One of the greatest inventions in recent history is the tankless water heater. For years, people were plagued with having to wait for the water to heat up in their tank before they were able to take a shower. Now, with the tankless water heater, you have hot water on demand. However, there are some limiting factors of tankless water heaters that will influence your decision when buying one. So, how can you tell what size of water heater you need? The team at Knight Plumbing has come up with some guidelines to help you with this decision, read below to find out!
Flow Rate
When you are trying to gather information and decide on a tankless water heater for your home, there are two main limiting factors that you have to decide on. The first of those two factors is flow rate. Flow rate is how much hot water the water heater can produce at once. This is measured by the manufacturer in gallons per minute. The reason this matters is because it’s what limits how many hot water activities you can do at once while using the tankless heater. So, when deciding on this factor, you have to think about how many people you have in your house. If you have a large family, you’ll want to get a tankless water heater with a higher flow rate. A shower uses 2.5 gallons per minute on average. So, if you have 3 family members that will all be showering at once, you’d need at least 7.5 gallons per minute of flow rate in your water heater. This is, of course, not including the other hot water activities that will certainly happen while you’re in the shower, like your kids washing dishes.
Temperature Rise
The second measurement factor that you have to consider is also very important. Temperature rise is a measurement of a water heater that tells you how much the tankless water heater can raise the water temperature. So, if your groundwater is 60 degrees and your tankless water heater can get it up to 120 degrees, it has a rise of 60 degrees. To determine how much temperature rise you need out of your tankless water heater, you must determine what temperature the groundwater in your city averages, and what temperature you need your water to get up to. Generally, 120 degrees is the hottest water you’ll need, which is for things like your washing machine.
If you have any further questions about tankless water heaters, make sure to call Knight Plumbing. We also offer 24/7 emergency services, so we’re always here to help when you need it. Contact Knight Plumbing today!
