Is your hot water heater on the fritz? There’s nothing worse than turning on the hot tap expecting warm water and getting blasted with cold. If this happens frequently, it’s likely time for a new water heater. At Weiss-Johnson, we install and service tankless and traditional water heaters from reputable brands like Rheem, Bradford White, and Navien, and we can help you find the perfect replacement for your home!
But how can you effectively select the right water heater for your needs? Below, we’ve detailed a checklist you can follow to locate a unit that works best for your home’s hot water demands, layout, and utility bills. Keep reading to learn why Weiss-Johnson is your go-to choice for hot water tank installation in Edmonton.
1. Know Your Home’s Hot Water Demand
First things first: how much hot water do you generally use? Knowing how often you use hot water daily will help you select a heater that aligns with your lifestyle.
If you’re a family of four, a high-capacity unit (around 40-50 gallons) will prevent someone from getting short-changed when they’re last in line for a hot shower. If you live alone or with a partner, your hot water demand will be much lower, allowing you to get away with a smaller tank.
2. What Tank Size & Capacity Does Your House Support?
If you want to install a traditional tank heater, review the first-hour rate and recovery rate of the models you’re considering. A.K.A., how much hot water can a full tank deliver within an hour, and how much water can heat up in an hour while your tank refills?
If you’re installing a tankless water heater, consider the flow rate (the amount of water that moves through your heater in gallons per minute). This will determine how much hot water your heater can provide at once. Most electric tankless heaters offer 2-5 GPM (gallons per minute), while gas heaters can usually support a higher flow rate.
Note that each water fixture and appliance in your home requires a different flow rate to operate. If you run several water appliances at once, you need to choose a heater that can meet the demand.
4. Any Space or Installation Roadblocks?
While you may want the largest tank available, how much room do you actually have? Measure your current heater to see if you can accommodate any extra space, if it’s best to stick to the current size, or if downsizing would make more sense for your daily use.
Depending on how old your current tank is, a newer model with the same capacity may be taller or wider and not fit into the space properly.
A tankless water heater is a viable option if your current tank uses a lot of space. This unit type is almost always wall-mounted, providing more usable space in your furnace room.
3. Consider Energy Efficiency
Your hot water heater’s performance is one of the most important factors in choosing the right unit. If you want to reduce your utility bills, tankless heaters are an excellent choice for energy efficiency. Look for the ENERGY STAR rating on the units you’re considering. The higher the rating, the more efficient the model!
5. Select a Brand with a Good Warranty & Parts Availability
Most water heater warranties cover material and workmanship defects for leaks, controls, heating elements, and other key heater components. If your tank fails in the next few years, being protected by a warranty agreement will make repairing or replacing it much simpler!
Available replacement parts are also a crucial factor. If you can’t locate the parts you need to repair your tank, you may need to replace the entire unit once again. At Weiss-Johnson, we install units from reputable brands like Rheem, Bradford White, and Navien, which offer viable access to replacement parts and warranties for their units.
6. Choose the Right Installation Service
A water heater is only as good as its installation, which is best handled by pros. Our team at Weiss-Johnson has been providing expert water heater installation, maintenance, and repair for Edmonton homeowners for nearly five decades.
We can help you locate the perfect unit from one of our partnered brands that aligns with your home’s hot water demand, installation space, and budget, while one of our skilled technicians takes care of the installation.
Contact Weiss-Johnson for Quality Rheem, Bradford White, and Navien Hot Water Heaters
Are you ready to say goodbye to your old water heater? Contact Weiss-Johnson for expert replacement and installation services! Whether you’re looking for a traditional tank or a space-saving tankless heater, we can help you find the right unit for your household.
Contact us today to learn more about our hot water services!
