Orange County Bathroom Remodeling: Sizing a Tankless Water Heater

When you're sizing an Orange County tankless water heater, you need to think in terms of flow rather than capacity. This is because an Orange County tankless water heater does not run out of hot water like a traditional storage water heater does and it may not be able to heat water fast enough to serve multiple fixtures at once.

An Orange County tankless water heater is given BTU (British Thermal Unit) input and efficiency ratings. These things determine its flow rate which is expressed in gallons per minute (GPM).

One BTU is equal to the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1 degree F. The higher a water heater’s BTU rating, the higher the flow rate. Under normal circumstances, it takes about 31,000 BTUs to deliver 1.2 GPM; 190,000 BTUs typically deliver 5.7 GPM.

Flow rates generally vary from about 1.2 to 6 GPM. Point of use models, such as those that provide hot water to a single bathroom sink are rated at 1.2 GPM. A 2.6 GPM orange County tankless water heater will handle one shower at a time while a 4-GPM model will be capable of handling one shower and one sink in a time. There are then the 6-GPM Orange County tankless water heaters that can handle two showers at once.

Homeowners concerned with saving energy should also pay close attention to an Orange County tankless water heater's unit efficiency rating. These ratings usually range from about 78% to 87% and indicate how much of the fuel is converted to heat by the appliance. Of course the higher the percent the better.