Point of Use Tankless Water Heaters

What are point of use tankless hot water heaters, and why would you consider installing one in your house?

A point-of-use tankless water heater is a small unit that can be installed right next a sink where you need hot water. They can also be used for hot water in a shower or bath, though the flow rate may not be sufficient for a bathtub depending on the power of the unit.

So what is the purpose of using a tankless water heater like this? One situation where this might be a good idea is when you are in a part of the house that is extremely far away from the main water heater. If it is taking 45 seconds to a minute for you to get hot water, it is often because of the “run” of the plumbing. When the run is extremely long, you wait and wait for the hot water, meanwhile you're wasting water down the drain. Install a point of use water heater under the sink and your good to go. Now of course your going to pay more for electricity, but you will save on your water bill.

These point of use heaters can truly be called instantaneous or demand water heaters as it is usually just a few seconds before you have hot water. These point of use heaters thus eliminate what is referred to as standby loss.

Another application could be in the kitchen, but with a word of warning. A demand hot water heater can be installed under your sink and thus provide very hot water when needed for cooking or for making hot beverages. The problem here is the risk of scalding, as these heaters can pump out extremely hot water. Check the temperature settings on these heaters, because they can produce water with temperatures between 170-180 degrees. Many manufactures have built in anti-scalding control systems, so that the water will not exceed 125 degrees. Obviously this is a must have if you have children in the house. In fact, the electronic control systems are generally standard on these point of use devices, so if you want something that does produce extremely hot water, you may have to do a little shopping.

There are several manufacturers of these mini tankless water heaters, there shouldn't be much difficulty in finding something for $200 dollars or less.

Major manufacturers include:

PowerStar

Steibel Eltron

Bosch Ariston

Titan

Bosch Aquastar

Bosch Powerstream

Eltron DHC

Overall, a point of use tankless water heater can certainly make life easier when installed in the right situation.