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Benefits of Tankless Water Heaters

By Gas Water Heaters, Tankless Water Heaters, Water Heaters

Hi, I’m Brent Garrett president of Sirius Plumbing & Air Conditioning. We’re a full-service residential plumbing and air conditioning company in Dallas/Fort Worth and we’ve been in business since 1995. Some of you may be contemplating replacing your current water heater with a tankless system. I get asked many times if it’s worth it. Here are some tips when considering the switch:

Tankless water heaters offer several benefits compared to traditional tank-style water heaters. Here are some of the advantages of using a tankless water heater:

  1. Energy efficiency: Tankless water heaters heat water only when it is needed, rather than continuously maintaining a large reservoir of hot water like traditional tank-style heaters. This “on-demand” heating approach results in less standby heat loss, making tankless heaters more energy-efficient and potentially reducing utility bills.
  2. Space-saving design: Tankless water heaters are compact and can be mounted on walls, saving valuable floor space in your home.
  3. Endless hot water supply: Tankless water heaters provide a continuous flow of hot water, so you won’t run out during extended periods of use. This makes them ideal for households with multiple occupants or for homes that require hot water for multiple appliances simultaneously.
  4. Longer lifespan: Tankless water heaters generally have a longer lifespan than traditional tank-style heaters. With proper maintenance, a tankless unit can last up to 20 years or more, while traditional heaters typically last around 10-15 years.
  5. Reduced risk of water damage: Traditional water heaters with tanks are susceptible to leaks and ruptures, which can cause significant water damage. Since tankless water heaters don’t store water, the risk of a catastrophic tank failure is eliminated.
  6. Improved water quality: Traditional water heaters can accumulate sediment and mineral deposits over time. Tankless units, however, do not store water, reducing the risk of such buildup and maintaining better water quality.
  7. Eco-friendly: As tankless water heaters are more energy-efficient, they contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and have a smaller overall environmental impact compared to traditional water heaters.
  8. Precise temperature control: Most tankless water heaters allow for precise temperature control, allowing you to set your desired hot water temperature more accurately.

At Sirius, you’ll get a highly trained and qualified technician who’s experienced in helping you with your water heater needs. For more information about our tankless water heater solutions call 972-235-6600. Our promise to you is to be honest, committed, and caring when it comes to you, your family and your home.

To schedule your service today in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, please call 972-235-6600 or fill out the schedule service form and someone will contact you.

Tankless Water Heaters

A Buyer’s Guide: Tankless Water Heaters

By Tankless Water Heaters

There’s no doubt about it; tankless water heaters are becoming more popular in homes every day. Running out of hot water will never be a problem with a compact, ultra-efficient tankless water heater that heats water as you need it.

With as many benefits as they come with, tankless water heaters can be a significant investment, so it’s important to be informed before you buy.

How Do Tankless Water Heaters Work?

Tankless water heaters use an electric element or gas burner to warm the water as it travels through the unit. This design means that the heater is only heating the water that you are signaling you need through your faucets and showerheads.

Unlike traditional water heaters, the hot water is not stored in the tank, so there is far less waste and no risk of running out of hot water.

The Pros and Cons of Tankless Water Heaters

Tankless water heaters offer lots of benefits to homeowners in Carrollton, like energy efficiency and an unlimited hot water supply. However, they do come with some downsides, including upfront costs and sensitivity.

Pro: Space

Tankless water heaters are significantly smaller than traditional water heaters. They are compact and can fit in more spaces in your home, like in the attic. With conventional water heaters, the tank size can be a real problem and can leave you with only a couple of location options. This problem is solved with tankless water heaters.

Pro: Instant Hot Water

If you’ve used a traditional water heater, you know that it can take a while for the water to get warm. With a tankless water heater, once the cold water is flushed from the pipes, you’ll get hot water almost instantly. Not only does this save you time, but it saves a significant amount of water.

