Need water heater repair services near you in Santa Rosa? Look no further than us. There are several causes of water heater failure. We will conduct various tests to diagnose your water heater problems. Once we get to the root cause, we will develop an action plan.
Most water heaters run on 240-volt power. One mistake while repairing your water heater, and you could electrocute yourself. Do not put yourself and others at risk. If your water heater is not working, give us a call instead of taking the DIY route. We offer top notch water heater installation services near you in Sonoma County.
Water heating replacement projects are complex. When replacing a water heater, you will first have to uninstall the old system and then install the new one. One error, and you might have to go back to the drawing table.
Leave the task to us. We have extensive experience handling water heater replacement projects near you in Petaluma. We will go the extra mile, if required, to deliver your project on-time and on-budget.
Gas-fired tankless water heaters range from 84% efficient to 96% efficient. If you convert from a conventional gas water heater with 62% efficiency to a tankless water heater with 96% efficiency, you could reduce your household energy bill by up to 6%. That could be hundreds of dollars saved per year.
Tankless water heaters are great. However, they are not a good fit in all situations. If the house has long pipe runs and does not have a recirculating system, the user can get frustrated using a tankless. Retrofitting recirculating systems or on-demand recirculating pumps can be a solution to wasting water in any household and make a tankless water heater user-friendly in a not so well-plumbed house.
Tankless electric water heaters are also available. They are very common, ranging from tiny units for hand wash only (such as in public bathrooms) to units large enough for a household of four people. Whole-house tankless electric systems are a great option for a home that has a solar hot water system and a solar electric system. The sun does most of the work. The electric tankless is mostly a backup heater when there is no or little sun.
Many complaints regarding tankless water heaters are due to poor installation by unqualified installers. 90% of so-called “warranty calls” are due to installation problems and not the water heater. We have been a qualified Rinnai tankless water heater installer for 15 years. We are also official service providers for Rinnai tankless systems and carry a very large stock of the common parts.
Tankless water heaters require maintenance every 3 years to ensure they will last a long time. We have water heaters that are 15 years old and expect them to last 20 years. Some homeowners will buy three tank water heaters in 20 years, and not have the energy savings or reliability of a tankless water heater.
The Rinnai RH180 is a 40-gallon storage tank with a tankless water heater attached. It is called the RH180 because it produces 180 to 190 gallons of hot water per hour if needed. A 50-gallon gas water heater normally produces 90 gallons in the first hour. Its thermal efficiency of 80% makes it 13% better than the Energy Star minimum standard. It uses a conventional ½” gas line, a conventional 4-inch metal flue, and is a direct replacement of any 40- or 50-gallon conventional gas tank water heater.
Other features and benefits of this hybrid water heater include:
The most economical water heater to run is the one that is heated for free by the sun. Solar water heaters have been around for a long time. They were very popular in the 70s with the huge tax credits available. Interests in solar water heaters were revived with the passing of the California Solar Initiative Thermal Program, and rebates and tax credits have become available for replacing an electric, natural gas, or propane water heater.
Solar energy systems are generally “pre-heat systems.” The sun slowly heats a storage tank when sunlight is available. The pre-heated water then goes to feed another water heater before it comes to your faucets. In the summer months, the sun can heat 100% of the hot water; in the winter, the solar system partially heats the hot water. When no sun is available, the regular water heater can do 100% of the work. Solar energy systems that feed tankless gas or tankless electric water heaters are a great combination because the tankless is purely on demand and has no wasted energy when not used.
An indirect tank is a storage tank that is heated usually by your radiant heat boiler. Most modern boilers are 95% efficient and make a very efficient heat source. Indirect tanks are very well-insulated and do not lose a lot of heat just storing the hot water. They are typically made of high-quality stainless steel and should last a very long time. The indirect tank has been used in Europe for over 50 years. Indirect tanks are an efficient way to heat hot water and store it.
There are also some downsides to this water heater. If your boiler breaks down, there is no hot water. Also, the boiler needs to exert more power than it would for other tanks, in order to effectively heat it up. On many occasions, it is better to choose a tankless gas water heater along with a smaller radiant heat boiler and keep the two systems separate.
Our philosophy is simple, we always want to maintain equipment to give it the longest life possible. Next, we want to focus on repairing when something goes wrong. Then only as the last choice, we replace equipment when needed. That’s the John Owens Way.