I’ve been a licensed plumbing contractor for more than ten years, and I’ve installed and serviced enough systems to know that a tankless water heater isn’t automatically the right upgrade for every home—even though it’s often marketed that way. In my experience, these systems work exceptionally well when they’re chosen for the right reasons and installed with real-world conditions in mind.
One of the first tankless systems I installed was for a household that kept running out of hot water during back-to-back morning showers. They were frustrated and ready for a change. Once the unit was properly sized and the gas supply upgraded, the difference was immediate. Endless hot water wasn’t a sales promise anymore—it was their daily reality. What stuck with me wasn’t the technology itself, but how critical it was to match the system to how the home actually functioned.
That said, I’ve also been called in to fix installs that never should have happened the way they did. I remember a homeowner who assumed tankless meant maintenance-free. Within a year, scale buildup from hard water started affecting performance. The unit wasn’t defective—it just hadn’t been set up with flushing in mind. Since then, I’m upfront about water quality and maintenance expectations. A tankless system rewards planning and punishes shortcuts.
Another situation that shaped my opinion involved a family who loved the space savings but struggled with inconsistent temperature when multiple fixtures ran at once. The unit itself was solid, but it was undersized for simultaneous demand. That’s a mistake I see often—people focus on efficiency and forget about flow rate. Once the system was corrected, the complaints stopped, but it was a lesson learned the hard way.
I’m also cautious about rushed installations. Tankless units are less forgiving than traditional tanks. Venting, electrical requirements, and gas sizing all need to be right. I’ve seen perfectly good units underperform simply because speed mattered more than precision during install. Those systems tend to generate callbacks, not because tankless is flawed, but because it demands attention to detail.
After years of working with both traditional and tankless systems, my perspective is straightforward. A tankless water heater can be a great solution when it’s chosen for the right household and installed thoughtfully. When everything lines up—usage, infrastructure, and expectations—it fades into the background and just works. That’s when you know the decision was the right one.