Some the largest residential gas units manufactured by Rinnai can supply 8.5 gallons per minute. A compact model manufactured by Takagi Industrial Company USA provides 240 gallons of hot water per hour and takes up only 2.2 cubic feet of space. A 7.4 gallon per minute model that Rheem Manufacturing Company makes is more a whole-house tankless than a point-of-use unit.

The heater needs to be properly sized for the house. If you don’t have the right size of heater, you’ll run out of water in the middle of a shower if someone decides to wash dishes in the kitchen sink.

Electric tankless models are not designed for whole-house operation. Most residential gas-fired models now on the market typically supply only 5 gallons of water per minute heated by 90 degrees. Electrically heated models provide even less hot water: 2 gallons a minute heated by 70 degrees.

By providing hot water immediately where it is used, tankless heaters waste less water: people do not need to let the water run as they wait for warmer water to reach a remote faucet.

Equipment life may be longer than for tank-type heaters, because tankless models are less subject to corrosion, despite what some plumbers will tell you. The expected life of tankless water heaters is 20 years, compared with 10 to 15 years for tank-type heaters.

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