Can You Heat A Pool With A Tankless Water Heater?

Can You Heat A Pool With A Tankless Water Heater?

A tankless water heater is a gas-powered appliance that heats water without storing it in a large tank. You can install tankless heaters in homes and businesses.

They offer several advantages over traditional storage tanks. They’re smaller than standard models, so they take up less space on your property.

Plus, they also come with two different controls: instantaneous or modulating.

The immediate control allows you to enjoy hot water when you need it by heating it only when you turn on the tap.

In contrast, the modulating control keeps hot water flowing at all times but uses less energy because of its slower response time.

No! Tankless heaters are not designed to work like this. They don’t provide enough hot water for a pool. They’re expensive when compared to other pool heaters. The price will depend on the type of heater you buy and how big your pool is.

You’d need something like 3 or 4 of them working together even to make it worth considering. They’ll still cost about as much in electricity to run the pumps as well.

Thus, there’s no benefit here. It would likely be cheaper and better for the environment if you dug up your front lawn and replaced it with some nice paving stones instead.

Are Tankless Pool Heaters Worth It?

Yes. They come with various benefits that include:

– They provide a more even heating of pools as they heat the water through the pipeline.

– They save space as you don’t need to install or mount storage tanks.

– Since there’s no storage tank, you’ll have less running costs. This results in financial savings.

– They do not dry up your pool since the water that comes out is already heated and will probably evaporate at a lower rate than unheated water.

– They are durable and can last for 4 to 20 years, depending on the type you buy.

If you hire a professional installer, they’ll ensure that your equipment’s well taken care of until it lasts long enough.

– Since there is no storage tank, there isn’t much maintenance needed. All you need to do is regularly inspect the components to check if they’re in good shape.

Replace worn parts before they cause problems, clean them from time to time and keep them turned off during winter seasons.

– There will be less pressure loss than traditional heating systems since no pipes/tanks obstruct hot water flow.

This means that your pool pump won’t have to work as hard, resulting in savings on electricity costs.

– They are easy to install, maintain and control.

The major drawback is that they’re expensive when compared to other pool heaters. The price will depend on the type of heater you buy and how big your pool is.

Why Is Tankless Water Heater Installation So Expensive?

Tankless water heaters are costly because they need a considerable gas supply compared to a conventional water heater.

They also need to run their exhaust flue, which costs time and money for the installation. Tankless water heaters(Amazon Link) cost about $800 and up.

The unit itself costs between $800 and $1,000. You’ll have to consider gas line installation fees. They can add another $500 to the total price tag.

If you’re installing a new circuit in your breaker box for the tankless heater’s electrical draw, that could add another couple of hundred dollars to the final bill.

And if your house doesn’t already have a flue for an oil or gas furnace, expect to pay a few hundred bucks more.

Most homeowners should budget between $600 and $1,200 for installation costs on top of the buy price.

However, this can vary depending on where it’s going and what kind of excess plumbing or electrical work needs attention.

Can I Put A Tankless Water Heater In A Closet?

Yes, but there are some considerations to keep in mind.

While you can install a tankless water heater in a closet, there are several parameters you need to consider.

Whether the unit will fit with your home design is going to be one of them. How much space each model requires will vary.

Some units may only need a few inches of clearance on all sides, while others use most or even their available space inside a wall.

It’s essential you measure before deciding to have an accurate idea of what will work for your home and what won’t.

An installer from your area can help determine how much room your specific model needs and where it can go when they come out to install it for you.

Another thing to consider is where the hot and cold water pipes are to your desired location for the water heater.

Shutting off these lines won’t make a tankless unit work, as it will still need a power source.

If there isn’t one close enough to your chosen sport, you may have trouble getting your new heater up and running well.

Can You Install A Gas Tankless Water Heater Inside?

Yes, you can install a gas tankless water heater inside the home. Gas tankless water heaters are not designed for you to install outdoors.

However, you can install them indoors if prolonged exposure to cold temperatures is not possible.

When installing a gas tankless water heater, it’s essential to set the temperature dial correctly (most models have between 140°F and 180°F).

This is so that you get safe hot water at low flow rates.

If you set the temperature control dial too low, colder incoming tap water may cause scalding burns on unsuspecting users of this appliance.

When in doubt about setting the temperature dial, err on the side of caution by setting it closer to the maximum allowable temperature for your model.

Then run the cold water tap nearest the tankless heater, filling up a sink. Adjust the dial to ensure that hot water exits the spout.

If you need warmer settings than your gas tankless water heater can deliver, guests can turn on less important taps until they find one that delivers safe hot water at low flow rates.

This will keep everyone safe while conserving energy by not using any unnecessary or unused hot water.

One disadvantage of indoor installation is that outdoor code requirements for grounding and clearance around combustible construction also apply indoors.

