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Tankless Hot Water Heaters, Efficient, Effective, Endless.
General Info
Ontario Grants, Rebates a Tankless and Energy Audit
Nov 2nd
Ontario Grants For Water Heating
- Gas — hot water heater up to $375
- Solar — hot water system $1,250
- Ontario water heater rebates — Get Government of Canada ecoENERGY grants and rebates of up to $1,250 for a new hot water heater. Click here
Hot water heater grants for your home
Take advantage of Government of Canada grants for replacement hot water heater systems:
- Canada ecoENERGY — Homeowners can get up to $1,250 in grants from the Canadian government for a new hot water system. The Government of Canada grants up to $5,000 for home energy renovations through the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program, which is in effect until March 31, 2012. Click here for more
Remember not to long ago I talked about how a tankless could be combined with a solar thermal water heater? Well BAM! here are some rebates the Government is offereing that reduce the cost for both the tankless and the solar heater. I wouldn’t expect these to last too long (in fact, around April 2012 is when I would expect to offer to be removed).
Periodic Maintenance of a Tankless
Oct 27th
There areonly a few things that need to be maintained on a tankless water heater. If these steps are preformed regularly you can expect your unit to last much longer (20 plus years) than a conventional tank type water heater.
First there is a inline screen filter that is installed to insure that incoming water is clean and free of debris before running through the heat exchanger. This little filter should be checked every so often, (dependent on water quality) and is a circular mesh screen. Incoming water needs to be shut off and then the screen can be cleaned.
Secondly a tankless needs to be flushed to remove calcium and scale build up in the heat exchanger. If your tankless was installed by a reputable company they will have included a pair of flush valves which make this process quite easy. It’s probably best this be done by your installer but here is a brief rundown of what occurs. Water and gas are shut off and the unit is drained. Then two hoses and a small pump are hooked up to the flush valves and fresh vinegar is pumped through the systems heat exchanger for roughly 30 minutes. This cleans out all the buildup and scale that severely reduces a water heaters efficiency.
Those are basically the two things that a tankless owner needs to perform to ensure maximum efficiency and a prolonged lifespan. Barrie through to Toronto and basically all of southern Ontario have significant concentrations of limestone and thus relatively hard water conditions. A conventional tank can’t be cleaned whereas a tankless can and hot water accelerates the rate of scale deposits.
Canadian Tankless Water Heater Websites
Oct 20th
Its funny that most of the major tankless companies dont have canadian version of their websites… Canada is a very natural gas dependant country and thus we have this service in the majority of our homes. You would think that a market of 30 million plus might foster a small investment in a geocentric Canadian content specific website. 
Tankless manufactures know that the further north their product is installed the colder the ground water and the more energy is needed to heat the water up to acceptable temperatures. For the most part all of the major tankless companies have successfully overcome this issue. They certainly should work on advertising and showcasing thier advancements. Canadian tankless manufacture websites would go a long way.
Tankless Manufactures with Canadian Sites
- Rinnai – Rinnai.ca
- John Wood – johnwoodwaterheaters.com (honourable mention for haveing a french version)
Tankless Manufactures Without a Canadian Site
- Bosch
- GSW
- John Wood
- Navien
- Noritz
- Paloma
- Takagi
Energy Audit Rebates are Back
Sep 12th
The New Audit program is back!
The Ontario Home Energy Audit Program is an energy conservation program offered by the Government of Ontario. A representative can visit and show you how and where your home loses energy. The best part is that the Government of Ontario will pay 50% of your Home Energy Audit (up to $150).
Benefits of a Home Audit.
- Reduce your annual energy bill by up to 30%; potentially saving hundreds of dollars each year
- Improve your home’s re-sale value
- Make your home more comfortable year round
- Do your part to reduce the emissions you produce
- Have unlimited hot water with a tankless and still reduce your energy consumption
Eco Energy Audit Put on Hold
Apr 7th
With the fall of the Conservative party the budget that they had proposed containing the Eco Energy Audit program has be put on hold. Now its just a matter of time, waiting to see if the new Government will refund the program.
We will be sure to post any news we receive regarding the subject.
UPDATE – The Harper government will be providing a new budget soon and with it we hope there is funding to restart the grants and rebates offered with the past ecoenergy program!
Grants For Tankless Are Back In Ontario
Mar 24th
Well it looks as though the EcoEnergy audit program has been approved for another year.
This was an extremely popular program put in 3 years ago that enabled home owners to receive upwards of $10000 in government grants and rebates. Technically it would be really difficult to get that much but it did provide a significant reduction on a number of home systems. Initially the ecoEnergy program was funded with over $700 million dollars but as it grew in popularity the funding became more scarce. The Federal pulled their funding last year in an attempt to slow the demand. This left Provincial Government to fund and promote the home energy audit and grants available.
As you likely have heard in the news the Conservative Government has allocated $400 million to reinstate their share of the available grants to home owners. What does this mean to you? Well if your looking for a tankless water heater (which I would assume is why you are here) you will be entitled to a grant of over $700 dollars. That is a good portion of what a tankless will cost over a conventional tank.
So if your housing an antique water heater in your basement now is probably a good time to upgrade to a tankless and get the Government to pay for a good portion of the system.
