Brownian Heating Technology

Installation of a tankless water heater may qualify you for a $300 Federal Tax Credit

Tankless water heaters are high-efficiency gas-fired water heaters. As the name implies, they have no storage tank: when the unit's flow sensor detects that a faucet is open and water is flowing, the burner comes on and heats the water as it flows through the unit. The internal computer uses temperature sensors to monitor and continuously adjust the flame to maintain the desired outlet temperature (typically, 120 degrees). Because you aren't paying to keep 30, 40, 50 or more gallons of water hot all the time, just in case you might need it, you use much less fuel. The units are wall-mounted, and roughly the size of a large microwave.

We install Rinnai and Noritz tankless water heaters. These are the top brands on the market in terms of reliability and efficiency, and still maintain competitive pricing.

Rinnai “Continuum” tankless water heaters are the default “standard” for residential and light commercial use. If someone tells you about the tankless water heater they had installed, odds are that it is a Rinnai. These water heaters lead the market in efficient and reliable operation for “standard use” conditions.

We install Noritz tankless water heaters for more demanding situations. The Noritz units interconnect easily, for large installations or future upgrades. So, you don't have to install an oversized unit, just because you might remodel your bathroom with a whirlpool tub a few years from now... install the unit you need and then, when you actually do need more hot water, install a second unit. Two units give better efficiency (it will run on one, unless that one can't keep up, and only then would the second unit activate), and give you redundancy if one fails.

Noritz tankless heaters can easily be coupled with a solar water heating system, for the ultimate in low-operating-cost water heating. Most brands are not robust enough for use with a solar system, and the manufacturers do not allow it. That sort of install could easily see a 75% or greater savings on your water-heating bill.

The Noritz units offer a more robust design for particularly-demanding applications (like solar use) and the Rinnai units offer improved efficiency for typical installations. By carrying both brands, we can offer you the appliance that meets your needs, rather than the “one size fits all” attitude taken by many other installers.

Sounds like it has to be expensive, right? Well, this is high-efficiency equipment, so it does cost a little more than a typical water heater, but the difference is relatively small, and there is a $300 Federal tax credit available this year for certain tankless water heaters (including most of the Rinnai, and several of the Noritz systems). With that, the price difference drops to the point where you may save enough in the very first year of use to pay for the cost difference between a tankless and a standard water heater, and maybe more. After that, it’s money in the bank for you.