Pro: Lifespan

A major advantage of tankless units is their lifespan. The average tankless water heater will last 20 years. Compare this to a high-quality traditional water heater which only lasts about 10.

While it can be tempting to save costs upfront by installing a traditional heater, you should seriously consider the long-term savings that come with the long lifespan of a tankless heater.

Pro: Energy Efficiency

Old water heaters are not known for efficiency. In fact, they can be downright wasteful.

Traditional heaters fill up a large tank with water then use energy 24/7 to make sure you have hot water on demand. Because tankless water heaters heat on demand, they are as much as 25% more efficient than standard models. Not only is the energy efficiency more environmentally friendly, but it will result in savings in your monthly energy bill. 

Pro: Safety

If a traditional water heater leaks, it will spill gallons of water which can easily flood a basement. Tankless water heaters are less prone to leaks, and there is far less water when they do happen.

Additionally, tankless water heaters are installed with the air supply and exhaust vents sealed. This approach means that carbon monoxide can’t leak into your house, a safety feature that you won’t have with traditional water heaters.

Pro: Easy to Winterize

If you are the owner of a vacation home in the Carrollton area, a tankless water heater can offer significant convenience when it comes to winterizing your home. It takes a big-time investment to drain a traditional water heater before locking up for the winter. With a tankless water heater, you can drain it in just a few seconds, then unplug it. 

Con: Trouble Keeping Up

Tankless water heaters can supply an unlimited stream of hot water to a faucet, but they may have trouble keeping up with multiple hot water demands at once. For example, if someone in the home is running the dishwasher while another is taking a shower, a tankless water heater may have trouble keeping up.

Compare this with a traditional water heater that can store up to 80 gallons of hot water at once and easily provide hot water to multiple outlets.

Con: Ongoing Maintenance

While any water heating system will require maintenance, tankless water heaters often require slightly more maintenance than a traditional hot water system. To keep the manufacturer warranty valid, homeowners should perform annual maintenance and, in some cases, may be required to install a water softener.

It is also a good idea for owners to flush out their systems every year. Flushing the system prevents mineral build-up in the water line or the heater itself. There are costs associated with this maintenance, so it is something to factor into your overall budget. 

Con: Higher Upfront Cost

No matter what water heating system you choose, the installation process can be a significant investment in your home. Tankless water heaters are almost always more expensive than traditional systems.

Additionally, the labor required to install tankless water heaters is also higher than for traditional systems. While the energy savings and longer lifespan usually offset these costs, the upfront expense is certainly something to consider. 

Con: Inconsistent Temperatures

Even though traditional water heaters are inefficient, they are consistent. You can expect the same temperature every time you adjust your faucet to the same setting. Tankless water heaters have historically not had the same performance when it comes to consistency.

Consumers have complained about inconsistent water temperatures, which is likely the result of the limitations of sending hot water to multiple locations.

Another thing to be aware of is the tankless water heater may not always come on if enough water isn’t flowing. For example, if the faucet is only slightly open, the tankless water heater may not start heating the water, so the water will never warm up.

Conclusion

Each homeowner’s situation is different, and a tankless water heater may make more sense for some families than others. Before making this investment, make sure you consider all of the factors to make the right decision for you.

If you are ready to move forward with your tankless water heater installation in Carrollton, trust Sirius Plumbing and Air Conditioning. We have over two decades of experience in the industry, and we treat our customers like family. Contact us today.

Benefits of a Tankless Water Heater

Three Surprising Benefits of a Tankless Water Heater in Frisco

By Tankless Water Heaters

Living in Frisco with its snowy winters, you may have experienced the trouble of losing hot water right when you need it. If you have a tank-based water heater you’re given a certain volume of heated water that, once gone, needs time to replenish itself. This will take anywhere between forty minutes to over an hour, depending on the model.

You may have heard through research or word of mouth that tankless, or “on-demand” water heaters can provide an unlimited supply of hot water, assuming you stay below the maximum flow rate. This is good news for the leisurely shower-takers in your household, but a tankless water heater comes with other perks as well.

