Tankless hot water heaters are making a splash for restaurant owners! They are installing and replacing the old, large tank heaters with these small, space-saving units. Why are they doing this?
They save valuable space in their kitchens
Since most owners overhead costs include the price per square foot in rent, every foot is extremely valuable. The tankless water heater is about the size of a back pack and is attached to the wall. The old tank heaters can take up to 5 square feet! Freeing up this square footage allows the business more room for storage, counter space or what ever they need. Imagine what a restaurant would do with an extra 5 square feet in their kitchen.
They are energy-efficient which saves money
The restaurant profit margin is small, so owners are always looking for ways to cut costs. One of the biggest opportunities for improvement is found in the restaurant kitchen in the hot water that is needed for the dishwashers. For health reasons, the water has to be adequately heated for sanitary standards. The tankless hot water heaters do this better than tank units by providing hot water "on demand" and are programmed for the desired temperature. No extra water, no need to continually heat a tank of water, and no need to have high energy bills.
How do they work and why do they save money?
"On demand" hot water: This means that water is heated only when it's needed and avoids what they call in the industry, "stand-by heat loss" This is when the heat is lost through the walls of the traditional tank water heaters and needs to heat the water again to keep a set temperature.
They last twice as long: The restaurant owner has much more time to get the cost benefits from their investment from their new tankless water heater.
Require less energy: The tankless hot water heaters don't require a lot of energy to keep a tank of water heated which means energy bill savings. A restaurant owner has to heat water for their dishwashers and this cost is a third of their energy costs. This small appliance will make a big difference in their utility bill.
So when it comes to cost benefit, a restaurant owner can't go wrong by making the investment in an electric tankless water heater. The greater energy efficiency and lower operating costs and space savings makes this investment a smart choice for long-term savings.