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“Tankless water heaters use sensors to detect when there is a flow of water. Say you turn your shower on, or a tap. This will trigger the sensors to activate the internal components. When water begins flowing, a negative feedback loop is initiated to bring the water to the desired temperature.

Water flows through a heat exchanger (usually copper due to its high thermal conductivity) which is typically heated by an electrical, gas, or propane source.

The heat exchanger transfers heat to the incoming cold water, and so out comes the hot water. Theoretically, this provides continuous hot water since there is no set limit of incoming water, after all, it comes from your home’s inlet.”

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Depending on your needs, you have a couple of options when it comes to tankless water heaters. One is called point-of-use where it is typically used to provide hot water for 1 or 2 fixtures. These are generally run on electricity. Next are what is called whole-house units which provides hot water to, you guessed it, the whole house. Since these are bigger units you usually see them powered with gas or propane.

At Apple Valley Eagan Appliance we install hot water heaters of all types. Visit our hot water heater page or call us at 952-953-0080 to learn more about this service.