Home: Articles, Tips And News : Tankless Water Heaters - Gas Or Electric?

All the rage within the plumbing world at the moment are the increasingly popular tankless water heaters, or 'on-demand water heaters' and this is for several reasons. First of all they are easy to install and can be done so quickly with little effort or cost. They also provide heated water quickly and efficiently without breaking the monthly budget and with minimal damage to the environment.

You may not know it however tankless water heaters have been around for a lengthy period of time, most often used in 3rd world locales to reduce costs or older cities which lack the infrastructure to install gas plumbing within the walls of their antique buildings. With budgets tightening in the western world and many more people worried about the effects of dangers such as climate change the tankless water heaters seem to be heading towards a larger and still growing market.

How does a tankless water heater differ? Your conventional water heating system uses natural gas to heat the large tank of water you see in your basement. This takes a period of time, usually 30-45 minutes and when the tank is depleted you will have to wait one more. Tankless water heaters don't suffer from this setback and are able to provide warm, heated water as required, when required.

They do have negatives however; mostly due to the amount of heated water able to be produced prior to providing sub-standard water temperature. The more water which flows through your pipes and the cooler that water becomes.

Purchasing tankless water heaters is simple enough these days. What you need to consider is whether electric tankless water heaters are they way to go or gas. Either, or both may be appropriate for your needs.