by Agafya Chase

Created on: July 04, 2007   Last Updated: October 03, 2010

Tankless water heaters have been used in Europe and Japan for the past 75 years. One of the reasons is because tankless water heaters consume less energy than hot water tanks. So, they really helped to lower energy cost for the past 75 years in both areas where electricity and gas prices are high. In that case, tankless water heaters just make sense.

Unlike ordinary water heaters using a storage tank, the tankless units have no storage tank and thereby have no standby heat loss. Standby loss describes the energy wasted to maintain a specific temperature in the tank. Standby loss accounts for up to 20 percent of a home's annual water heating costs. Avoiding standby heat loss is primarily how tankless water heaters can come up with their claim of being energy efficient.

Since tankless heaters do not hold water, they are less subject to corrosion and their life span is approximately 20 years. Much longer than its counterparts, the tank-type water heaters that lasts about 10 to 15 years .

Other advantages to tankless water heaters are that they do not waste water since water is heated almost immediately. People don't need to let the water run as they wait for warm water to reach a remote faucet.

Once the faucet is opened, water flows into the heater where a sensor turns on the heat exchanger or heating elements. Water flows through the heating elements, it is heated to the desired temperature. Once the faucet is closed, the sensor automatically shuts down the heating elements. The entire process takes about 5 seconds to heat the water initially.

A tankless water heater can provide unlimited hot water as long as it is operating within its capacity. You could theoretically run a shower forever and never run out of hot water, which is a handy option when you have company visiting or large families.

Tankless hot water heater is a very cost effective unit to have in your home, which can benefit you financially and comfortably as well. Heating water accounts for around 20 percent of our total household energy use.

Tankless water heaters can save anywhere from 5 to 70 percent of the energy required to heat water with the average household savings around 30 percent. Tankless water heaters are now becoming more popular with the increase of electricity and gas prices. For a totally green solution, you can combine the tankless water heater with solar powered energy.

It's also good to check your faucets in your home because sometimes the hot water will have a slow drip into the sink and this really can add up for your heating bills. Better if you check every sink in your home to see if there may be a little drip that occurs which you don't pay attention to but can be an unnecessary expense.

So be wise. Be green.

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