HYDRONICS | SELLING UP |
Installer-friendly PVC venting spurs contractor demand for high-efficiency condensing tankless water heaters
BY JASON COREY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
recent years, despite the worst construction market in memory. Once building revives in earnest around the country, even more dramatic growth in this category is anticipated. Greater energy savings have played
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an important, but still secondary, role in the rising profile of condensing tankless water heaters, which offer efficiency gains of approximately 10 to 15 percentage points over conventional units, from percentages in the low to mid 80s to around 95%. Like their conventional counterparts, all condensing units carry the Energy Star label. But as impressive as these energy savings are, ease of installation remains the main growth driver for this technology. Condensing tankless water heaters
use a secondary heat exchanger to boost efficiency by capturing more heat from combustion gases as they escape up the flue. This heat- absorption process, in turn, cools these gases enough to permit venting with less costly, more installer- friendly PVC piping, rather than with category III stainless steel. PVC venting makes tankless far
more attractive for first-time installers, many of whom have never used Category III Stainless Steel. When I tell attendees at my workshops that they can use PVC, their eyes light up. Virtually every service tech knows PVC inside and out. What’s more, the material requires zero clearance to combustibles. All of which is why, as more and more homeowners request
he popularity of condensing technology in tankless water heaters has risen steadily in
This article, done in
a question-and-answer format, will delve deeper into the factors behind the popularity gains for condensing technology, while explaining how it works and how its installation differs from that of conventional tankless (very little). We will also discuss some ways to present this technology to your customers, be they homebuilders, commercial specifiers or consumers. Tankless technology
has been the preferred method of heating water for domestic use for decades in numerous countries worldwide. Condensing technology hasn’t been around for as long, but it has proven itself equally reliable in numerous applications, residential and commercial. My hope is that, once you clearly
A condensing unit (right) uses the same sequence of steps to generate hot water as a conventional tankless unit (left), but the former also incorporates a secondary heat exchanger to capture more heat from the combustion gases before they enter the venting at the top of the flue. This secondary heat exchanger then preheats the incoming water on its way to the primary heat exchanger, increasing the unit’s efficiency.
understand both technologies and the positive impact they can have on your water heating business, you will embrace condensing tankless for your company and your customers. Q: How much more does a
Offering thermal efficiencies in the mid-90s, condensing tankless water heaters use a secondary heat exchanger to lower combustion-gas temperatures in the flue, allowing the use of less costly PVC piping, instead of stainless steel, to build vent runs.
a tankless replacement for their tank- type water heaters, the path of least resistance will be to go with condensing tankless to vent with PVC.
condensing tankless water heater cost versus a conventional tankless unit? A: The numbers
vary by locale but, on average, installing contractors can expect to pay 30 to 40 percent more. The additional cost to your customer,
however, may be in the range of only 15 to 20 percent per installation. Why? Because you will be using PVC venting at about $1.53 per foot right now versus $25 per foot for
category III stainless steel. That huge savings in venting costs helps defray the additional equipment cost. Q: How much energy will
condensing tankless water heaters save over their conventional counterparts? A: As already noted, the efficiency
gain is about 10 to 15 percentage points, maxing out at around 95 percent. That is not as dramatic an improvement as switching from tank to tankless, but it is not insignificant over the estimated 20-year life of the water heater. In fact, an efficiency rating in the mid-90s will make most homeowners sit up and take notice. So why not use it as a selling tactic? If you have a choice between, say, 84 and 95 percent, wouldn’t you opt for the latter in most instances? Q: Is condensing tankless
technology better suited to certain sections of the country?
phc february 2011
www.phcnews.com
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