What Is the Downside of a Tankless Water Heater?
Ask anyone that has a tankless water heater, “what is the downside of a tankless water heater?” and most people will say it’s the upfront cost and also the cost of the installation.
Purchase Price And Installation
The upfront cost of a tankless water heater is what most concerns prospective buyers. OK so initially it’s going to cost more than a traditional tank water heater but remember, in the long term you will be saving money.
Purchase Price
This is an area where you really shouldn’t try to cut corners by just going for a tankless water heater that “should be OK for what you want.”
Just because a friend or a guy at work has a particular brand of tankless water heater and heaps praise on it, don’t be swayed into thinking, “well, that sounds OK , I’ll get one of those” because what works for someone else’s household may not be right for yours.
You need to get a tankless water heater that is sized correctly for your needs, not just for your needs now, but for future requirements where your hot water demands might increase.
This should be carefully planned and thought out. This is something that most competent plumbers should do without you even needing to ask or worry about it.
Installation Cost’s
If you are going from a tank water heater system to a tankless water heater system then as you can imagine, there will be a need for alterations to the existing pipework.
Although copper, steel and plastic pipework is something that plumbers work with all the time, it is still going to involve some disruption to the household while the new tankless water heater is installed.
Even if you are sticking with the same fuel source of gas or electricity there is still going to be alterations to that supply source to match up to the new system.
As for a brand new install, this will not necessarily be the most expensive option to go for. If you don’t have a hot water heating system in place because let’s say, it’s a brand new build then at times, this is often the easiest job for a plumber to work on. There are no existing copper or steel pipes to alter or divert as would have to be done in a replacement water heater job.
Of course, the more complex the installation, the longer it is going to take the various trades to each do their own bit of the install, longer time on the job means a higher installation cost.