NORITZ BLOG

We're bringing in the experts.

Panel Discussion: 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, February 5 Booth #C8322

Green isn’t just a color: it’s a movement. As the world strives to find more eco-friendly approaches to building, we aim to be one of the key sources of greener solutions.

We’re heading to the International Builders Show in Las Vegas February 4 through 6 and we’re bringing in an expert panel to discuss green and sustainable building.

Who better to talk about their experience than experts in the field? We want builders to talk to builders and together, make a difference. Meet our panel:

Ron Jones: Co-Founder and President of Green Builder® Media, is recognized as one of the fathers of the green building movement. https://www.greenbuildermag.com/blogs/ron-jones#.UqYjVKWTR4U

Don Ferrier: President of Ferrier Custom Homes, and the third generation of the Ferrier family in the quality construction business. https://www.ferriercustomhomes.com/about/history/

Tim O’Brien: Founder of Tim O’Brien Homes, with 14 years in the building and construction industry. https://www.timobrienhomes.com/our_story.html

Please join us as we tackle topics and questions that are essential to builders striving for sustainability in each and every project. Enjoy these expert opinions and light refreshments!

How your tankless water heater fits into the big picture

A home is one of the most important purchases we make in our lifetime. But until recently, there hasn’t been a way to determine the long-term cost of living in a new home or, moreover, calculating the potential energy savings offered by different homes.

Fortunately, the HERS Index now allows easy comparison for home buyers, and affirmation for builders. Often likened to the “Miles Per Gallon” equivalent for homes, RESNET’s Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating is a third-party measure of how efficient a home is operating and where modifications can be made to achieve greater energy savings. The lower the HERS score, the more energy efficient the home is.

According to Don Ferrier of Fort Worth, TX-based Ferrier Custom Homes, LP, the HERS score makes energy efficiency a much more level playing field, but it is not the perfect indicator.

“In my experience, I’ve had homes where I’ve gotten a HERS score of 56 and others a 52, using the same building techniques,” he says. “Sometimes the higher score can save more money, but the cost outcome might also be the result of the homeowner; such as how long you run the instant hot water heater, how long you keep the lights on, and where you set your thermostat relative to the season. A home builder can’t control these choices."

Doing the homework on energy efficiency

But Ferrier says that for the high majority of the time, homebuyers that come to him have already done their homework on energy efficiency.

“My clients have already made a choice,” he says, “so it’s likely that these important subtleties in their home activities are already part of an everyday routine. So, an extremely energy efficient home, combined with a motivated homeowner translates to a very low energy bill.”

At the end of the day, the HERS index helps builders’ gain buyer’s trust and simplifies the ability to compare energy efficient performance.

Stay tuned to our blog for more on information, tips and advice for home builders on green building practices.

You (and your wallet) may be pleasantly surprised.

Your water heater may not be an appliance that you keep top of mind. In fact, you may not think about it at all - until it fails. When the time comes it's important to weigh your options on whether a tankless water heater is right for you. Although initial costs can be higher at times than a regular tank water heater, thinking "long term" will have you realizing the savings when it comes to tankless.

Find more answers by clicking on the infographic here:

Noritz is committed to sustainability and green building practices, so we stay on top of trends to best serve our builder customers with their tankless water heater needs. Like a lot of you, we’re working to keep abreast of the changing language of green building.

Understanding Shorthand

How do we talk about what we do? Do we adopt industry jargon? Do we use shorthand terms that mean a lot to us, but often confuse the very people we must communicate with, the home-buying consumer? The unfortunate answer – probably.

Home building has its own shorthand: terms that describe the type of builder, the type of home, etc. A lot of new language emerged more than a decade ago, as home building – planners, architects, regulators, code officials, builders and allied professions – learned the terms of green building.
We talked about energy efficiency, indoor air quality, recycled content, solar panels, water conservation, and more. “Green building” was the umbrella that covered all the various ways to become a “green builder” and construct homes that lived lighter on the planet. Good stuff, to be sure, but…

Talking Consumer

The big mistake with this list of green descriptors? None helped home buyers understand the value inherent in green homes. The good news: With experience, language evolves and the terms come to reflect the genuine benefit to the ultimate consumer.

The changing language of green building finally has landed on a more meaningful descriptor: “high-performance homes.”

What builder doesn’t want to be known as the firm that brings to market high-performance homes? We believe that our tankless water heater products can give builders a progressive edge with high performance technology and space saving benefits.

