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Tankless Hot Water Heaters, Efficient, Effective, Endless.
Posts tagged efficiency
Grant Money Increased By 25%
Apr 1st
25% more for a new Tankless
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Part of the government’s economic action plan is to boost the eco energy retrofit program that is currently running. The government has increased all available grant money for energy efficient retrofits by 25%. Additionally the program has been expanded with a 300 million dollar increase in funding over the next two 
years.
You can download the new PDF here
Initially the program gave home owners 18 months to complete all retrofits, perform the E audit and submit files for rebates. This has now been extended and homeowners that are past their 18 month time frame can still perform retrofits and get access to additionally grant money by performing a F-audit.
This is really significant for The Tankless Hot Water Guide as the additionally grant money will further reduce the cost of tankless water heaters for consumers. A tankless with an efficiency of .82% or better will get you 630$ in rebate money. If you decide to go with a condensing tankless water heater the grant money is even better (.94% efficiency or better) this will net you a 750$ cheque from the government.
You cant find a better time to get go out and get a tankless water heater.
Condensing verses Non-Condensing Tankless
Mar 27th
Condensing verses Non-Condensing
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Tankless water heaters come in two different efficiency styles, condensing and non condensing. A condensing unit will recover more than 85% of the gas that a regular tankless water heater would otherwise vent out. Navien or “Navian” makes a tankless system that is 98% efficient by employing the condensing system. The high efficiency is gained by allowing the relatively warm exhaust gases to transfer otherwise wasted heat to the incoming water preheating it before flowing through the primary heat exchanger. This adds about a 10 to 15 percent efficiency increase to a tankless water heater which in itself is already quite efficient.
Now the grants that are available from the provincial and federal government are 
different for a condensing and non condensing tankless water heater. A condensing unit will receive $600 in total grants or $300 from each government level. The non condensing unit will net you $250 from provincial and federal netting $500 total. The governments trying to reduce energy consumption and pollution emissions would naturally give more grant money to tankless water heaters that are the most efficient.
Get Some Government Grant Money
Mar 25th
Tankless Government Grants
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Currently the Ontario and Canadian government are giving rebates to households in Ontario that upgrade 
their conventional water heaters to either a state or a tankless water heater (I realize that state tanks have not really been explained so I will make a point to do a synopsis on them this week). The provincial (Ontario) will give 250$ for any tankless water heater that is installed, the federal government will match that offer which totals the rebate to 500$. This is a good chunk off the purchase and installation of a tankless water heater. State tanks are eligible for 300$ from the federal government and another 300$ from the Ontario government totaling 600$.
Additionally if you live in the Enbridge territory they are offering 300$ off your gas bill for any new tankless 
water heater installation in your home. Enbridge’s territory consist of most of southern Ontario. Their service territory includes these cities referenced below and a number of others but it would be too long to list:
- Barrie
- Bolton
- Brampton
- Caledon
- Metro Toronto
- Mississauga
- Newmarket
- Richmond Hill
- Whitby
Ontario has a unique market where a significant portion of hot water tanks are rented. As the market for tankless hot water tanks begins to penetrate households there has become a 
strong demand for rental units for these systems as well. If you decide that renting is a better idea than outright purchasing you are still entitled to the rebates that are offered from both the government and from Enbridge.
There is a small catch though; to prove that you have upgraded you water heating system the Ontario government requires that a homeowner get an energy audit. This is a thorough evaluation of your home and its overall efficiency. Once the first audit is completed, you, the homeowner are sent the results of your audit (SAMPLE REPORT). Now that this is completed you have 18 months to make any renovations, or get your tankless hot water tank installed. After the renovations have been completed you need to get a second audit which will validate that all upgrades have been completed and grant cheques will be sent. Looking for an audit? we can put you in touch with a certified eco energy evaluation company. FIND OUT MORE
This is a bit of a complicated process but if you are looking to upgrade even a few things there are rebates from the Ontario government for almost anything that will make your home more energy efficient.
Fill out a quick form to get a price for a tankless water heater for your home FREE QUOTE
Renting a Tankless Water Heater
Mar 9th
Renting a Tankless Water Heater
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For a lot of people in Ontario renting your water heater is something you have always done, the charge is roughly between 10$ and 20$ a month. Companies that provide this service (for the most part) 
put in low end tanks so that their return on investment is only a few years. The problem is that low end tanks are energy hogs and consume copious amount of power. The company you rent it off of doesn’t care about efficiency as they are not paying the bills, thus the problem.
Renting a Tankless Water heater is going to be more expensive on a monthly basis but the savings it 
produces more than outweigh the additional cost. Remember a Tankless water heater is the top of the line water heating system, if it’s a Navien (or Navian which is often spelled incorrectly) you will be getting 98% efficiency. A Rinnai will produce great savings with lots of hot water and very reliable service. These units are the best there is for residential hot water demands.
The rental fees are almost identical from all companies that are offering rental tankless systems in Ontario and the greater Toronto area. On average you will be looking at between 32$ and 40$ per month for the rental water heater. You will also be getting the peace of mind that if anything goes wrong the unit will be replace or fixed.
The Tankless Hot Water Guide rents tankless water heaters if you are interested in renting a tankless system please fill out the form below and we will have a representative contact you.