Get a quote for a Tankless
Find out more about Schedule ecoEnergy Audit
Grants For Tankless Are Ending In Ontario
Mar 3rd
The grant money available to home owners that switch from a regular conventional tank to the newer tankless system will disappear on MARCH 31st 2011.
This a great program that the Government has in place to help home owners offset the cost associated with upgrading old heating, cooling, insulation and various other systems within a home. Upgrading old conventional tank type water heaters was one of the major targeted areas that saw huge grants to promote the removal of these systems. A tankless system is designed to have a lifespan of over 20 years, where as a tank will be lucky to last 12-15 years. The efficiency comparison between a storage tank system and a tankless is roughly around the 40% mark. Yes a tankless will be more expensive but it will save you money, and even though that money is hard to see a tankless systems is a proven money saver. 
You Have Never Had An Eco Energy Audit
If your living in Ontario and just hearing about this program now your OK you can still participate you just need to act fast visit home eco energy audit to book an audit as soon as possible the auditor will explain everything you need to know.
- Get your first audit
- Upgrade your home (furnace, tankless, windows insulation, as much or a little as you choose)
- Have a second audit preformed to confirm upgrades
- Wait for rebate money from the Government (usually takes a while, as we all know how fast they work)
You Have Had Your First Audit
If you know about the program and have had your first audit completed and maybe a few upgrades on your come installed, you have until the end of the month to get the final audit and receive your grant money.
- The second audit is cheap and you will receive all your rebates for all upgrades
- You can go with any auditing company to do the second audit (they all have access to your first audit details and info) Home Eco Energy Audits is a good Toronto based company that has auditors all over Ontario.
- You only have until March 31 to finish this last audit or you lose out.
This is a Win Win program for all Canadian and Ontario citizens, the Government is helping you pay for new HVAC equipment for your home and you never need to pay them back for it.. DEAL
Tankless Systems in Toronto Winter
Jan 13th
Problems can arise with a tankless water heater in a Toronto winter as the high efficient models (condensing tankless systems) emit a lot of moisture in their exhaust. When the temperature is extremely cold this moisture can freeze and start to plug up the exhaust vent causing your tankless to shut down. Its important to periodically take a quick look at the exhaust vent of your tankless (and furnace/dryer for that matter) just to make sure there isn’t any buildup.
Tankless Issue
- Ice buildup in exhaust vent
- Buildup blocks flow and potentially causes a dangerous carbon monoxide flow into your home
- Tankless should shut down and produce an error code when the exhaust is blocked
Resolution
- If the tankless was just running the warm exhaust gasses should have melted the buildup enough for you to pull it free.
- A blow dryer can work wonders at melting the buildup, but be cautious as the dripping water and electricity can be very dangerous
- Call a service technician if all else fails
This condition is rare and can occur with your dryer or furnace so its important that you as a home owner in Toronto experiencing winter are aware of it.
Tankless Flushing Service
Dec 10th
We have been receiving numerous requests for tankless cleaning, help, and advice, so in response we’re starting a new service…. Tankless Flushing! Thousands of tankless water heaters have been installed in Toronto and surrounding areas with sales people promoting a lifespan of 20-25 years….. Sure a tankless can last a long time, but not without some regular maintenance. Right? RIGHT!
First and most important, de-scaling your tankless water heater.
If the installer was good you will likely have isolation or flush valves installed. These valves allow you to push vinegar or a scale removal agent through the tankless effectively cleaning the buildup off the wall of the inside of the heat exchanger. As we wrote in “Lime Scale The Energy Thief” it really doesn’t take much buildup to decrease efficiency significantly (and isn’t that what you bought the tankless for in the first place?).
The Process
At the Tankless Hot Water Guide were here to help people first and foremost, if you are hand this is something that you can do yourself. Here are a brief outline of the steps necessary to flush your tankless heater.
- Unplug your tankless.
- On the blue isolation (flush) valve shut the Cold water supply off.
- On the red isolation (flush) valve shut the hot water exit off.
- Now you will need two short hoses, a bucket and a pump of some sort.
- Attache the two hoses to the isolation valves (flush valves).
- Attach the other end of the hose running from the blue isolation valves to your pump.
- Fill the bucket with your de-scaling agent (vinegar).
- Turn the pump on and make sure that the red isolation valve hose is running back into the bucket.
- Let this run for at least 30 minutes.
- –If the system hasn’t been flushed in a long time and you see a lot of grime, unplug the pump, dump and refill the bucket with new vinegar. Let run for an additional 30 minutes.
- After you are finished dump the bucket and fill with clean water, start the pumping again to flush the vinegar out of the system. If you use a chemical de-scaling solution make sure to rinse your tankless thoroughly.
- Almost done!
- Disconnect all the hoses, replace caps, double check everything is back to normal.
- Turn the two valves back to the on or flow position and plug the tankless back in.
- Run the hot water at a few taps to push any air in the system out and confirm hot water is being produced.
- Repeat once every year or so.
Our Service
Yes that can be a lot of work, but we can do it for you! $99 for a system flush Don’t have an isolation valve kit on your tankless? No problem, Valves and installation for $149 Questions and Concerns? Always free!
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