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Radiant Floor Heating with a Tankless

tankless radiant floors

We are receiving an ever increasing number in inquiries regarding the installation of tankless water heaters and radiant floor heating.  There are a number of reasons why and we hope to fully explain them below.

Conventionally radiant floor heating was done with a boiler which is large and very expensive.  Today’s technology has brought us tankless water heaters which are small enough to hang on the wall yet more powerful than ever.

Benefits of using a Tankless for Radiant Floor Heating

  • A Tankless is cheaper to buy
  • Space saving size
  • Powerful enough to provide heating as well as domestic hot water needs
  • Built in circulation pump
  • A single system can heat homes up to 3000sq feet
  • High efficiency systems (98%)

Why is radiant floor heating so nice?

Having your floors heated provides a completely different feel and comfort level within your home.  Have you ever unknowingly walked by something hot and felt that faint sensation of heat but not know where it’s coming from.  Well radiant floors are similar in a sense, and heat is released evenly throughout your home.

Radiant floor heating is much more efficient than forced air.  The floor has a much greater thermal mass and thus releases the heat slowly and evenly when heated radiantly.  A forced air furnace indirectly tries to heat your home by heating the air.  This hot air rises and in fact works to heat your roof.

Installation

Radiant floors can now be installed under tiles, hardwood, and even laminate.  The tubing is pre-made and carries a long guarantee (depends on brand).   Let us come out and give you a free quote to install radiant floor heating in your home.

 

Call Us (647) 925-1930

 

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Rinnai Changes Ultra Series Tankless

Ultra Series Tankless

Rinnai has changed the Ultra series tankless water heaters to better reflect the designation with the model number.

Basically the tankless has remained the same internally and the name has just changed.

RC98i has been changed to RU98i

Rc80i has changed to RU80i

Personally I think they did this to better differentiate their models of tankless water heaters.  Rinnai has a bit of an alternative way to categorizing their systems and it goes as such:

  1. Value Series
  2. Luxury Series
  3. Ultra Series

The Value Series, as Rinnai calls it, are rarely if ever sold in Toronto, the GTA, or Southern Ontario for that matter.  Our water is just a bit too cold in the winter to be able to install these units and expect reliability.  They could work great for cottage or seasonal use though.

The Luxury Series is where we start to get into tankless systems suitable for Ontario home owners.  The RL94i and the RL75i being the two systems.

The Ultra Series tankless systems suitable for the Greater Toronto Area consist of the RU98i and RU80i.

Rinnai Model Code Breakdown.

I’m not 100% certain on this but as far as I know this is how Rinnai model name is broken down. Using the new RU80i as an example.

RU80i

R = Rinnai

U = Ultra (for the ultra series which consists of only condensing tankless systems)

80 = This indicated max hot water output at a certain temperature rise (8.0 gallons)

i = Signals that this is an indoor model (e specifies that a Rinnai tankless is outdoor)

Here is another example

Rl75i

R = Rinnai

L = Luxury (for the Luxury series which consists of only non-condensing tankless systems)

75 = This indicated max hot water output at a certain temperature rise (7.5 gallons)

i = Signals that this is an indoor model (e specifies that a Rinnai tankless is outdoor)

 

If you have any further questions don’t hesitate to call us or fill out our online form.  Our aim is to get back to you in less than one business day.

 

 

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Achieving The Best Water Heater Efficiency

water heater efficiency

Looking to get the best water heater efficiency out of your your homes system? We have put together a few tips that you can take advantage of when looking at increasing your homes water heating bills.

First we recommend that you take a quick trip to Home Depot, Lowes or another renovation retailer (preferably Canadian owned and operated) to purchase pipe insulation. One way to really improve efficiency is to insulate the hot water pipes in your home, its really surprising how many homes just don’t employ this simple upgrade.drain water heat recovery and a tankless

The next suggestion is really only possible if you are renovating. For maximum water heater efficiency the unit should be located as close as possible to the point of use, this will significantly reduce the energy lost from long pipe runs mentioned above. If you happen to have a small powder room at the far end of your home consider a small electric tank installed under your sink, they hold a gallon of hot water and can save a lot of energy.

Consider a drain water heat recovery system, these simple units are installed in the basement on your drain pipe. As hot water from the shower or tap is dumped down the drain a heat exchanger captures the lost energy and uses it to preheat the water going to your water heater. The saving can exceed 40% and reduce the overall energy consumption of your entire home by 10%.

Depending on how you and your family use hot water a tankless or a high efficiency conventional tank can go a long way to improving your homes water heater efficiency rating.

Interested in any of the items we mentioned above? Give us a call (647) 925-1930 and we can answer any question you may have.

As always knowledge is power and information is always free!

