If you and your family are tired of cold showers and high energy bills, consider calling a plumbing professional to install a new tankless water heater. Unlike conventional water heaters, tankless water heaters provide a continuous source of heated water for your home. They're smaller and more energy efficient than conventional water heaters. Here are some reasons why installing a tankless water heater may be the perfect solution for your family's hot water problems.

No More Cold Showers in the Morning

If you have a large family, you've undoubtedly run into the problem of your conventional water heater running out of hot water. When everyone wakes up on a weekday and takes their morning showers, the last person may not even get any hot water at all! That's because a conventional water heater stores hot water in a tank — when the tank is empty, your family doesn't get any more hot water until the water heater has had time to reheat the cold water it drew into the tank. If your conventional water heater's tank is small, it's easy to run out if your family takes many showers or if you have a family member that loves to take long showers.

A tankless water heater, on the other hand, heats up water on demand whenever it is needed using a large number of heating elements and a heat exchanger. This hot water is then pumped to the fixtures in your home that need it, such as your shower. Since it can run continuously, there's no risk of running out of hot water in the middle of a shower or some family members being unable to take hot showers in the morning.

The only caveat with a tankless water heater is that it must be sized appropriately for your family's needs. A tankless water heater has a maximum flow rate. If someone is taking a shower and you decide to run the washing machine at the same time, it's likely that you will exceed the flow rate of the tankless water heater and receive lukewarm water in both fixtures. A water heater installation professional can help you pick a tankless water heater that's appropriate for your family's water needs.

Safer for Your Children and Prevents Rust in Your Hot Water

A conventional water heater can be dangerous for small children. The tank of a conventional water heater can become hot enough to cause burns when touched. This is a danger if your kids often play in the area around the water heater. A tankless water heater doesn't share this safety risk.

Conventional water heaters also feature an anode rod in the tank that attracts minerals in the water. The purpose of this is to keep minerals out of the water in the tank since it can cause the tank to rust. If the anode rod isn't changed frequently enough, you will end up with rust in your hot water. While rust isn't dangerous to drink, it causes water to taste very metallic — this can affect the taste of home-cooked recipes if you're cooking with hot water from the tap.

Better For Your Monthly Budget

While tankless water heaters are more expensive than conventional water heaters, they require less energy to run. Conventional water heaters continually cycle on and off during the day to keep the reserve water in the tank at an acceptable temperature. This happens even during the day when you and your family are at work or school. Tankless water heaters only heat water and use energy when you need it. This saves your family money on your monthly energy bills.

Tankless water heater installation is a job for a professional plumber. Removing an existing conventional water heater is a dangerous job since the tank contains hot water under pressure. If you're interested in installing a tankless water heater in your home, contact a qualified plumber to help you select the model that best fits your family's water needs.