Are Tankless Heaters Better Than Boilers and Solar Water Heaters?

We get many customers asking us whether tankless heaters are immune to electric boiler problems or challenges with solar water heaters.

In this article, we take a look at why we think tankless heaters are superior.

Boilers

They are sometimes called geysers or tank heaters or conventional water heaters. They heat and store hot water until needed, i.e. for bathroom showers, kitchen sinks, hand wash basins, etc.

The main challenge with boilers is their limited capacity, e.g. 10 litres, 15 litres, 50 litres, etc. In case you need a lot of hot water, e.g. when you have guests over or when two or more showers are in use simultaneously, you may run out of hot water.

In such a case, you will have to wait for about an hour for the tank heater to heat up more water. This may be an inconvenience.

Compare that to tankless water heaters that heat water instantly on demand. You literally never run out of hot water. 

Boilers also occupy a bigger space compared to tankless heaters. The bigger the boiler, the larger the storage space it will require.

Boilers also have to keep water hot when not in use. This results in wasted electricity since the boiler has to constantly turn on and off to maintain the water temperature. 

This is one of the reasons many of our customers with boilers choose to switch from boilers due to the high power bills. Boilers tend to be more expensive to use. 

On the other hand, with tankless heaters, you only heat the water as you use it. This ensures the tankless heater only works when needed and does not waste electricity – resulting in lower power bills, and saving you money.

Solar Heaters

Solar heaters partly suffer the same flaws as boilers in that they have limited capacity. They also tend to be unreliable during cold weather months.

Solar heaters may have some savings during the hot months but the purchase/ installation cost is way higher than tankless heaters.

Another point to consider is that you typically wouldn’t install a solar water heater in a rental house.

We also get customers complaining that the water from the solar heaters in their apartments is barely hot and not sufficient for their needs.

Tankless Heaters

Tankless heaters come in a range of designs and features to suit different user needs. Some have high power ratings to support multiple user points while others have enough power for a single user point, e.g. Bathroom shower or under-sink heater.

Most tankless heaters are normally packed with more safety features compared to normal instant shower heads/ heaters. From the many instant shower heads and heaters we’ve sold over the years, there’s no doubt that tankless heaters are more durable.

This is mainly due to the shielded copper coil they use compared to normal heating elements. As such, tankless water heaters are able to withstand harsh water such as hard borehole water or salty water – in addition to working with normal rain or city council water.

In conclusion, a lot of benefits can be reaped from switching to a tankless water heater as a solution for a whole house, multiple points (multipoint) or single point use hot water supply.

A great multipoint-use model to consider is the Anlabeier Multipoint Tankless Heater.

Contact us if you have any questions regarding tankless heaters. We will advise you on the best model for your needs and our technicians are always ready to help with installation. Our tankless heater models have a 12-month *warranty.