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Tankless Hot Water Heaters, Efficient, Effective, Endless.
Archive for February, 2012
Tankless Water Heater Life Expectancy and Warranties
Feb 21st
A tankless water heater heats water as you need it rather than a traditional storage system that heats an entire storage tank of water continuously. A tankless not only saves energy, but also space, as they can simply be hung on the wall. Tankless systems have a significantly longer life span than tank-style systems, and thus their warranties are much different than that of a conventional tank. Below we go into some of the details on tankless water heater warranties and life expectancy of a tankless.
Tankless Water Heater Warranties
A tankless water heater warranty normally covers the heat exchanger and then the parts separately. The tank on a tank-style water heater is like the heat exchanger on a tankless system. Typical tankless warranties on most brands cover the heat exchanger for 10 years and the rest of the parts for three to five years.
A tankless water heater system is expected to last 20 years and has a lifespan of at least this long. As a general rule manufacturers of all products, not just tankless water heaters, typically set their warranties at half of the products expected life span. The warranty of your refridgerator, for examples, is about half of its life expectancy.
One advantage of a tankless system is that parts are replaceable, so even if the heat exchanger fails after its warranty period, you can still buy a new heat exchanger. If a tank type water heater has a failure, you do not have this option are are stuck with purchasing a whole new system.
Tankless Water Heater Warranties
A tankless water heater warranty normally covers the heat exchanger and then the parts separately. The tank on a tank-style water heater is like the heat exchanger on a tankless system. Typical tankless warranties on most brands cover the heat exchanger for 10 years and the rest of the parts for three to five years.
A tankless water heater system is expected to last 20 years and has a lifespan of at least this long. As general rule manufacturers of all products, not just tankless water heaters, typically set their warranties at half that of the products expected life span. The warranty of your refrigerator, for examples, is about half of its life expectancy.
One advantage of a tankless system is that parts are replaceable, so even if the heat exchanger fails after its warranty period, you can still buy a new heat exchanger. If a tank type water heater has a failure, you do not have this option are stuck with purchasing a whole new system.
Factors That Can Determine a Tankless System’s Life expectancy
Period of time – While the average conventional tank system typically lasts 10-15 years (and maintains efficiency for 10-12 years), a tankless system is expected to last at least 20 years. That lifespan can potentially be extended even further by replacing the heat exchanger rather than the whole unit.
Maintenance – As with any product, regular maintenance is necessary in order to reach and surpass the maximum life span. Have your tankless system cleaned periodically by a service technician who will use a flush kit. We, and most manufactures, highly recommended this process be done on an annual basis (it can be done by you at home). As build-up of scale and debris forms on the inside of your tankless it becomes less efficient, the same occurs with on the heating elements of your conventional tank. The tankless has all this build-up removed and efficiency renewed with the flushing process, your conventional tank can’t be flushed and simple needs to be replaced. Engineers have spent a lot of time ensuring that a tankless remains extremely efficient and experience an extended lifespan.
Water – The kind of water flowing through your tankless can play a major part in the life span of your tankless. If your water is too acidic it can eat away at the pipes and heat exchanger that are part of tankless. Acidic water should be treated anyways as it is not healthy for you or your family. If it is too hard, you will experience additional scale build-up in the heat exchanger but this can simply be removed with additional flushings.
Toronto Tankless Installation – A correct installation is key to a tankless system’s life span, gas pipes need to be sized correctly and hot water use estimated properly. Some tankless systems can be installed outdoors, but you have to make sure that the freeze protection safeguard works properly, and you must be aware that if the power goes out the freeze protection system can fail. Correctly sizing the appropriate unit for your home will ensure that a tankless remains an efficient, effective, seamless system that provides all the hot water you need.
If you have any questions regarding tankless water heater warranties and life expectancy, call us Toll Free at 1-855-696-8265
Enwise Bankrupt
Feb 8th
Enwise Bankrupt
Enwise Home Services formally known as Enwise Power Solutions appears to have gone bankrupt again. 
Phones have been disconnected, emails remain unanswered, and customers have been left in the dark. Enwise Power Solutions filed for bankruptcy in late 2010, at which point it was obvious they had a flawed business plan. Money was unnecessarily spent and the costs were higher than the available revenue. The core of the company, with the help of an angel investor, purchased key elements back and tried to restart under the name Enwise Home Services. This had some potential to survive as there was a skeleton crew with pre-developed processes and a good base born out of Enwise Power Solutions. The biggest problem would likely be gaining back the trust of suppliers, contractors, and customers that were burned in the bankruptcy.
Enwise Home Services Bankrupt
It has been just over a year since Enwise Home Services was resurrected and it appears that the company has gone bankrupt again. Local businesses, employees, and worst of all customers are on the hook again. If you are affected by this unfortunate situation give us a call and we can perform scheduled maintenance and possibly honour warranties. If we are unable to help you we can direct you to a reputable company that can perform any work during this difficult situation. Call Toll Free 1-855-696-8265
What Happens To Product Warranty?
All HVAC equipment does come with its own factory warranty, and for the most part it is usually quite comprehensive. This warranty will not be affected from the result of enwise bankrupt again and we can provide any warranty service that needs to be completed. If you purchased an extended warranty you should check your bill of sale and see who the underwriter is. It should be one of these three:
- Manufacturer – This is by far the best extended warranty money can buy. You are free to choose any contractor for warranty work that you want.
- Third party insurers - Each has its own procedures but ultimately the service contractor need to get authorization before starting the job and you may be required to get a second opinion. It can a long time to get your money back and it can be hard to find a contractor to perform the warranty work.
- Installing Dealer - Theoretically this type of extended warranty can be just as good as the Factory warranty. Unless the company goes bankrupt like Enwise has. Then you are in trouble and will need to read the fine print on your contract or bill of sale.
Furnace, Air conditioner, Water Heater Service and Maintenance
To maintain warranty all your HVAC systems need to be serviced annually, Enwise won’t be sending you an email or phone call to schedule an appointment this year. Give us a call and we can satisfy all necessary product stipulations to maintain your very important manufactures warranty.
Question or Issues – Call Toll Free 1-855-696-8265
EcoEnergy Audit Program Cancelled Again
Feb 3rd
The Harper government has one again cancelled the ecoEnergy audit program early. The audit program was surprisingly cancelled on January 29th 2012, and was not supposed to finish until March 31st 2012.
Why Was The Audit Program Cancelled?
This is a bit of a mystery, as the Conservatives had pledged 400 million in funding to the program from the budget only a few months ago. Now with less than half of that money released as grants to Canadian citizens they have removed any access chalking it up to “fiscal responsibility”. So ultimately the energy audit program in Canada has been destroyed to save 200 million dollars… If you look at how much money the program saves and has saved home owners through efficiency alone that 200 million is a drip in the Billion dollar savings bucket. It’s really unfortunate we have such a pro oil Government willing to discount its citizens so easily.
What Are The Details?
- If you have completed your first audit but haven’t finished your upgrades or retrofits then you are still eligible for Government grants and rebates
- The program is completely closed to new entrants
- Homeowners can receive post-retrofit evaluations and apply for grants until June 30, 2012; the retrofit renovations must be completed by March 31.
If you were hoping to get the rebates associated with a high efficiency tankless water heater then, unfortunately, you’re out of luck at the current moment. Hopefully the program will be reinstated, but as it stands at the current moment you will have to recoup your tankless costs with its efficiency.
