Tankless Systems in Toronto Winter

Posted on Jan 13, 2011 | 1 comment

Can a tankless work effectively and provide adequate hot water to meet a home owners demands during the cold winter months?

Unequivocally this is a yes. 

You must has an appropriately sized tankless to meet your homes hot water needs and Toronto and area residents should look at the higher end more powerful tankless systems.  Most reputable c ompanies only install the powerful systems as they know who you will be calling when the system is not working.  Winter water temperatures are much colder than the summer and a tankless needs to have access to a lot of energy in order to heat water up to the appropriate temperature. 

The amount of hot water produced by a tankless will be less than that of the summer months but even at this minimum flow rate the system is still able to provide more hot water than needed.  As a home owner with a tankless in Toronto the difference in hot water production will remain completely undetectable. 

A tankless is a great system capable of helping, on average, homeowners save 46% on their natural gas or propane bills for water heating (CMHC statistic).  We have installed thousands of these systems and when installed properly work wonderfully throughout all seasons, we are just trying to bring to light some of the common misconceptions regarding a tankless in the winter.

Any Other Winter Tankless Issues?

The conditions described below have all been eliminated from the new generation of systems, although it may still be pertinent to home owners with older systems.

In the past there have been problems with tankless water heaters and the potentially extreme conditions experienced during a Toronto winter.  Water vapour is a byproduct of combustion and thus highly efficient models (condensing tankless systems) emit a lot of moisture within the 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 Winter Issues

• Ice buildup in exhaust vent
• Buildup blocks flow and potentially causes a dangerous carbon monoxide flow into your home
• A 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 cloths dryer or furnace as well as conventional water heaters so its important that home owners are aware of the potential in Toronto during the winter months.

Interested In Pricing Out A Tankless?

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(647) 925-1930

For tankless pricing, service, and installation within Toronto and areas we are one of the top companies.  Give us a call today!