Centennial homeowners replacing aging tank water heaters increasingly consider tankless as an upgrade. The appeal is real: a properly sized tankless unit provides continuous hot water regardless of demand, eliminates the energy wasted keeping a tank of water hot around the clock, and has a service life of 15 to 20 years compared to 8 to 12 for a standard tank. In Centennial’s hard water environment, tankless units also require descaling maintenance but do not accumulate sediment in a tank the way traditional water heaters do.

Tankless installation is a broader project than tank replacement. Our water heater replacement service covers traditional tank replacement for homeowners who prefer that approach. For homes considering a tankless unit as part of a broader plumbing update, our water treatment service covers water softeners that protect tankless units from hard water scale. See all Centennial plumbing services.

• Tankless water heater installation for homeowners replacing an aging tank unit or upgrading to tankless for the efficiency and continuous hot water benefits.
• Gas line upgrade for tankless installation, since most whole-home tankless units require a larger gas line than the one serving a traditional tank water heater.
• Venting configuration for tankless units, which require dedicated PVC or stainless venting separate from the venting of a traditional water heater.
• Tankless water heater descaling to remove mineral buildup from Centennial’s hard water that accumulates in the heat exchanger and reduces efficiency over time.
• Tankless repair and diagnostics for units that are not producing adequate hot water, are throwing error codes, or have reduced output from scale buildup or component failure.

Here are the tankless water heater projects our Centennial plumbers handle most often.

What Size Tankless Water Heater Does My Centennial Home Need?

Tankless water heater sizing is based on flow rate, measured in gallons per minute, and the temperature rise required to bring incoming cold water up to the desired hot water temperature. In Centennial, cold water temperatures from the supply can be quite cold in winter, which reduces the flow rate a given tankless unit can maintain at full temperature rise. A unit sized for mild climates may not provide adequate flow in Centennial’s winter conditions. WireNut performs sizing calculations based on your home’s simultaneous hot water demand and Centennial’s water temperatures before recommending equipment.

Undersizing a tankless water heater is a common mistake that leads to the complaints of cold water sandwiches between hot water draws and insufficient flow when multiple fixtures are used at once. A properly sized unit for your Centennial home’s demand provides the continuous hot water performance that makes tankless the right upgrade.

What Installation Requirements Do Tankless Water Heaters Have in Centennial?

Whole-home gas tankless water heaters have three installation requirements beyond the standard tank water heater: a larger gas line than most existing tank installations have, dedicated sealed combustion venting that exits directly through a wall or roof rather than through the existing flue, and a condensate drain for condensing models that produce liquid condensate as a byproduct of their high efficiency. WireNut handles all three as part of the tankless installation project and pulls the required permit and inspection through Arapahoe County.

The gas line upgrade is the most significant additional cost in a tankless installation. Many Centennial homes have a 1/2 inch gas line to the water heater location, and whole-home tankless units typically require 3/4 inch or larger to support the higher BTU input. WireNut assesses the existing gas line during the estimate visit and includes the gas line upgrade in the installation price so there are no surprises after the unit is ordered.