Save Space, Avoid Floods in Your Basement with a Noritz Tankless Water Heater
If you own a tank-type water heater, you’re probably used to having that water-storage tank crowding out space in your basement. You probably even have a hard time imagining a basement which, instead of housing that bulking behemoth, contains a Noritz tankless water heater that utilizes only a fraction of the space.
Although tankless water heaters provide many benefits, perhaps the most simple is evident right in the name—they don’t have a tank. No tank means two very crucial things for you the homeowner: You need not worry about leaks, and your basement suddenly opens up to new design possibilities.
No tank, no bursts
Fortunately, your tank-type water heater shouldn’t explode like in this Mythbusters episode, but the fact is that leaks and bursts do happen. According to Randy Oshiro, Assistant Manager of Engineering at Noritz, a water heater can spring a leak due to an over-buildup of scale and mineral deposits (click here to learn how to descale your water heater), rust and corrosion and pressure buildup due to overheating.
Although a tankless system is still susceptible to such things as scale buildup, you won’t ever have to worry about waking up only to find that the Great Flood has made an encore performance in your basement, at least not because of a water heater burst. Depending on the type of tankless water heater you own, there might be some water circulating within the unit, but not the gallons upon gallons you might find in a tank-type.
Saving Precious Space
Decluttering any space in your home makes it look cleaner and really allows you to get creative with design ideas. This is especially true for your basement, since that’s the place many homeowners keep the appliances they would prefer to have out of sight, like the furnace, boiler, washing machine, etc. Most of these appliances are unavoidably large, but your water heater doesn’t have to be, and that can free up precious living space. Because of its diminutive size, wall-hung tankless water heaters are easier to conceal behind a partition or inside a closet, leaving more space for furnishings, fixtures and other decorative elements.
One homeowner we spoke to recalled that, had she installed a tank-type water heater in her laundry room, local regulations would have required the inclusion of a drip pan that would have protruded into the already tight working space. Instead of worrying about tripping over this pan every time she had a basket full of laundry, she decided to go with the wall-hung Noritz EZTR40 tankless water heater (measuring only 18.3 inches wide x 27.2 inches high x 9.4 inches deep), a decision that made the room safer, more attractive and more functional.
The absence of a tank does more than just provide more space for additional furnishings; it also eliminates the fear that such furnishings might be damaged by a leaky water heater. With tankless, you can place a designer couch or ottoman downstairs without worrying that it will be waterlogged one day from a water heater burst.
So the most obvious benefit of a tankless water heater is one of its best. You have enough things to store in your home. Hot water doesn’t have to be among them.