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Tankless Hot Water Heaters, Efficient, Effective, Endless.
Posts tagged incoming water
Solar Hot Water and a Tankless
Oct 31st
To really reduce your hot water heating charges you could look at adding an active solar water heater in conjunction with a tankless water heater. The rays from the sun would pre-heat the incoming water and then the tankless would simply finish the job. It’s difficult to get a solar water heater to produce water hot enough for today’s household demands, but with the technology in a tankless system it’s a perfect fit. 
Tankless water heaters are smart no, they check incoming water temperature and vary their burners to adapt. So if you have relatively hot water coming in to a tankless it will scale down its natural gas injection to ensure that water out temperature is at your set level. If the burner is scaled down so is your gas bill as only a fraction of fuel is needed.
This is a complicated system and it will be costly, if you are doing this to save money you probably won’t see a breakeven point for a long time. If you’re interested and looking at installing a Frankenstein system you are probable doing it for the environment.
What’s required?
If your installing somewhere in the southern states this will be a lot easier as you don’t have to worry about sub-zero temperatures. Up here in Ontario it’s a definite issue and there are a few systems that can be installed. There is the Active Glycol-based system that circulates food grade glycol and transfers the heat via a heat exchanger to the potable water; this is less efficient but the safest and most popular system in Ontario. The other way is though a drain back system, potable water is forced though the solar collector and drains instantly when the water is shut off. Both these systems work to preheat a tankless systems incoming water supply ultimately reducing the heat and gas needed to raise water temperature to the desired warmth.
These dual systems are not very popular due to the increased expense but a tankless is well suited and designed for a hybrid system. If the idea seems interesting but the price too high you should note that they can be installed in stages, tankless first and then the flat plate solar collector.
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.
Noritz NRC111
Nov 9th
The Noritz NRC111 is a condensing tankless water heater. This is the only condensing tankless that Noritz makes and it produces 11.1 gallons of hot water per minute.
The Noritz NRC111 utilizes a dual heat exchanger, which is made from a fusion of stainless steel and copper exchangers. The 100% stainless steel component captures the residual heat from the exhaust temperature to preheat the incoming water before it runs through the main copper heat exchanger. This results in dramatic reduction of carbon dioxide and increases the tankless heater’s efficiency level to over 93%! Another benefit of this technology is lower exhaust temperatures, which means less costly PVC can be used for its venting. A PVC adapter is built into the Noritz heater for easy installation.
Specifications
Condensing technology – The most advanced Noritz unit, over 93% efficiency
Combi-system set-up - Open loop system functionality for both potable water heating and space heating combination system.
Safety lock out - Default max. 120 degrees (refer to owner’s manual for higher temp).
Dual flame burner – Minimizes temperature fluctuations.
Fully modulating – Automatically adjusts burner level accordingly.
Dual heat exchanger – 100% stainless steel corrosion resistant heat exchanger fused with a commercial grade copper heat exchanger.
Turbo Flow – Up to 11.1 GPM @ 35 degree temperature rise (8.4 GPM @ 45 degree rise).
Quick Connect – Doubles output by connecting 2 identical tankless units with a single cable.
Multi System - Up to 24 units can be linked and operated by a single system controller.
Direct ignition – No standby pilot light.
Thermal fuse – Automatic overheat protection system.
Resin coated PC board – Increases tankless durability and protection from elements.
Automatic air regulator – Monitors the Noritz tankless internal temperature/maximizes burner efficiency.
Neutralizer included - Built-in neutralizing system for condensation.
Request a Home Evaluation – See if a Noritz tankless can be installed in your home.
Solar Water Heater and Tankless Update
Apr 21st
Solar Water Heater and Tankless
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One of our readers is working on installing a domestic solar hot water heater in conjunction with a tankless. They were going to go with a Rheem tankless to offset any additinonal temperature increase that was needed over the solar gains. Unfortunately they found out that the particular unit that they were planning on using senses the incoming water temperature, buy ‘ignores’ water that is within 40F of the target temp (ie. the unit won’t cut on to work). This has caused them some problems because:
1) The max output on any residential line is 120F (49C) (this is canadian law it cant be any hotter than this in a residential home).
2) If the solar heated water comes in at 100F (37C) or warmer, the unit will not kick on. This means the output is 37C, a cold shower to be sure.
3) If you go to the commerical unit, the max temp is 180F. This much too hot for residential use (think of someone turning on the hot water at the sink to do dishes), but it would work from the 40F differential standpoint (ie. if the water is 60C or colder, then the unit will fire, anything warmer than 60C doesn’t matter as it would be warm enough for a shower). Again this is illegal in Canada as the Max allowed Temperature is 120F.
The best solution is to more to a Rinnai Tankless water heater as this unit only requires there to be a 20 degree farenheight differentiation between water to be heated and heated water. Therfor your shower will at the very least be 100 degrees farenheight which is plenty warm enough.
