If you are looking for a more efficient way of heating water and only want hot water ready when you need it, a tankless water heater installation might be the solution. This type of water heater looks like a somewhat flat box mounted to the wall closest to where your pipes diverge for cold and hot water. This might be inside a utility closet on the first floor of your home, or in the basement near your water main. If you want to know more about the installation process and how a "tankless" heater functions, the following is provided.
The Installation Process
The tankless water heater needs a space that is about two feet by a foot and a half by ten inches to have adequate clearance to mount it to a wall or a built vertical surface. If this space exists in a utility closet, your plumber will mount the water heater box to the wall in the closet. If the space exists in the basement, the plumber will mount the box to a basement wall near the water main.
If it is too difficult to mount the box to a wall in the basement, a vertical post to which the box may be attached can be created so that there is something to secure the heater box to. Then there are pipes going into the bottom of the box and coming out the top of the box. The "water in" pipes attach to the bottom of the box, and the "water out" pipes attach to the top of the box. Some electrical wiring is needed, but then the heater is ready to produce hot water for your home.
How the Tank Operates
When you turn on a hot water tap, the heater receives a signal that you want hot water. It then takes up cold water through the bottom of the appliance, rapidly heats it to the point of almost boiling, and then sends the water up through the pipes in the top of the box toward the hot water tap you have opened. It may take a few seconds to a minute to get the hot water going, but the hot water begins when the tap opens and ends when you close the tap. A remaining amount of hot water may remain in the pipes, but if you need more hot water than what an open sink tap produces in a minute, the heater will kick in and heat more water as you go.
Share26 September 2019
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