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Tankless Hot Water Heaters, Efficient, Effective, Endless.
Posts tagged tankless water heater
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.
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
Debunking Some Common Tanklesss Beliefs
Oct 18th
I have read a few articles lately regarding a number of beliefs, ideas, and thoughts on the benefits and opinions of tankless water heaters. I would like to take a few minutes here to verify and nullify some of them.
A tankless water heater will not save you money.
This depends so much on the situation it’s impossible to make any claim that a tankless will not save you money. Here are a few variables that factor in.
- The price of natural gas varies by Province, City, Country, and even supplier and on top of that there is delivery charges, taxes, and additional fees. A tankless can significantly influence these costs instigating either an increase or a decrease (more often than not its a decrease).
- The price of the tankless… this varies again with the size of unit, the brand etc etc. Also be careful of door to door conventional tank type water heater sales people, more often than not those contracts are much higher than the actual cost of a tankless.
- Tankless warranties are pretty similar to a conventional tank type water heater, but…. a tankless is designed to be serviced and have a lifespan of over 20 years. Their heat exchangers are designed to be cleaned of all calcification, whereas you tank type heater is simply designed to be replaced
So take the what you hear about the advantages and disadvantages of a tankless with a grain of salt. If someone has decided it’s not for them and feels it important to rhyme off a few common misconceptions take the time to investigate and see if its right for your home.
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
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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Lime Scale…. The Energy Thief
Nov 24th
From the smallest homes and business to the very largest, everyone 
invests a substantial amount of money into heating water. The problem is lime scale buildup on the surface of water heaters, which significantly reduces heat transfer. This lime scale reduces heat transfer, decreases fuel efficiency, and will ultimately lead to equipment failure.
Water naturally contains dissolved minerals such as calcium carbonate, lime, silica, iron, and phosphate to name a few. These trace elements are essential to human health, not so much for your water heater though. With heat the minerals are able to precipitate out and build up on the surfaces.
On day one of a tank type water heater you looking at your greatest efficiency, sometimes as high as 80%. This is reduced quickly as the lime and other particles cling together and bake themselves into a hard crust. This scale builds up on the walls and blocks the heat transfer proportionally as much. With the additional heat not being transferred into the water the steel becomes brittle and can crack quite easily.
Solutions For Lime Scaling
For a tankless water heater it is essential that you have the system flushed once a year with a de scaling solution (vinegar). This maintains the tankless heat exchanger and ensure a consistent efficiency rate. As for your conventional tank water heater, flushing is more difficult but can be done. For the most part they are designed as disposable units that are simply just replaced if broken.
Dont Like Tankless? Or Cant Install One? You Can Still Have High Efficiency
Nov 11th
In a lot of instances a tankless is unable to be installed due to venting restrictions, or maybe your not interested in a tankless but still want greater efficiency…. does this mean you have to stick with your old style inefficient tank type water heater?
Nope, there is a solutions….. Envirosense.
GSW makes a conventional style tank type system that is 90% efficient.
The Envirosense Power Vent is a 50-gallon, 76,000 BTU gas water heater, equipped with a fully submerged, spiral-shaped condensing heat exchanger. This design provides much greater heat transfer surface than a standard straight flue tube, resulting in 90% thermal efficiency and higher hot water output than standard water heaters. With a 22” diameter, Envirosense Power Vent can be installed in less space than a 75-gallon unit and delivers greater recovery and lower operating costs. The Envirosense Power Vent is so advanced, it can deliver “endless hot water for showers” … a continuous flow of over 3 gallons per minute
If you are not keen on a tankless water heater you can still have unlimited hot water with this GSW high efficiency tank. This qualifies for Government Grants and Rebates