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Tankless Short Cuts and Cheat Joints

tankless gas pipes

It is important to get your tankless installed by a reputable company.  By this I mean someone who knows what they are doing when it comes to installing a tankless.  Heating your homes water with a tankless is a fundamentally different system than the 40 gallon conventional tank that is probably sitting in the basement now.  I will go over a few things to quiz your contractor on to ensure they really know how these systems work resulting in a much better end result for you.

Firstly there have been some negative issues reported with tankless systems, and yes sometimes it is the manufactures fault but a lot of these issues are actually due to improper installation;  the contractor.  A conventional tank uses a smaller volume of gas producing around 30,000 BTU’s.  A tankless uses larger volumes, close to 200,000 BTU’s, but with a much reduced frequency.  Installers could just “guestimate” pipe diameters necessary to provide a conventional tank with ample gas and 99% of the time is right.  A tankless needs the gas fitter to very accurately ensure that the unit receives enough gas to produce the 200,000 BTU’s necessary.  This is the main problem as to why a lot of tankless systems receive complaints from new owners.

Questions Ask Your Contractor Regarding a Tankless

  • Maximum distance of a ½ inch gas line needed to provide 200,000 BTU’s  – trick question, a 10 foot length can only carry roughly 132,000 BTU’s
  • What size gas line will my tankless need – In Toronto and areas all whole home tankless systems will need a ¾ inch connection minimum
  • If I purchase a condensing tankless is there any special installation needed?  – Yes, a condensing tankless requires a nearby drain to channel the water collected from the condenser.
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Tankless Concerns

Here is an interesting post that I spotted on RedFlagDeals – that’s a popular Canadian site offering deals and helpful info to people. I recommend you check it out if you’re interested.  Anyways this user had some questions regarding tankless water heaters and was looking for responses from current owners.  Here is their inquiry.

I’ll be moving into a brand new town-home in downtown Toronto next year, and we need to decide on which option to go for the water heater:

  1. Rent the tank system from Direct Energy (installed by builder…)
  2. Buy a tank system and replace the rental
  3. Rent a tankless system
  4. Buy a tankless system

Our priorities are, in order of most important first:

  1. Space
  2. Hot Temperature
  3. Continuous hot water
  4. Noise
  5. Multiple appliances
  6. Up-front costs
  7. Operating & Maintenance costs

I know the tankless system wins for 1 and 3… but what about 2, 4, and 5? After reading through this thread, I only read a few things about the noise issue. We want to mount this on a wall to save space and use that area as storage, but if it’s going to rattle our small townhome’s walls, that’s a serious concern.

Thoughts?

Here Is Our Take

Right off the bat I would instantly recommend a tankless if your number one concern is space.  A tankless wins hands down.  I will go though the issues this user brought up briefly.

  1. Space – tankless saves a lot, it wins.
  2. Temperature – Toss up, but I would probably give it to the tankless because of its precision
  3. Continuous supply – obviously the tankless takes this category
  4.  Noise – depends on which type of conventional tank you could install, but I call it a draw – both would probably be power vented units so the blower makes the most noise.
  5. Tank wins but only for a short period as it will run out of water as more appliances demand hot water.
  6. Tank is cheaper for sure – a tankless does have much higher upfront costs.
  7. Tank – a tank will be cheaper on maintenance as there really isn’t any, but that tank has a lifespan of 8 years where as the tankless is 20.  Yep you will pay a little more on maintenance but it more than makes up for it over time.
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Tankless Water Heater Service Valves

Toronto and Area Tankless Services

Service Valves on a Tankless are Important

The service valves on a tankless are essential for cleaning the insides of your tankless.  The valves allow an easy method of changing the incoming and outgoing water from one source to another.  Why would you need this feature? Well your tankless is designed to last more than 20 years and this requires that the scale and lime buildup that forms on the inside of the system is flushed or cleaned out.  The scale forms fastest in situations where water is rapidly heated, so the heat exchanger is the primary location of buildup.

It is not mandatory that these service valves are installed but any good contractor will have included them in the price and if you have a tankless you probably have some already.

The Service Valves Use

Cleaning your tankless requires you to shut the fuel source down, unplug the unit, switch the incoming and outgoing water over with the service valves.  Then you can simply hook up some hoses to the in and out ports on the service valves and pump vinegar or some acidic solution though the tankless.  The acid eats the scale and restores the tankless to its original efficiency.Toronto and Area Tankless Services

Scale buildup quickly reduces the efficiency of your tankless by significantly slowing the transfer of heat to water. 

So if you have a tankless tank a quick peek at your system and see of your contractor or installer included the service valves.  If not, don’t worry they can always be installed after the fact.  Give us a call and we can install some and flush your tankless at the same time.

Service Valves Specifications

  • 3/4″ union connections
  • Colour coded handles and unions
  • Staggered connection points to easy access and installation
  • Forward facing purge/flush ports ease routine servicing
  • Purge/drain hose connection port and cap
  • Full port, quarter turn valves