“They’ve Got Our Backs”: California Contractor Chooses Noritz EZ-Tankless Series Water Heaters.
Western Rooter Inc. in Arcadia, CA, has been a family-owned plumbing and drain-cleaning business for the past 35 years. For the past 10, it has been a heavy installer of tankless water heating
technology — specifically Noritz, according to John Bottala, the general manager.
“Noritz has our backs,” says John. “There are many options out there, but we’ve found that Noritz can provide us with the most time-saving, efficient products and responsive customer support.”
New Noritz EZ units save installers time
One of the technologies that John is most thrilled about is the new EZ Series of high-efficiency, condensing tankless water heaters, consisting of the Energy Star-rated EZ98-DV and the EZ111-DV. Engineered expressly for the North American residential market, these ultra-high-efficiency units join the EZTR40 in providing a direct replacement solution for storage tank water heaters.
Top-mounted water connections, multiple venting options (including outdoor and indoor single-pipe or two-inch flex), and the option to reuse the same half-inch gas line as the tank units they are replacing all make installing the EZ units a quick, relatively painless process. Noritz recently staged a training session with the Western Rooter team to discuss this new offering.
>> Read Western Rooter Inc’s write-up of their recent Noritz training experience
“The EZ Series is a game-changer for us,” says John. “It makes it super easy to swap an old tank-type by saving roughly 50 percent on installation time since you don’t need to make new connections. The homeowner, of course, benefits by not needing to spend extra money to reconfigure the plumbing. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.”
Obviously, these installation benefits are in addition to those shared by all tankless water heaters; namely, hot water produced on-demand, space savings resulting from a smaller unit, and lower energy use stemming from a more efficient operation. “Noritz, in particular, backs its dual stainless steel heat exchangers with a 12-year warranty,” says John. “This tells us that they stand by their products and gives us strong confidence when installing them.”
Case in point: EZTR40 saves energy in firefighter’s home
John underlined his preference for Noritz by describing a recent tankless installation in West Covina, CA.
A firefighter’s residential storage-tank water heater had failed, and he was looking for a replacement. His work shifts meant he wasn’t home for much of the week. “Since a storage tank water heater fires up to warm the water — even when there’s zero demand — it meant that my customer was essentially wasting energy on the days he wasn’t home,” explains John.
After learning the benefits of going tank-free, John’s customer decided to install the EZTR40 as a direct replacement for his 40-gallon, storage-tank model. “As with the other EZ models, we were able to save installation time by not needing to make new plumbing and venting connections,” says John.
The unit was installed in under three hours without incident and immediately began generating a payback. “My customer is cutting about 20-30 percent on his gas bill because the unit fires only on-demand,” estimates John. “Meanwhile, the unit also qualified for a California energy rebate of $200. Finally, he also saved around 15 percent on space, since the compact unit is wall hung.
“Noritz and Western Rooter ultimately share the same values of product quality and customer satisfaction,” says John. “This was evident on the West Covina job, and I know it will be the case on countless other projects in the future.”