Keep reading to learn of three surprising benefits that come with making the switch to a tankless water heater.

Penny Spent, Penny Saved

Shopping around for tankless water heaters, you may notice that they’re considerably more expensive than tank-based models. There are reasons for this that we’ll get into next, but rest assured this price tag will pay for itself in time.

Energy Efficiency

The U.S. Department of Energy has shown that tankless water heaters are anywhere between 8-50% more efficient than other alternatives, depending on use. And while tank-based heaters are heating water 24/7, even if you’re not using it, a tankless water heater heats as needed. This means it negates the cost of energy other heaters would’ve been wasting.

This is seen most remarkably in smaller homes or ones that use less than 41 gallons of water per day, but even in more water-dependent households the savings are noticeable. According to Energy Star, you have the potential to make back the money spent on a tankless heater well within its lifespan.

Other Savings

Another way you can make back installation cost is to take advantage of the federal tax advantages that come with installing such an energy-efficient appliance. Currently, the federal government is offering a 10% tax credit towards the cost and installation of a tankless water heater. That’s money back in your pocket, and an eco-friendly supply of hot water for your household.

Big Life in a Small Space

The main reason why tankless water heaters are more expensive than the tank-based models is because of their lifespan. While even the most high-quality traditional water heater will last about a decade, a tankless model boasts a lifespan double that.

Warranty Wellness

For an appliance that lasts as long as your average tankless water heater, you want a security plan that can accommodate it. Most traditional, gas or electric tank-heaters have a warranty of about five or six years. This leaves a stretch of time before you need to think about replacing it where, if something goes wrong, you’ll have to pay to fix it out-of-pocket.

Compare this to a tankless water heater, which comes with a warranty that can last up to twenty years – roughly the entire lifespan of the appliance itself. As long as you take the necessary steps to keep this warranty vaid, meaning performing annual maintenance that you should be doing anyway, your tankless heater is covered until it’s time to replace it.

Saving Space

If you were to arrange a boxing match between a tankless and a tank-style heater, it’s undeniable that the tanked heater would win. We’ll admit it. Coming in at 150 pounds and over four feet tall, this 40-gallon behemoth would take down a tankless water heater in a cagematch almost immediately.

But when it comes to inviting these two options into your home, you might not have the room to accommodate a tank-based water heater. If that’s the case, a tankless model may be more appealing. Unlike their older sibling, they’re a little over two feet tall and weigh about as much as a Boston Terrier.

And while they aren’t as cute as a terrier, they’ll definitely stay in one place, mounted to the wall where they’ll take up little room, and are guaranteed not to pee on your rug.

Staying Safe

After enough time with a tank-based water heater, accumulating build-up within the tank is inevitable. When this happens, it isn’t long before the tank will corrode and eventually leak, which can cause water damage and even risk of flooding if the leak is strong enough.

Of course, since a tankless water heater doesn’t have a tank, you negate a lot of these risks, and while a leak is possible with regular maintenance it’s not likely. And, beyond leaks, ditching the tank also provides a level of safety for the worst-case scenarios.

Bursting Tanks and Tainted Water

Tank-style heaters, in accordance with current code, come with a temp and pressure relief valve that works to eliminate the risk of the tank exploding. This is an awful thing to consider, and it’s fairly rare, but the chances of this happening increase as minerals and other build-up clog the valve.

If you don’t have a tank, this won’t be a problem. Getting rid of the tank also allows more precise control over the heat of the water that you use, preventing possible incidental burns. It also ensures that the contaminants that build up over time in a tanked system don’t travel into your water lines and expose your households to toxins.

Choosing a Tankless Water Heater for your Frisco Home

There are many arguments towards switching to a tankless water heater. They don’t work with a pilot light, and because of that are less likely to overheat and build up pressure over time. And they’re easy to store in even the smallest homes, with a size and weight that’ll fit nicely in most closets.

