Many people ask me how tankless systems work; in a word- modulation. The burners modulate up and down depending on how cold and fast the water is coming in. So if the water coming in is 40 degrees, it takes more gas to heat it up (so the burners modulate up) than it does if the incoming water is 60 degrees. Likewise, if only one sink is being used (roughly 1.5 gallons per minute or GPM) it takes less gas (so the burners modulate down) than it does if two showers are on simultaneously. Most tankless systems will easily handle two showers simultaneously at 40-degree incoming water at high altitude. Much more than that, and the result is that the water goes cold or the flow is decreased, depending on the brand of tankless system you install.
The wonderful thing is that those 2 showers can be taken forever! When your old water tank would run out in about 12 minutes, the tankless system will keep going and going and going. Sort of like that bunny on TV. And nothing feels as good as a clean, long shower, wrapped in the knowledge that it’s dead cold when you’re done and no energy is wasted. If you have a jetted or soaking tub, you’ll never fill it with a 50-gallon water tank. Even 2 tanks (think about that waste!) would have a hard time. By contrast, I fill my hot tub with my tankless system. That’s 330 gallons of water that’s heated by gas at 87% efficiency and I’m in my hot tub that night! Those who want to be part of the solution (but still want to have some luxury in their lives) have to go tankless. It’s the smart thing to do.
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