How does a Tankless Water Heater Work?

A Tankless water heater uses heating elements to warm the passage of water rather than storing a limited supply of warmed water like a traditional hot water heater.

Traditional hot water heaters are built to keep a supply of hot water at your disposal at all times. This means that your water heater continuously uses energy to warm water whether or not you need it.

A Tankless water heater, however, heats the water only when you ask for it. With these smaller on demand devices, you start the warming process when you initiate the flow of water. Cool water passes through a heating element and warms to a desired temperature before continuing on to the hot water lines. Rather than constantly warming the water, you begin heating the water when you turn on a hot faucet or an appliance.

Help me find the best tankless hot water heater for my home.

Depending on whether you have natural gas, propane or electricity, we recommend the following helpful guides to assist you with your point of use hot water heater selection. Visit our Buying Guide located at the top of each page to help you in making an informed decision.

What are the advantages of a tankless hot water heater system?

Also known as a point of use water heater or an on demand water heater, this innovative product generates hot water immediately when you open the hot water faucet. The unit then turns itself off when the faucet is closed, thus saving energy costs over the entire lifetime of the unit. The energy consumed is only for heating the water that is needed for that specific time. Since there is no storage of hot water and no constant heating and re-heating of water as in standard water heaters, you're not wasting energy when you don't need it.

The energy savings of the gas tankless water heater translates to dollar savings for you and reduced impact on our environment. Typical savings are approximately 30% of your energy usage. Furthermore, a tankless water heater produces an endless supply of hot water, provided you size the unit appropriately. Point of use water heaters are also designed to last for 20+ years and can be mounted to a wall to save space.

How does an electric point of use water heater work?

Same principle as the gas units, when a hot water tap is opened, the cold water enters the tankless water heater and triggers the heating elements to turn on. Your hot water tap acts as an ignition key for the energy used to heat the hot water you need. The water is then heated as it flows through the heating elements or heat exchanger.

Whether you are looking for a gas or electric tankless water heaters, we can help you find the perfect Bosch tankless water heater for your home. Call us today for a detailed analysis of your heating needs.