So it may be more difficult inside the home if it’s challenging to get past these requirements outdoors.

Another potential disadvantage is that indoor installation can reduce or eliminate any protection from precipitation.

This can lead to more maintenance issues during snowy weather.

Can You Install A Tankless Water Heater Upside Down?

Inversion of a water heater is not recommended, but there should be no issues related to safety or performance if done carefully.

However, it’s more typical for applications to mount the unit upside down to use a tankless gas-fired model rather than an electric storage-tank type.

All other things being equal (which they likely won’t be), the tankless models may get hotter faster because of their lower mass and thus warm up their water sooner.

However, this difference isn’t significant enough that you’d notice in most homes since both types are highly efficient at heating water once they get started.

However, one reason that it’s less common for some people to install upside down is that;

The water heater’s automatic temperature-and-pressure relief (ATP) valve is usually attached to the machine’s underside.

If it leaks, it will leak out under pressure and not out of a drain fitting meant for gravity drainage, which could cause some issues if things get too hot.

However, most homes don’t have this water heater; they’re usually found in commercial applications.

Does An Electric Tankless Water Heater Need A Pressure Relief Valve?

No! An electric tankless water heater does not need a pressure relief valve because it runs on low voltage.

Since it’s running on low voltage, there will never be enough energy to build up pressure in the water heater.

The only time escaping steam would be usually produced would be if the temperature of the electric tankless water heater’s heating element were ever lowered or turned off.

It would then create condensation, which could cause the temperature inside the electric tankless water heater to rise and reach 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

(The temperature required for water to turn into steam). Once this temperature reached, steam would escape through small holes in the heating element.

A regular storage-type water heater has a pressure relief valve because it heats up quickly and at higher voltages than an electric tankless heater does.

Having a pressure relief valve installed prevents the water from heating too rapidly and causing the pressure to rise.

This is especially necessary with a storage-type water heater because they can be as large as 50 gallons in capacity.

Can A Water Heater Touch The Wall?

No! It can be hazardous. A water heater should never touch the wall or any other heat source.

If the water heater is too close to another surface that produces heat, sparks can fly.

These sparks can cause severe damage to that surface or even ignite vapors coming from the other object.

For example, if it’s placed too close to a hot oven door, it could produce glowing embers that land on the oven and start a fire.

You should install water heaters where they are not touching any other surfaces, plus six inches of clearance all around.

They should also be far away from flammable objects like grasses and woodpiles, which would catch fire if ignited by an ember flying off another heat source.

Boiling water can cause burns fast since it releases steam and hot water vapor. If the water heater is against a wall.

There is a high risk of some boiling or near-boiling water spattering on it and causing severe burns.

For example, if you were all soaped up in your shower, it’s likely that if your hand accidentally slipped past the faucet.

You would easily get second-degree burns from scalding hot water shooting out at 180°F/82°C.

The risk goes down with lower temperatures for both the water inside the tank and near the fixtures since they are not as hot.

Lower heat settings under 110°F/43°C or even 140°F/60°C are still dangerous but only result in first degree burns.

Can You Run Out Of Hot Water With A Tankless Water Heater?

No – some studies suggest these systems can be more energy efficient because they don’t have a storage tank.

A tankless water heater heats water directly without a large metal or ceramic storage tank, which means these systems usually use more energy to heat the water.

However, once you turn on the hot water in a home with a traditional, 40-gallon electric water heater operating at 120 volts.

It will be a few minutes before that tank runs out of hot water.

This cycle repeats when you make new hot-water demands and can waste an enormous amount of energy when no one needs hot water – say at 3 a.m.

When everyone is fast asleep. Tankless technology uses either gas or electricity to heat ample.

Quantities of cold water and maintain an endless supply of hot water during high demand to eradicate these standby energy losses.

Your tankless water heater is safe and will not run out of hot water.

Some people, however, find that they need more than one tankless water heater in their homes because the units’ output capacity limits the amount of hot water available.

For example, if your shower head flows at 2 gallons per minute and you have a 1-GPM tankless unit installed, it will take 30 minutes for enough hot water to reach your showerhead.

That’s why some people install two or more units to increase the flow rate through several fixtures simultaneously.

So everyone gets warm showers immediately after turning the faucets on.

Conclusion

Tankless water heaters are an excellent option for homeowners in search of an environmentally conscious heating solution.

They’re not only cheaper to install than traditional tank-style models.

But they also use less energy and produce much lower emissions because they don’t need storage tanks or hot water cylinders.

However, live in an area with hard water. The installation may be more expensive as it requires extra plumbing work;

Including installing extra pipes or replacing existing ones.

And while there’s no definite answer about whether these types of water heaters are worth the expense compared to traditional options.

Most experts agree that their upfront cost is quite low given how long they last – up to ten years.