On Demand Water Heater – from the other side

Before I got a Navien on demand water heater for myself, I was always lukewarm to the idea. It was only after the installation, when I was rushing through my first shower that I realized what it meant. The significance dawned on me like I’d discovered a secret. For the first time, I didn’t have to rush! Rushing and rinsing in tepid was over.

Before tankless, I gave equal weight to the pros and cons of a traditional tank vs on demand system. Now, of course some of the “cons” are still there, but I don’t seem to care. It still takes a little longer for the hot water to come, and it can still be a bit tricky to change the temperature of the shower while you are in it. But I just can’t see those issues as being super important through the steam! Years of knowing that if I didn’t get in the shower first, or complete it in 5 minutes or less, I’d be rinsing in cold like laundry delicates – were over.  I fondly recall the days when I used to tell myself how invigorating it felt to rinse in cool. Ha!  Now that I don’t have to, I haven’t rinsed in cold even once!

When I researched the pros and cons of an On Demand water heater system for our website I tried to be fair. I wanted to present both sides and let you make the choice. Now that I am on the other side…I say DO IT.

Tips:

Size counts. Get advice on what volume of out put you need. How many simultaneous draws will there be? We have 4 people in our house, but large volume simultaneous draws are rare. For example, we don’t often do laundry when someone is in the shower – the time of day just isn’t the same for these activities.

Take advantage of grants:  Right now Fortis BC is offering $500 towards your new on-demand system. That is significant savings.

If you are like me, or love somebody like me who is always last in the shower, or the busy parent who does all the laundry on the weekend one load after another, it’s worth it. If you, like us, are looking at having teenagers in the house within the next 3 years and lasting for the next 12 years for sure, it will be a good investment.

I think the only down side will be in trying to get the teens out of the shower – running out of hot water will no longer be a motivator. But overall, I can’t believe we waited so long. And me, a plumbers wife!