Berkeys / Berkeys Blog

January 09, 2017

Does Your Tankless Water Heater Saves You Money?

Making your home more energy efficient is great—not only because it helps the environment, but because it lowers your gas and electric bills, as well. It is no secret that energy-rated appliances are often a big upfront investment, as they can cost more than double what an energy-wasting model does.

What do tankless water heaters cost? I’m going to discuss the costs of gas and electric tankless water heaters and what to expect.

SAVING MONEY WITH A TANKLESS WATER HEATER

The house is on a nice sized chunk of land in our area and we are very happy there. The one issue we are dealing with is our water. Not the pressure, but how much it costs us to heat. After some digging, we discovered that our water heater is really old and undersized, which is a terrible combination at best. Our electricity bill has been much higher than at our old home, but with less space.

Since I hate having to pay more for electricity, I decided to figure out what was causing our problems. After testing and researching, I narrowed it down to the water heater. As I said, it is undersized for our home. It is also quite old.

What Are Tankless Water Heaters?

Traditional water heaters store water in a tank where it is kept warm until needed for use. This means that energy is being used to keep water heated even when you don’t need it. Tankless models, on the other hand, heat water as it flows through the device, letting you cut down on energy costs.

How Much Do They Cost?

Tankless models do cost more than traditional water heaters. There is a wide range of prices for both traditional and tankless models depending on brand, power and energy efficiency. You can get a decent gas-powered, traditional water heater for $500, while a tankless model will cost around $1200. It can be hard to imagine that this significant upfront cost will pay off in the long run, but in order to know for sure, you really have to take a hard look at long-term operating costs.

How Much Can It Save Me?

Reports vary on how much money tankless water heaters actually save. According to Energy Star, they can save $100 or more per year, while Consumer Reports estimates savings to be only $70-80 per year. To estimate your savings, think about your family’s water usage. If you have a large family that uses more water, your savings will be higher than someone who lives on their own and uses less water.

Importance of Tankless Water Heater

Tankless water heaters tend to be much more efficient than traditional water heaters. Water doesn’t have to sit in a tank and be heated. You heat water on the fly with a tankless water heater. You can get hot water on demand and receive a constant flow of it. Theoretically, you should never run out of hot water with a tankless heater.