And what home buyer could ever object? Who wouldn’t want a home that requires less energy to heat and cool, while conserving water and promoting natural ventilation and healthy indoor air quality? The list goes on and on when the language umbrella is big enough.

Words matter. Make sure you’re using the ones that matter to the only person who matters – your customer.

Winterize Your Hot Water Heater & More

With old man winter just around the corner, it’s important to take some precautions before the temperature significantly drops.

As ground temperatures get colder, older tank-style water heaters are challenged to raise incoming water temperatures to sufficiently satisfy demands for hot morning showers. In colder climates, the disparity between the incoming and desired water temperature—say from 45F degrees to 110F degrees—can cause significant stress on water heaters and will increase the likelihood of water heater failure. This is especially true for older, tank-style heaters with sediment build-up, which forces your heater work even harder to achieve the same level of heating (sediment lowers heat transfer efficiency).

Considering a Tankless Water Heater? Why Wait?

So before the colder weather sets in, it’s a perfect time to consider replacing an old tank-style water heater. Although most tank water heaters last 10-12 years, it's best to start shopping now for a new one if yours is more than 7 years old. Here’s an infographic designed to guide you through a water heater replacement and keeping those showers hot!

If you already use a tankless heater (and we’re happy you are), preparing ahead is still smart and may save you from damage not covered under warranty. This is important, especially if you are going to be away from your home for an extended period of time. Below are some tips to transition your tankless water heater for the colder season:

1. To reduce the likelihood of freezing in unoccupied spaces, completely drain the water from the plumbing system (shut off the water and open the taps). Noritz America offers specific technical advice for winterizing your Noritz tankless water heater. You can also check your manufacturer’s manual for step-by-step instructions.
• If you have a recirculation pump, increase its use, especially during the colder, evening hours. This keeps your tankless heater and water pipes in motion, lessening the likelihood of freeze issues.

Beyond the Water Heater: Block, Turn it down, and Bundle Up

The winter season also brings a great opportunity to think — or re-think — strategically about your energy consumption during the winter. TheDailyGreen.com offers a few tips to help reduce your bill during the colder months:

1. Block the Drafts: A draft snake, which can be bought or easily made from a rolled bath towel, is a great way to prevent drafts underneath doors.
2. Run Fans in Reverse: Many fans come with a handy switch that reverses the direction of the blades. Counterclockwise rotation produces cooling breezes while switching to clockwise makes it warmer. (We’re not kidding! Who knew?)
3. Install Storm Doors and Windows: By sealing drafts and reducing airflow, storm doors can increase energy efficacy while also offering greater flexibility for letting light and ventilation enter your home.
4. Turn down the Heat: Turning down the heat when you leave the building can help you save between 1 and 3% of your heating bill for every degree you lower the thermostat during the heating season.
5. Put on a Sweater: It may be common sense, but according to TheDailyGreen.com, a light long-sleeved sweater is worth about 2 degrees in added warmth while a heavy sweater can add about 4 degrees. So put away your shorts and grab your woolies!

Your home is perhaps your largest investment, and you want to make sure you protect that investment with the choices you make. If you’re deciding between a tank or tankless water heating system for your hot water needs, there are several factors that you need to be aware of.

How durable is each type of system?
What is the typical life cycle?
How long are the warranties on each water heater type?
What can happen at the end of a product life cycle that may damage your home?

Find the answers in our simple infographic.

Tankless technology saves energy by heating water on-demand, when you need it. However, is there such a thing as “instant” hot water? Let’s explore.

It’s a cold winter morning. Half asleep, you stumble to the bathroom and turn on the water for the shower. And you wait. And wait. And it’s still cold. And so are you. Have you experienced that? If you blamed the plumbing in your old house, you’re not quite right. Even the newest of homes, regardless of water heating technology, can encounter this issue.

So is there such a thing as an instant hot water heater?

The answer is yes, but it also depends on your definition of “instant”. Instant hot water may be confused with having hot water on demand, which is technically different.

Defining On Demand

On demand hot water means just that: the water is heated whenever there’s a demand for it. A tankless water heater starts the heating process just after you turn on the faucet.

Not only is Tankless technology more energy efficient than tank technology, it also never runs out! Tankless is more efficient because it only uses gas when you actually need hot water, instead of continuously heating water 24/7, when you’re at work or asleep.

