Totally Tankless
by Alan M. Petrillo
December 1, 2006
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| The popularity of tankless water heaters is tied to energy savings, ''endless'' hot water in some applications and compact size. Photo courtesy of Rheem.
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Proponents of tankless water heaters contend that switching from a tank water heater to tankless makes sense for several reasons, and yet the higher cost of the tankless units and their installation have caused them to be seen more in new housing developments and higher-end custom homes.
But the tankless market share is increasing, according to Ted Sikorski, vice president of marketing for Bradford White Corp. in Ambler, Pa.
"The market probably will take about 250,000 tankless units this year in the United States," Sikorski predicted. "I don''''t see tankless units fully replacing tank-type water heaters, but they do have a niche and it''''s getting bigger."
While tankless water heaters give the user the ability to get a continuous flow of hot water, Sikorski pointed out; there are limits on what they can do.
"Often you can''''t do a couple of things that use hot water at the same time, like take a shower and run a washing machine or dishwasher with a tankless unit, but you could use one to take a shower all day long and not run out of hot water."
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| The Designer Plus Series tankless water heater. Photo courtesy of Rinnai. |
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The cost of tankless units is a major factor in whether they are chosen for homes, as is the deliverability issue, according to Sikorski.
"You can''''t have a dump load where you deliver a large quantity of hot water at one time," he said, "However, you can get hot water all the time, but the amount that can be supplied is limited by the BTU rating of the unit."
Bradford White makes the 7.6 gallon per minute (gpm) EverHot, which has a gas model that can be installed internally within a living space and vented to the outside or another model that can be mounted on the exterior of a building and vents directly outside.
Sikorski said Bradford White sells more of the internal models, and that sales are evenly distributed between new home construction and retrofitting existing homes.
Dan Moffroid, director of product marketing for Bosch Water Heating in Waitsfield, Vt., said his firm''''s market is more in new construction right now.
"Even with the slightly increased product cost, the installation cost for tankless is comparable to a storage tank unit," Moffroid said.
Tankless technology has been around for 100 years, and according to Moffroid, it''''s the way most of the world heats its water.
"Areas like Europe, South America and Asia generally use tankless technology to heat water," he pointed out. "In the US, we''''ve seen moderate growth over the first 15 years of our tankless business, but in the mid-to-late 1990s, the entry of major Japanese companies into the market helped stir up market interest and drive sales."
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| Retrofit installations are growing because of energy efficiency, space savings and ''endless'' hot water. Photo courtesy of Stiebel Eltron
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The other trend that Moffroid said he has seen is that "as fuel prices have gone up, the move toward tankless technology has increased because people see hot water tank technology as inefficient."
Bosch Water Heating has been selling tankless units in the United States since 1979. Its two best selling units are the gas 117,000 BTU and 175,000 BTU tankless heaters.
"The 117 will handle one shower at a time in a home, while the 175 will handle two," Moffroid said. "Also, the 175 units can be cascaded to service three or four showers."
Frank Stiebel, president and co-owner of Stiebel Eltron Inc. in West Hatfield, Mass., said his firm has been seeing a lot of retrofit applications for tankless water heaters.
"With energy costs going up, a lot of people are going toward tankless heaters," Stiebel said. "Besides the energy efficiency, the other advantages of tankless include space saving and endless hot water. The tankless units have concrete advantages over tank units and that''''s why they''''ll continue to make inroads in the hot water market."
Stiebel Eltron, which has been in business since 1924, started making tankless units in the 1950s. It makes the electric Tempra line of tankless water heaters that run from 12 to 36 kilowatts (kW). One model is for point-of-use applications while the other is aimed toward the commercial market.
"We recently expanded the Tempra line to a total of six models," Stiebel said. "And we are working on a small point-of-use water heater, to be out in early 2007, that is very compact-only seven inches wide and four inches tall. It''''s good for one or two sinks and is the ideal solution for someone who is looking for an inexpensive, energy-efficient way to heat water at the point of use."
Yoshi Asano, North America marketing manager for the Noritz America Corp. in Lake Forest, Calif., said his firm has been manufacturing gas tankless water heaters for four years in the US, although it has been making such units in Japan since 1951.
"We put a lot of research and development into our units and focus on making a quality product," Asano noted. "We were the first to manufacture the computer-controlled tankless unit in 1980."
He pointed out that gas tankless heaters are very efficient, offering homeowners lower operational costs, which make them more economical.
"Gas is more powerful to provide hot water for whole house applications," Asano said. "Electric services much better in point-of-use applications because of its capacity."