Ultimately, when choosing between a tank versus tankless water heater for your Frisco home, you want to take into consideration the size of your household and the amount of water that you use. More than that, you should think about if a tankless heater will fit in your lifestyle.

Can you keep up with maintenance? Are you tech savvy enough to take advantage of a tankless water heater’s Wi-Fi compatibility? If the answer to questions like these is yes, a tankless water heater may fit well for you.

Get to Know Your Water Heater

By Gas Water Heaters, Plumbing and Air Conditioning Dallas TX, Tankless Water Heaters, Water Heaters

The ins and outs of a workhorse appliance you rely on every day. Dallas TX

A water heater is the kind of appliance that we don’t like to think about… as long as it works.

A tank water heater will last 6-15 years, depending on the quality of the appliance and your water. Take some time to get to know the mechanics of yours and you can prolong that lifespan — and prevent the dreaded “blow out” we’ve all heard horror stories about.

AN INSIDE LOOK AT YOUR WATER HEATER

First, you need to know that there are two kinds of water heaters: tank and tankless. They may be either powered by gas or electricity.

All about the tank hot water heater. This American household staple has been around for a long time. It is the most common type. In essence, this appliance consists of a large holding tank where water is heated and then distributed to the rest of the house.

All about tankless hot water heaters. We actually talk a lot about this baby at Sirius Plumbing and AIr Conditioning because we love them! Read more here.

About gas powered water heaters. There’s not much of a difference between gas and electric in modern hot water heaters. Be aware, however, that if you smell gas around the unit, shut the gas off immediately via the shut off valve on the gas line.

You’d better know: where the main switch valve is. If you learn nothing else from this nitty gritty cross section of a water heater, let it be the exact location of the main valve that supplies water to the appliance. You will not want to be guessing when an emergency arises. To identify the input pipe, put your hand on it. Is it cold? That’s your intake.

You’d better know: where the pressure relief valve is. This guy has one job and it’s to keep the water tank from a blow out when too much pressure builds in the tank. Keep your eye out for any signs of water on the floor, which could be a sign of appliance malfunction.

You’d better know: where the drain valve is. If you need to replace or repair your hot water heater, or you need to drain it to maintain it, the drain valve is where it all happens. Near the bottom of the tank, you can open up a faucet about the size of a garden hose to empty the tank.

You’d better know: how to use the temperature control knob. Relight the pilot light, if need be, on the gas powered water heater. This knob also controls the temperature of the water as supplied to the house. CAUTION: a high setting can create scalding hot water from the taps, please exercise restraint when turning it up. Conserve energy by turning it down.

Now that you know the basic components of your water heater, you can prevent any unnecessary heartache and expense.

#protip Drain the water on a regular basis to flush out any built up contaminants and prevent corrosion. Do this by attaching a regular old garden hose and feed it into a 5gal bucket. CAUTION! The water is hot. (Hold on to that hose and elevate it before you disconnect it or you’ll need a mop!)

#protip Do a regular visual inspection of the unit. Look for signs of corrosion on the top and bottom. Make sure the ventilation pipe is secure.

#protip Your future self will thank you for spending less than $20 on a Water Alarm. This small device will deliver a piercing alarm heard throughout the whole house when it senses water on the floor.

Is your hot water heater leaking? Watch this video to find out what to do next.
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Sirius Plumbing and Air Conditioning services Dallas/Ft Worth or any one of these mid cities:

Dallas, Plano, Carrollton, Richardson, Garland, Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Coppell, University Park, Highland Park, Fort Worth, Richland Hills, North Richland Hills, Hurst, Bedford, Euless, Colleyville, Keller, Southlake, Grapevine, Trophy Club, and surrounding DFW communities.

We are committed to helping treating our customers like family. We make sure that we’re there for them when they need plumbing repairs, air conditioning repair, and hot water heater repair. We also help when people have a leaking toilet, clogged drain, or gas line repair. What’s more, we do tankless water heater installation and HVAC replacement. Get to know us better at siriuspac.com/about/.

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