There is a new start-up company from the US that is producing what they call a new tankless water heater. The Heatworks Model 1 appears to be a point of use electric instant water heater. We haven’t tested or have even seen their product but we feel there are a few things to clarify.
- Although it is tankless it is important to realize that this a small point of use system.
- It is also electric, and here in Ontario we pay some of the highest prices for electricity.
- They don’t address incoming water temperatures as well as hot water output.
What Is Interesting
They claim to have eliminated anodes that are the prime source of heat in a conventional electric water heater. Additionally those anodes are most commonly the area of failure due to calcium and lime build up. The calcium and lime accretion is an issue in all water heaters but so far the tankless system deals with it the best by building in the ability to isolate the affected areas and flush them out.
The Heatworks Model 1 uses graphite electrodes, which they imply eliminates the issue of calcium and lime build up. Since graphite is a dry lubricant, deposits will not adhere to it. Additionally, ISI’s patented heating method, Joule heating, completely eliminates the high temperatures that cause scale and mineral buildup. If this is accurate they would likely have a revolution in water heaters in their hands. Your conventional electric tank type water heater loses 2% efficiency per year due to the insulating effects the calcium cause on heating elements.
Will It Work In Ontario
This hasn’t been addresses on their website. In fact they leave a lot of details out regarding the system they are building. We have contacted them in hopes of clarifying some of the issues we have mentioned. Hopefully we can get a demo model to test here at our office.
They have contacted us and addressed all the questions we had regarding the system. A test model has be offered once available and we will be certain to provide a full overview of the system. We are excited with this new technology and cant wait to perform a full review.
Contact
In the mean time check out their website and their funded Kickstarter .
Official Site – Heatworks Model 1
Kickstarter – Heatworks Model 1