Posted on

Heatworks Model 1 Water Heater

On demand by Heatworks

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.

  1.  Although it is tankless it is important to realize that this a small point of use system.
  2. It is also electric, and here in Ontario we pay some of the highest prices for electricity.
  3. 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

Posted on

Best Tankless Systems for Ontario

Best tankless systems for Ontario homes

It used to be easy for Ontario home owners to select their whole home tankless water heater as only 2 maybe 3 systems would be sufficient.  Today things have changed and there are numerous tankless water heaters as well as conventional tank type water heaters that are not only super highly efficient but also offer an endless supply of hot water.

We are going to try and give you an overview of the best tankless systems available today.

 

SystemCondensingEfficiencyMax FlowMin FlowWarrantyPrice
RINNAI TANKLESS SYSTEMS
RU98iYES96%9.8/GPM4.9/GPM12 YearsQuote
RU80iYES96%8.0/GPM4.4/GPM12 YearsQuote
RL94iNO82%9.8/GPM4.2/GPM12 YearsQuote
RL75iNO82%8.0/GPM3.8/GPM12 YearsQuote
RHEEM TANKLESS SYSTEMS
RTGH-95YES94%9.5/GPM4.9/GPM12 YearsQuote
RTGH-84YES94%8.4/GPM3.9/GPM12 YearsQuote
RTG-95NO82%9.5/GPM4.3/GPM12 YearsQuote
RTG-84NO82%8.4/GPM3.9/GPM12 YearsQuote
NAVIEN TANKLESS SYSTEMS
NPE s 180YES97%8.4/GPM3.8/GPM15 YearsQuote
NPE s 210YES97%10.1/GPM4.6/GPM15 YearsQuote
NPE s 240YES97%11.2/GPM5.1/GPM15 YearsQuote
NPE a 180YES97%8.4/GPM3.8/GPM15 YearsQuote
NPE a 210YES97%10.1/GPM4.6/GPM15 YearsQuote
NPE a 240YES97%11.2/GPM5.1/GPM15 YearsQuote
HTP HIGH EFFICIENCY TANK
Versa Hydro
PHE130-55YES96%7.0/GPM3.0/GPM12 YearsQuote
PHE199-55YES96%7.9/GPM4.6/GPM12 YearsQuote
PHE130-80YES96%7.0/GPM3.0/GPM12 YearsQuote
PHE199-80YES96%7.9/GPM4.6/GPM12 YearsQuote
PHE130-119YES96%7.0/GPM3.1/GPM12 YearsQuote
PHE199-119YES96%7.9/GPM4.6/GPM12 YearsQuote
Versa Flame
PHR-130-55YES95%7.0/GPM3.2/GPM12 YearsQuote
PHR-160-55YES95%7.5/GPM3.85/GPM12 YearsQuote
PHR-199-55YES95%7.9/GPM4.8/GPM12 YearsQuote
Envirosense
6G50-PDVHYES96%8.0/GPM2.4/GPM6 YearsQuote
6G5076-02YES90%8.0/GPM2.3/GPM6 YearsQuote

 

Choosing The Best Tankless System

As the chart above indicates…. There are a lot of choices for home owners.  For the most part the systems listed are the best available here in Ontario.  There are numerous other brands that dealers or HVAC sales technicians might try to push on you but the one listed are tried and tested for our cold winters.

Budget will probably be the biggest factor in determining which will be the best tankless system for your home.  Give us a call and we can give you some rough prices over the phone and can offer exact tankless prices with a free installation inspection (we have to see the gas lines, venting run, venting termination, etc before we can be certain any tankless can be installed).

Book Your Inspection Today – (647) 925 1930

Posted on

Rinnai Tankless Promotional Video

Rinnai Adverting Video

This is an interesting video produced by Rinnai that talks about how a tankless works.  They go over the very way to address the amount of water that a tank produces verses that of a tankless.  They also talk about the lifespan of a tankless compared to that of a conventional tank.

With a tank water is continually heated and reheated wasting valuable energy when hot water is not in use. On top of that your hot water supply is limited to the gallons of water your tank can hold.    A Rinnai tankless water heater is more efficient, providing endless hot water only when you need it.  A Rinnai tankless has double the lifespan of a tank, making it ultimately the better value system.

Maybe its time you contemplate going tankless in your home?

Click  to see this video from Rinnai posted on Youtube

Posted on

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!