Tank heaters require you to heat the stored water to an exceptionally high temperature in order to provide an adequate supply of hot water. This temperature is typically far higher than what would be comfortable or safe for showering or other household uses. You must first pay to heat this water only to cool it again by adding cold water to make it comfortable for use. In other words, you are paying for electricity which heats the water to a much higher temperature than you will ever actually use. Furthermore, you must pay to keep the water in the tank hot all day, not just for the few minutes of each day that it is actually needed. This results in a substantial amount of wasted energy - and wasted money too!

The solution?....A Tankless Water Heater....

The Tankless Concept

Expenses related to heating water represent the largest portion of residential utility bills (up to 30%). Although "point of use" and "instant-on" water heaters have been used in Europe and Asia for many years, they are not efficient enough to supply an entire home with hot water and are not true Tankless water heaters. The general problem with "point of use" or "instant on" water heaters is the limited water flow rate and problems with the absence of a viable flow switch. American Tankless Water Heater has combined computer chip technology with a patented flow switch developed in cooperation with engineers in NASA's Technology Transfer Program. American Tankless Water Heater also improved critical elements of the "point of use" design, eliminating all of the obstacles to successful commercialization of the electric Tankless water heater for whole house use, and completely replacing existing conventional heaters.

American Tankless Water Heater' Tankless Water Heaters provide unlimited hot water for full house use. Additional points in a home (shower or other water faucets) may be used simultaneously (subject to flow rate). The American Tankless Water Heater offers potential savings of up to 50% of water heating bills in residential applications and even greater savings in commercial applications.

Instead of requiring a 30-80 gallon storage tank, American Tankless Water Heaters operate on demand by heating water as it flows through an appliance roughly the size of a phone book. American Tankless Water Heaters utilize energy only when the hot water outlet is turned on, shutting down immediately when the outlet is turned off.

American Tankless Water Heaters are manufactured with standard components readily available in the marketplace. Utilizing the NASA-designed water flow switch technology, the unit automatically accesses increasing or decreasing electrical wattage (energy consumption) based on the inlet water temperature and demand for hot water at any given time. The flow switch technology does not employ the use of a spring, or other mechanical device. Rather, it utilizes a free-floating weight, which varies the rate of electrical contact as demand for hot water increases or decreases. Extensive NASA testing of the new flow switch assembly has demonstrated that it works flawlessly. The revolutionary flow switch is unique to the American Tankless Water Heater Tankless Water Heater. No other water heater on the market has this technology.

The heart of American Tankless Water Heater is the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is made of copper and brass welded together with silver. The manufacture of the heat exchanger is done by hand to ensure high quality and a service life of at least 3 times longer than that of a conventional tank water heater. The heat exchanger is designed to hold standard conventional water heating elements. Because of the diameters used and overall design of the heat exchanger, there is very little reduction of water flow passing through the unit. More importantly, there is almost no heat loss to the casing or surrounding area. The American Tankless Heater is an incredible 99.5% energy efficient as rated by the California Energy Commission. More importantly, unlike conventional water heaters, American Tankless Water Heaters maintain this efficiency throughout their lives.

The Inefficient Conventional Tank Water Heater

Traditional electric or gas tank water heaters ("Conventional Heaters") have been used in commercial and residential properties since the early twentieth century. Conventional heaters utilize a simple heating element and tank technology that, with the exception of some fairly recent gains in the area of energy efficiency, have remained virtually unchanged over the years. Conventional Heaters require a substantial amount of space; generally located in cloAmerican Tankless Water Heater, utility rooms or garages, they consume valuable square footage that could be put to better use. Most Conventional Heaters have upper and lower heating elements, one of which is cycling on or off 24 hours per day, even when you're not at home.

Conventional Heaters are pre-set at temperatures that are so hot that scalding is possible, and when water reaches the tap, cold water must then be added so that the temperature is comfortable to human touch. This process of heating water is an extremely inefficient use of valuable energy, not to mention a waste of water and money. When a hot water faucet is activated, the Conventional Heater is at the same time replenishing the tank supply with cold water, thereby lowering the overall water temperature in the tank and triggering the element to draw more power to re-heat the water to the desired set temperature.

Because of this inefficient process, if you have, for example, a 60-gallon tank, you actually only have about 45 gallons of useable hot water. The other 15 gallons are lost as cold street water is added to the tank during the usage process.

In addition, a conventional heater is consistently radiating heat (loss), which also contributes to the re-heating rate and energy consumption. This type of heat loss is often referred to as "stand-by" heat loss. Simply by eliminating stand-by heat loss alone, energy consumption can be reduced by 20% to 30%.
American Systems Vs "Conventional" Storage Tank Water Heaters

The following comparison was based on a family of 4.
Assuming 4 daily showers, 2 hand washing applications per person, 1 hand dishwashing based on filling the sink and 4 bathroom sink usages per day. Total of 93 gallons of hot water used per day. Amounts are in Canadian dollars.

American GE Electric (40 gal) GE Natural Gas (40 gal)
Limited Warranty Lifetime 6 year 9 year 12 year 6 year 9 year 12 year
Model 180 GE 40T6A PE 40M9A SE 40M12A GG 40T6A PG 40T9A SG 40T12A
Energy Factor 0.995 0.88* 0.91* 0.93* 0.57* 0.56* 0.62*
Cost $/year 273 505** 489** 478** 395** 402** 363**
Savings $/Year 232 216 205 122 129 110
% Savings 46 44 43 31 32 30

American GE Electric (50 gal) GE Natural Gas (50 gal)
Limited Warranty Lifetime 6 year 9 year 12 year 6 year 9 year 12 year
Model 180 GE 50T6A PE 50M9A SE 50M12A GG 50T6A PG 50T9A SG 50T12A
Energy Factor 0.995 0.86* 0.91* 0.93* 0.56* 0.54* 0.62*
Cost $/year 273 517** 489** 478** 402** 417** 363**
Savings $/Year 244 216 205 129 144 110
% Savings 47 44 43 32 35 30

*These Energy Factors are present in new appliances, a conventional electric tank will perform at 80% efficiency after the first year and degrade slowly thereafter. The American Tankless Water Heater is rated an incredible 99.5% efficient for the lifetime of the heater!
**ADD $150-$200 /year if you rent your tank.

Assumptions:

$0.0719 per kWh for electricity is the SW Ontario average electricity supply rate.
$0.38 per cubic meter for gas is the regulated Consumers Gas natural gas supply rate (Jan 2001), included is a $10.00 per month service charge.

Hot Water Usage Estimates:
Average shower (10 minutes) - 20 gallons
Average clothes washer (one load) -- 10 gallons
Average dish washer (one load) -- 6 gallons
Average faucet flow -- 2 gallons/minute
Total average daily usage is 64 gallons per day
Usage Assumption:
Tank Temperature setpoint of 135 ºF, inlet water temperature of -- ºF and 365 day a year use.
These comparisons are based on the U.S. Department of Energy Hot Water Usage Guidelines as reported on the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearing-House.

Energy Factor and Average Annual Operating Costs based on D.O.E. (Department of Energy) test procedures.
http://www.eren.doe.gov/femp/procurement/calc_waterhtr.shtml