Instant Expectations

As mentioned above, tankless water heaters start heating water shortly after you turn on the faucet. Although the process starts the instant after you turn on the faucet, take note that there is no heater in existence, tankless or otherwise, that guarantees the first drop out of the faucet is steaming hot. That’s the reality. Also, the closer the hot water source is to the fixture, the faster the hot water will reach you.

Recirculation systems widely available on the market can also reduce your wait time. Traditional recirculation systems as well as point-of-use systems can be a good option in new construction or retrofit applications. Contact your local PROcard member to discuss what might work best for your situation.

For over 5 decades, Noritz has specialized in manufacturing and improving on demand tankless technology. For more information on how to get on demand, continuous hot water, drop us a line on our contact us page or explore our inventory of tankless residential models.

Hot water is vital part of North American life and there are choices to be made about how your water is heated in your home.

When it’s time to replace your hot water heater, how do you know a tankless water heater solution is right for you or your customer? Have a look at our infographic and you’ll know right away if it’s a great fit.

Each year, American homeowners pay $400 to $600, on average, to heat water for their washing, bathing and cleaning. That comes to 64 gallons every day, 365 days a year, or more than 23,000 gallons annually.

Water Heater Installation:  Leave It To The Pros 

When a home water heater needs to be replaced, some people panic, some do extensive research and some try to get their hands dirty as soon as possible to make the problem just go away.

Photo credit: Ryan Willson

Anyone but a seasoned plumbing pro will soon find themselves in a major, costly pickle if he or she attempts to replace a tank water heater with a tankless model all by themselves.
Unlike swapping a three-way light switch for an exact duplicate, switching from a conventional tank-style heater to a high-efficiency tankless model requires significant understanding of the sizing, gas inputs and venting requirements of today’s on-demand heaters.

Even if you have a little plumbing experience, every installation application is different. There are critical, seemingly minor details involved, some of which can be life-threatening, both during and after the installation process.

Unless you bat 1000 every time you work with plumbing, electricity and welding, water heater installation is a project best left to the pros. Web site diyornot.com suggests that installing a tankless water heater yourself will cut only about 30 percent from the installed cost. But even if the percentage were higher, why risk jeopardizing your family or even harming the unit itself?

New Jersey plumbing contractor A.J. Perri gives some supporting evidence on why a tankless water heater installation is not something you can do on the fly. What follows is an adaptation of his list of considerations for someone installing a tankless system:

- How easily can your current tank-style heater be replaced by a tankless water heater?

- How easily can your current tank-style heater be replaced by a tankless water heater?

- How big a tankless unit does your household need, considering its layout and your family’s usage patterns?

- What pipes, valves, pumps, fittings and tools are needed (and how to properly use or install them), since the heater does not come with these other supplies.

- How to turn off the water to the current tank heater and how to properly drain it.

- How to turn off the gas to the water heater and safely disconnect the gas line from the heater.

- How to remove the current tank and who to contact to dispose of it properly.

- How to install the right type of vent for a particular tankless unit. (Different models require different venting materials.)

- How to connect your new water heater to your home’s electric service (unless there is already a correctly sized power source where you’re installing the new system).

- How to determine whether to upsize the gas lines to accommodate the tankless unit’s more powerful gas burner.

- How to install new water lines and a pressure relief valve discharge line.

- How to complete all of the above in accordance with local building codes — and only after obtaining the proper permits.

- Whether your homeowner’s insurance covers any blunders and the unfortunate consequences that inevitably ensue.

In short, installing a tankless water heater can be a complicated, even dangerous job for the unskilled and the uninitiated. Some situations can throw curve balls, and professional installers make our lives easier, safer and healthier by avoiding or eliminating these complications. Our families are better for it, and we’ll have our hot water again that much more quickly.

For information on tankless water heaters and to find your nearest installer, please visit https://www.noritz.com/home-owners/find-an-installer/.

Sources:

https://www.diyornot.com/

A.J. Perri Inc.

https://www.ajperri.com/media/entry/tankless-water-heater-not-a-diy

The Basics

Understanding how water is heated in the home is the first step to deciding between a tank and tankless water heater. Want the basics? Have a look at our infographic below.

To our professional ProCard members, please share and help your customers understand the differences in the process.

To our homeowners, watch this space for a series of infographics that will help you make your decision and answer this question…

Time to Replace your Water Heater. NOW WHAT?