Asano said that Noritz has seen very high demand for tankless units.
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| Photo courtesy of Eemax
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"Many engineers are specifying tankless heaters for commercial applications too," he said, "like for restaurants and hotels. On the residential side, home builders are using tankless heaters as standard in their homes to differentiate themselves from others."
Asano pointed out that many homeowners like the tankless units because they are small and don''''t run out of hot water.
"Besides, they can save up to 50 percent on their utility bill and get the $300 federal tax credit this year on a tankless unit," he added.
Acknowledging that tankless units cost more than tanks, Asano said the higher up-front investment will pay itself off in a few years. He noted that many cities around the country are giving rebates to homeowners who install tankless units, in addition to the federal tax credit. He cited localities in Florida and California as examples.
Peter Blaha, manager of specialty products for Rheem Water Heating in Montgomery, Ala., said it''''s important for homeowners to look at the long term with an investment in tankless water heater technology.
"It''''s very appealing to those who are going to stay in a location for several years in addition to the benefits of space savings, efficiency and the continuous availability of hot water," Blaha said.
Rheem offers three basic gas tankless models that range from 4.2 gpm to 7.4 gpm. All are available in both indoor and outdoor versions.
Shaun Thomas, Rheem''''s specialty applications specialist, said that tankless units typically last twice as long as tank water heaters-about 20 years versus 10 years.
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| Takagi''s T-K3 is one of the evergreen units in the tankless market. Photo courtesy of Takagi.
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"The advantage to tankless is that it''''s a longer-term investment," Thomas said.
Rheem also makes the EZ Link cable that allows its tankless units to be interlinked to communicate with each other.
"By connecting a couple of units together, we can handle multi-bedroom houses with multi-bathrooms," Thomas said. "Running four showers at the same times means a flow of 2.5 gpm per shower. With two of our units and an EZ Link cable, we''''re able easily handle the larger flow rate."
Thomas pointed out that the tankless market has its own growth potential, with 130,000 units sold this year across the industry. He estimated the entire water heater market at 5 million units.
Ron Gillespie, owner of Trilogy Plumbing in Chandler, Ariz., said the federal tax rebate has helped him sell tankless water heaters this year, but his biggest difficulty is in getting people to understand that even though it''''s a large purchase, they will recoup the costs within a few years.
"Most folks realize the benefits of switching from a tank to tankless," Gillespie said. "They are interested in getting unlimited hot water at a more energy efficient cost."
For commercial applications, its'''' been more of an uphill battle for Trilogy Plumbing.
"Restaurants and apartments have to put in multiple tankless units, and depending on the unit, like ones with indirect venting, the cost can get up there," Gillespie said. "But some business owners understand they can save money by replacing their tanks with tankless. Some may have to pay between $5,000 and $12,000 for tank technology, so switching to tankless can save them money."
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| Bradford White estimates the U.S. tankless water heater market will be able to absorb up to a quarter million units during 2006. Reeves Journal Photo |
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Trilogy Plumbing has installed tankless water heaters in structures from 1,200 square feet to 30,000 square feet.
"With all the tankless units we''''ve installed we have had nothing but positive feedback," Gillespie said.
At Takagi Industrial in Irvine, Calif., marketing coordinator Tiryn Tomps said while tankless water heaters take up a small part of the market currently, the company expects that to increase.
"Once more people put them into their homes and others see the advantages of tankless, it will really catch on," she said. Takagi manufactures five tankless units, ranging from its smallest, the T-K Jr. with a capacity of one to two bathrooms. It runs at between 19,500 and 140,000 BTUs and has a flow rate of between .75 to 5.8 gpm.
The company''''s largest unit is the T-M1 which will handle four-plus bathrooms at 25,000 to 235,000 BTUs and a flow rate of between .75 and 9.6 gpm.
Tomps noted that Takagi also makes a "green" model tankless unit that is nearly 95 percent efficient. It will handle 3 to 4 bathrooms at .75 to 10.2 gpm and 15,000 to 199,000 BTUs.
Takagi, which sells directly to distributors and wholesalers, has units for both residential and commercial use. Its residential business is even divided between new construction and renovation.
"We have a lot of installations going into new construction in apartment houses and condominiums," Tomps said, adding the renovation market is heating up, too: "We need to have better education about tankless water heaters because there''''s a fear out there that they won''''t catch on and will only be a fad," Tomps said. "I think what we''''ve seen with the trend in tankless technology is that it is not a fad and will grow in popularity."
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