs a new water heater, you should consider a tankless model. They’re a great alternative to traditional storage tank water heaters if you’ve never owned one. Tankless systems have various advantages that you will want to know about. Here’s how tankless water heaters work and why you should consider one.
What Is a Tankless Water Heater
As its name suggests, a tankless water heater produces hot water on demand instead of storing it for future use. It uses a powerful heating element that raises your incoming water temperature on the fly. Although they’re less prevalent in the US than storage tank heaters, tankless heaters aren’t new. They hit the market only a few decades after the first storage tank heater. However, material limitations made the first few generations of tankless heaters impractical for most homes. By the 1970s, tankless water heaters had reached efficiency parity with storage tanks. Soon afterward, they surpassed them. Still, storage tank heaters kept their significant market share lead in the US. In the rest of the world, though, tankless heaters are now very common.
How Does a Tankless Water Heater Work?
There are two types of tankless water heaters on the market today. The main difference between them is their heating elements. The first is a gas-fired tankless water heater using a burner similar to a furnace. The other is an electric tankless water heater, which uses a high-wattage electric resistance heating element. The former is the more popular option because it’s cheaper to run and can produce a higher water temperature rise.
Both types of tankless water heaters share similar modes of operation. The process begins with a flow sensor. It’s a device that sits in line with the hot water output pipe that leaves the heater. When you turn on a faucet or an appliance that needs hot water, it senses water moving through the pipe. That’s how a tankless knows to engage its heater to produce hot water.
Inside the heater, the water flows through a series of pipe coils wrapped around a heat exchanger. The heating element sends heat into the exchanger, which warms the water. A thermostat measures the heater’s outlet temperature. Once the water reaches the preset temperature, the system modulates its heating element to maintain a steady stream of hot water. When the flow sensor detects an end to the demand for hot water, the system shuts down.
Why You Should Consider a Tankless Water Heater
A tankless water heater can transform how you use hot water in your home. For one thing, it means never running short of hot water. If you love taking long, hot showers, you can do so. If you want to do your laundry and not wait to run your dishwasher, you don’t have to. Plus, tankless water heaters are more efficient than storage tank models. Those suffer standby losses while waiting for you to use their hot water supply. As a result, a tankless heater may cut your hot water energy expenses by up to 34%. You will also gain some extra space in your home by installing a tankless. They’re wall-mounted and typically no larger than about 25″ X 30″. A tankless water heater should also last about 20 years with proper maintenance. That’s up to a decade longer than a comparable storage tank model.
Your Local Tankless Water Heater Experts
For over 8 years, Priority Plumbing & Drain has offered quality tankless water heaters to Pasadena homeowners. We’re also a full-service plumber, handling everything from clogged drains to repiping and gas fitting. We offer reasonable upfront pricing and no-pressure plumbing recommendations. All of our plumbers have the highest levels of training and years of experience. We’re Better Business Bureau accredited with an A+ rating and countless five-star customer reviews. So, if you’re interested in a tankless water heater for your Pasadena home, contact our team at Priority Plumbing & Drain today!