Takagi Tankless Condensing Unit
Feb 9th
Takagi Tankless Condensing Unit
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The Takagi Flash T-H1 tankless water heater is a new condensing unit available to house hold consumers. 
This tankless heater has an average efficiency of 95% with propane as its fuel source and 92% when natural gas is used. In our Canadian climate you can expect about 4 plus gallons per minute in the dead of winter, and much more in the summer when ground water is warmer.
The Flash T-H1 is able to provide about 3 simultaneous showers when ground water is at or below 40 Fahrenheit. This tankless is unique in that it has two heat exchangers which enable the water passing through to absorb much (90 to 97 percent of it) of the heat generated from combustion. The stainless steel secondary heat exchanger has been added to collect waste heat from the units vent stack and divert it to pre-heating the incoming water. This secondary exchanger causes some condensation that is slightly acidic, Takagi has included a collector and a built in neutralizer that allows the drainage to be plumbed into your standard drainpipe.
This tankless water heater employs a variable gas input which allows the unit to produce only the amount of heat necessary to warm the water to a household’s desired temperature. At a maximum this tankless can produce 199,000 BTU’s per hour and in ideal conditions provide 10 gallons of hot water per minute.
There is a downside, the Takagi condensing tankless water heater is quite expensive, but it is one of the higher end units with a very high efficiency rating. Also unless you buy the Takagi temperature controller you are limited to only 4 preset temperatures, 113 F, 122 F, 140 F, and 182 F.
This is a very interesting system but we havent had any direct hands on experience to draw on yet. We should be getting a trial system soon at which point we will provide a new update and evaluation.
Navien Tankless Water Tank
Feb 4th
Navien Tankless Water Tank
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Firstly let’s get this straight; Navien is a brand of tankless hot water heater not Navian.I have seen this 
spelled wrong many times, Navian (I googled it) is nothing, definitely not a tankless water heater.
Navien has 6 residential models (CR-180, CR-210, CR-240, CR-180A, CR-210A, CR-240A) and then 3 commercial units (CC-180, CC-210, CC-240). These tankless water heaters are all relatively similarly designed but as you go up in model number you increase the amount of hot water the tankless unit can provide.Here is a quick list of each units performance.
- CR-180 and 180A are able to provide roughly 3.8 gallons per minute with a 77 degree F rise.
- CR-210 and 210A are able to provide roughly 4.5 gallons per minute with a 77 degree F rise
- CR-240 and 240A are able to provide roughly 5 gallons per minute with a 77 degree F rise
We should definitely look at the efficiency of the Navien tankless water heater which is currently the only condensing unit on the market.This extra step gives Navien the efficiency title, currently rated at 98%, therefore 98 cents of every dollar spent on heating your water is actually turned into hot water.This is an amazing number as most tankless water heaters are 10% to 15% less efficient. Of course being the first on the block has its issues, the Navien tankless water heater is facing some problems from rubber hoses becoming blocked. This has been reported numerous time in several forums around the internet.
The good thing is that most of the other Tankless water heater manufactures are working on their own form of tankless condensing units.This should give the consumer a good choice in high efficiency water heating.
CR-180, CR-180A……Specifications Sheet
CR-210, CR-210A…… Specifications Sheet
CR-240, CR-240A…….Specifications Sheet
Navien UPDATE-2010
This write up was done in February of 2009 so its been over a year now and there are a number of alternate condensing tankless water heaters available now. Navien was the first on the block and realistically you cant beat the price of the unit, even today its still lower than all condensing tankless units. Sure there has been some issues regarding the system but thats to be expected from a new technology (we will be authoring a new post on all these problems and their fix, check back soon).
Navien problems and the Fix – Click here to read
If your interested in a Navien tankless water heater fill out the form below and we will contact you, there’s no obligation and at the very least you will be more informed on whether a tankless is right for you or not.
Navien UPDATE – Feb 2012
Navien has spent a lot of time reworking their tankless water heaters and removing all the bugs and issues that have plagued them in the past. I feel more than confident in 2012 to recommend their new tankless water heaters.
Call Toll Free 1-855- for any questions, issues, or for Navien prices. Otherwise feel free to send us a quick message with the form below.
Conventional Tank Thermal Images
Jan 30th
Hot Water Tank Thermal Images
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Here are some thermal shots of a conventional hot water tank, as you can see there is a lot of heat loss
occurring. Sure during the winter months this is probably not a very big deal as the heat leaks into the house. During the summer when you are paying copious amount of money to keep your house cool a conventional tank sits there 24 hours a day leaking heat, and costing money. Additionally if you can see the vent pipe coming off the tank it is quite warm, this is wasted heat and energy being directly 
vented outside. That is lost energy and money for you. A tankless water heater has a much higher efficiency rating which significantly reduces the amount of heat and energy vented out of the house. The increased efficiency also means that there is less heat escaping into your home during the cooling season.
More pictures to come soon.
If you are interested we can bring the thermal camera out on an in home consultation and you can see first hand why your conventional tank is one of the largest energy waters in your home. Fill out the simple inquiries form and we will contact you within 1 business day (please specify if you would like us to bring the thermal camera).
