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Step 1
Contact a professional tankless water heater installer to ensure that you can install one in your home. The installer should assess the climate, local building code requirements and safety issues.
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Step 2
Look into the Energy Tax Incentives Act to see if you qualify for the $300 federal rebate for switching to a tankless water heater.
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Step 3
Determine whether you want to install a "whole house" type of tankless water heater or separate ones for certain appliances. For example, you can install a tankless water heater specifically for your clothes washer and dishwasher. Installing separate tankless water heaters saves more energy.
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Step 4
Choose the appropriate fuel type for your tankless water heater. There are electric tankless water heaters and gas-fired tankless water heaters. Gas-fired ones have a higher flow rate, but they can waste energy if their pilot light is constantly burning; however, companies make standing pilot lights that can be turned off when you are not using it.
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Step 5
Compare the energy efficiency of different models of tankless water heaters. Consider the model's recovery efficiency (how quickly the heat warms the water), standby loss (percentage of heat lost per hour from stored water) and cycling loss (loss of heat as water moves through the tank and pipes). For tankless water heaters, standby loss is not an issue since there is not a storage tank, but it can be offset if the heater is gas-fired with a constantly running pilot light.
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Step 6
Once you have installed your tankless water heater, limit the usage of hot water in your home. Since the tankless water heater uses electricity only when there is a need for hot water, you can save money by decreasing the amount of times per day you use hot water.