These co-heating water heating systems are quite complicated so its important that you talk to a prefessional regarding any plans that you have for your home or cottage. Feel free to send us an email if you have any questions.
Solar and a Tankless
Feb 19th
Solar And A Tankless Heater
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There is starting to become a buzz around solar hot water systems. If you have a good, knowledgeable contractor a solar water system can work quite well with a tankless hot water heater. 
Here are a few of the advantages that you can expect when combining the two systems.
1. The preheated water coming from the solar water heating system will increase the flow of hot water out of a tankless unit. The reason is due to the fact the tankless has to heat pre-warmed water reducing the necessary temperature rise. The amount of hot water a tankless can provide depends on the input temperature. The greater the temperature rise necessary the slower the water can travel through the heat exchanger and the slower the output flow. Incoming water at 45F vs. 70F vs. 100F will have very different results on the output of a tankless system.
2. The water is already warm or even hot from the solar rays before entering the tankless unit and therefore the added wait time associated with a tankless unit can be reduced or even eliminated.
3. Its important when combining a tankless and solar water heater to consider a tankless unit that recognizes incoming temperature as well as outgoing and is able to fully modulate its burner (therefore only burning the necessary amount of gas to raise the temperature to the appropriate amount).
4. With the right tankless unit and an appropriately sized solar system you may find that your tankless rarely need to run. In fact some people have found that their gas bills are now costing only a few dollars as opposed to a few hundred dollars.
These Solar systems can be a little tricky in Ontario and Toronto as we have winter and the solar system (if it fails) could experience freezing. This would rupture the thermal cells in the collector rendering it ineffective. It may be necessary to use a glycol system to prevent freezing if electricity goes out. Your contractor should be able to provide all necessary info, or fill out the contact form and we can help.
Heating Water with a Tankless in Ontario
Feb 10th
Buying a Tankless in Ontario |
So you’re thinking of getting a tankless water heater and you live in Ontario, that’s good these systems are excellent for the environment and your bottom line. Most…. Actually all of these systems are designed outside our country and thus outside our climate. You should take some extra precautions before purchasing a system.
If you take a look at the map you can extrapolate a rough estimate of ground water temperatures for Ontario. Sorry there doesn’t seem to be an accurate map of Ontario’s ground water values anywhere. I would use 35-37 Fahrenheit as a good starting point; your incoming water will never be much colder than that. The tankless water heater you choose will need to warm the water up from your starting temperature to your desired level. If the incoming water is 35 and you want hot water to be 110 your tankless needs to heat the water 75 degrees. This is quite a relatively significant increase and to produce this level of rise requires the water to pass through the heat exchangers at a slower rate.
In the summer Ontario ground water is often between 50 and 65 Fahrenheit, to reach your desired 110 degree level the water only needs to be heated 45 degrees. Sensors in the tankless measure incoming and outgoing temperature levels and adjust flow rates accordingly. Thus a system rated to provide 5 GPM (gallons per minute) with only a 40 degree temperature rise will likely only produce maybe 2 GPM in the winter when water temperatures are really low.
When you’re purchasing a new tankless for your home make sure you pay close attention to the tankless heaters specifications. Make sure that it is able to provide an adequate flow rate when your incoming water temperatures are at the lowest in the winter.
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.
Tankless Sizing – Total GPM
Dec 4th
Buying a tankless system can be a tricky task as there is a number of different units on the market today. In addition you need to take into account numerous different factors to determine the correct sizing and venting.
You will first want to figure out what the total GPM that you need supplied at your house, do this to calculate the total.
If your showerhead is relatively new, the gallons-per-minute consumption rating is inscribed somewhere on the outside of the fixture. If it’s not, do this quick test.
Hold a 1-gallon container under a faucet or fixture and time how many seconds it takes to fill the container with the faucet opened all the way. Then divide 60 by the number of seconds it took to fill the container. For example, a fixture that filled the container in 30 seconds would be rated at 2 gpm.
While you’re at it, it’s a good idea to clean any screens in the fixtures of any scale deposit.
The maximum gpm rating your water heater needs depends on how many fixtures and appliances will be drawing hot water at the same time. Add up the gpm of your fixtures and then check off the fixtures and appliances that will be in use simultaneously. This should provide you with the Total Gallons per Minute that a tankless will need to provide.
Now the last thing to consider is your location, if you are in the southern US the incoming water supply will be much warmer than in the dead of winter in southern Ontario. This plays a significant factor as the tankless unit needs to heat the water almost twice the amount, inturn reducing the output. A tankless rated at 6.8 gpm may only be able to produce 4.8 when it has to heat the water from 38 Fahrenheit instead of 64.
Of course if this is too complicated you can always have a professional come out for a free quote and have them size one out for you. Click here if you are interested.
