¤¤ Tankless Water Heaters ¤¤

Big, bulky water heaters are no longer the only way to keep the hot water flowing. Now tankless water heaters are the newest trend.

Inside a tankless water heater, an electronic ignition lights a gas flame, which heats water as it passes though the system. A few minutes later and hot water is delivered anywhere in your house.

"I was amazed at the efficiency of the units," says Joe St. Clair. He recently replaced his old water heater with a new tankless one. "Heating water when you need it made a lot more sense than heating water when you didn't need it."

St. Clair first learned about the tankless water heaters while teaching in China where space is limited. Now the units are being installed in the U.S. Besides saving space, the tankless water heaters also save energy.

"The energy efficiency of these units runs anywhere between 85 and 95 percent and from what I understand the efficiency of a standard tank unit runs about 65 percent."

On the downside, it takes awhile before the water runs hot and finding a plumber who knows how to install them can be a challenge. But on the plus side, you never run out of hot water.

"With the unit that we have we can run five faucets and the washing machine and never run out of hot water, because it just keeps producing as you need it," St. Clair said.

Texas Gas Service offers its customers a $300 incentive for installing a tankless water heater.

http://www.kvue.com/news/local/stories/060507kvuetankless-cb.1b5aae3b.html

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