Tankless Water Heaters: Are They Worth It?

Written on: May 15, 2023

You can earn back the upfront cost difference fast with efficiency savings.

How old is your home’s water heater? If it’s over 10 years old, you might want to start considering replacing it. For traditional water heaters, this is when the storage tank often starts to corrode. Around this time, you may notice strange noises coming from the unit or get rusty, brown water from the tap.

At this point, your water heater might be losing some of its efficiency, too. Your showers might not last as long, and it might take a bit longer for your taps to warm up.

At Koppy’s Propane, we advise our clients in Cumberland, Luzerne and surrounding counties to start looking for a water heater replacement early, so they don’t end up without hot water when their old appliance fails. We also suggest they consider upgrading to a tankless propane water heater.

How a tankless water heater works.

Whereas traditional water heaters heat (and reheat) a whole tank of water for use throughout the day, tankless water heaters generate hot water on demand. The unit switches on whenever you open a hot water tap or turn on an appliance using hot water. A flow sensor determines how much hot water is needed and regulates a super-hot propane flame. Water passes from the unit to your pipes until the tap or appliance shuts off.

Why customers love tankless water heaters.

When you install a propane-fired tankless water heater in your home, you will experience some significant benefits, including the following:

1. Virtually endless hot water. A Koppy’s Propane technician will account for every appliance and fixture you have and calculate the peak hot water flow rate for your home. Then, we’ll suggest a product that meets that flow rate, so you never have a shower run cold on you again.
2. Higher efficiency. Traditional water heaters have what’s called standby loss. They use fuel to reheat water in their tanks, even when you aren’t using it. Tankless products have no standby losses, and the U.S. Department of Energy found that tankless water heaters are up to 34 percent more energy-efficient than traditional units.
3. More space in your home. Tankless water heaters are roughly the size of a suitcase and wall-mounted, saving you about 12 square feet of floor space.
4. Longer lifespan. A properly-maintained tankless water heater will last 20 or more years before needing to be replaced.

Propane tankless water heaters pay off fast!

Even though tankless water heaters typically have higher upfront costs, you will see energy savings almost immediately. On average, you can expect to save $150 per year on energy costs compared to a traditional water heater. You’ll make up the upfront cost differential in six or seven years. Then, you can expect a decade-plus of additional savings!

Pennsylvania families trust Koppy’s Propane for gas-powered appliance installations and maintenance. If your water heater is nearing retirement, please don’t wait for it to fail to call us. Let’s start looking at your options and see if a high-efficiency tankless water heater is right for you.

Get in touch with Koppy’s Propane for a FREE estimate.