Tankless water heaters

There are two primary types of water heaters: storage and tankless. In this column I’ll try to explain the differences between these two approaches and offer some guidance on choosing between them. (There are also “hybrid” water heaters with features of both that I’ll cover in a future blog.)

Storage water heaters

Most water heaters are storage models. These are insulated tanks holding 20 to 120 gallons with either electric heating elements or gas burners. The storage tank stratifies with hot water at the top and cold incoming water at the bottom, so that as you draw off hot water (from the top), you get consistently hot water until the hot water is nearly depleted. The “first-hour rating” tells you how many gallons of hot water can be delivered in an hour. 

Tankless water heaters have one advantage over conventional storage units: no standby losses. Instead of keeping water hot around the clock, regardless of whether it's actually needed, tankless units heat water only when a tap or an appliance is turned on. By rights, this should mean lower energy consumption, a decidedly green advantage.

As we build more energy-efficient houses, particularly when we go to extremes with insulation and air tightness, as with PassivhausA residential building construction standard requiring very low levels of air leakage, very high levels of insulation, and windows with a very low U-factor. Developed in the early 1990s by Bo Adamson and Wolfgang Feist, the standard is now promoted by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany. To meet the standard, a home must have an infiltration rate no greater than 0.60 AC/H @ 50 pascals, a maximum annual heating energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (4,755 Btu per square foot), a maximum annual cooling energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (1.39 kWh per square foot), and maximum source energy use for all purposes of 120 kWh per square meter (11.1 kWh per square foot). The standard recommends, but does not require, a maximum design heating load of 10 W per square meter and windows with a maximum U-factor of 0.14. The Passivhaus standard was developed for buildings in central and northern Europe; efforts are underway to clarify the best techniques to achieve the standard for buildings in hot climates. projects, water heating becomes a larger and larger share of overall energy consumption. In fact, with some of these ultra-efficient homes, annual energy use for water heating now exceeds that for space heating — even in cold climates.

So, it makes increasing sense to focus a lot of attention on water heating. What are the options, and what makes the most sense when we’re trying to create a highly energy-efficient house?

John Metcalfe's San Francisco renovation included the installation of two tankless water heaters and a small circulation pump in his four-story, 3,200-sq. ft. home. The water heaters, connected in series, are located on the second floor, which is a more or less central location.

His hot-water problems should be over, right? Except they're not.

I still remember using spray foam insulation in my early green renovation projects – it was almost magic! It sealed and insulated in one shot. It made it easy to finish attics and avoid most of the problems with fiberglass batts that were the common insulation on our jobs.

Instant water heaters save energy and offer endless hot water, but not without some problems. A small tank and a big pump can fix the flaws

Ever been hit by a sudden blast of cold water in the middle of your hot shower, or even just lost hot-water pressure altogether, because someone has decided to do the dishes at the same time you're cleaning up?

UPDATED 04/05/2012

Tank or Tankless: Reduce the Load to Lower Water Heating Costs