All homes have water heaters in Saskatoon. These are helpful and therapeutic after a long hard day at work, or anytime in the winter. Most of these heaters are of the traditional variety where water is stored inside a large water tank. These days, however, more and more homeowners are switching to, or at least considering, tankless water heaters, as reported in a recent article by Jim Rooney for the Capital Gazette:
…to elevate the temperature of a given amount water from the 55ºF that it is as it comes into the house to 120ºF or more for hot water use will take exactly the same amount of energy whether it’s in your tankless unit or taken from the big old round, five-foot tall water heater in the basement. The difference is the older water heater technology heats water up slowly and stores it for use in a vessel much like a big thermos bottle. The tankless unit uses a great amount of energy all at once to rocket the temperature up for your use.
Without water to store in a tank to heat up, you don’t need to wait to get into the hot shower anymore. You also don’t need to heat water and fill up the tank—after someone else before you have used up the stored hot water. Hot water tanks in Saskatoon homes may have some advantages. If you prefer water “on-demand”, that is, using as much water as you need. It is being heated as you shower. You can have tankless ones installed through local plumbing experts, such as Perfection Plumbing & Drain Cleaning Ltd.
Regular Maintenance
However, ease of use does not necessarily mean the absence of maintenance. As with any appliance, a tankless water heater needs to be maintained as much as the traditional one to have it perform at its optimal best. For one, lime scales build up on the heating elements over time. Even a light layer can increase the amount of energy your water heater will need to heat up your bath. Of course, depending on the water that your house uses, the buildup can be slower or faster – hard water or water rich in calcium and magnesium promotes faster buildup of the scales. A regular checkup by your local plumbing or water tank specialist should help with the cleanup.
A regular maintenance check should involve flushing the system. It will remove any minerals that have built up in the pipes and the heating chamber. The process also involves checking the valves and the pipes. This type of job is best left in the hands of professionals. They clean it or do the necessary repairs in the most skillful way and in the least amount of time.
(Source: On the Level: Is a tankless water heater right for you? The Capital Gazette, September 27, 2014)
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