Tankless Water Heater Installation in Smithville, ON — What It Takes to Fit One

In Smithville, most tankless water heater installations start with a tank that has failed and a homeowner deciding whether to put the same thing back. This page covers sizing, what fitting one involves in an older house, hard water, Ontario rebates, and what determines the cost.

When a Tankless Water Heater Suits a Smithville Home

A tankless water heater suits a household that draws hot water in long stretches rather than one short peak. The unit heats only what passes through it and does not store water. Canada’s efficiency regulation sorts household gas units into two classes by maximum flow: under 6.4 litres a minute, and 6.4 or more. (1) A unit expected to run a whole Smithville house sits in the higher class. We check that number against your bathrooms and your laundry first.

The same regulation sets the minimum efficiency. A household gas unit in the higher class, built since 1 January 2020, has to reach a uniform energy factor of 0.87. (1) A smaller one has to reach 0.86. Uniform energy factor is the share of the fuel that reaches the hot water in a standard test. At 0.87, that is 87 cents of every fuel dollar.

Two people in a bungalow who each shower once a day will not notice the gap between 0.86 and 0.87. A household of five, with the laundry machine running most evenings, will.

What Fitting a Tankless Unit Involves in a Smithville House

Three parts of the house change when a tankless unit goes in, and the water line is not one of them. The unit burns much more gas at once than the tank it replaces. The old gas pipe is often too small, so it has to be run again from the meter. The exhaust changes as well. A tank vents up a metal flue, while most tankless units vent out through the side wall in plastic pipe. Condensing models make acidic water as they run, so they need a drain and a small filter that takes the acid out.

All of that is fuels work, and Ontario law reserves it for certified people. TSSA fined one man $7,000 plus a 25 per cent surcharge in January 2023 for gas work he held no certificate for. (2) It says every fuel-fired appliance should be installed, serviced and inspected by a TSSA-registered contractor. (2) Mike Peddle holds a TSSA Gas Technician certificate and a TSSA Heating Contractor registration. The business has been family-owned in Smithville since 2014.

Where we put the exhaust outlet matters through a Niagara winter. TSSA warns that some exhaust outlets sit as low as one foot above the ground. A blocked vent then raises the risk of carbon monoxide building up inside the house. (3) So we put the outlet clear of the roofline that sheds snow, and clear of where a plow pushes it.

Hard Water in Smithville and the Yearly Descale

Hardness is dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water. Health Canada says those minerals settle out and form scale inside hot water pipes and water heating appliances. (4) A storage tank has room for that on its floor. These units have none, because the water crosses a narrow heat exchanger, and the scale forms on the hottest metal in the machine.

Health Canada groups water from 75 to 150 mg/L as moderately hard, and from 150 to 300 as hard. (4) Anything over 200 it calls poor, though people drink it anyway. The treated water in this part of Niagara falls in that middle band. Untreated well water out toward Caledonia and the rural edge of West Lincoln runs harder.

That is why these units need descaling once a year. Descaling means pumping a cleaning solution through the heat exchanger until the scale is off it. Miss it for long enough and the unit runs at a reduced flow. The shower then turns cold the moment somebody opens the kitchen tap.

What Ontario Rebates Cover, and What They Do Not

Ontario’s Home Renovation Savings program lists a $500 rebate for a heat pump water heater. It lists no rebate for a tankless unit, gas or electric. (5) A contractor advertising a tankless rebate here means a manufacturer promotion or a closed program. Ask which one before you count on the money.

With no rebate, the decision rests on the equipment and the fuel. Tankless units cost more to buy and more to fit than a like-for-like tank. What comes back is the gas they do not burn while nobody is using hot water. Over three or four years in a quiet house, that does not cover the difference. Over fifteen in a busy one, it can.

We have claimed more than $1 million in rebates for customers where a rebate existed. Where there is none, we say so.

What Affects Tankless Water Heater Installation Cost in Smithville

Five things move what a tankless water heater installation costs in Smithville:

• how far the unit sits from the gas meter, because a larger gas line has to run the whole distance
• whether the wall behind it can take a vent, and how much pipe the vent needs to get there
• whether the unit is a condensing model, since that one also needs a drain and an acid filter
• whether the tank coming out is rented, because the rental contract decides when it can go
• whether the house is on a well, since harder water shortens the interval between descales

Two houses on the same Smithville street can differ on the first item alone. A unit hung on the wall beside the meter is a short gas run. The same unit at the far end of a long basement is not.

Tankless Water Heater Questions From Smithville Homeowners

Does a tankless water heater work during a power outage?

No. A gas unit still needs electricity for its controls, its igniter and its fan, so it stops when the power does. A storage tank holds what it has already heated, which is the one thing it does better in an outage.

How often does a tankless water heater need descaling?

Once a year. Health Canada says hardness settles out as scale on water heating appliances, and a tankless heat exchanger has the narrowest passages in the system. (4)

Is there a rebate for a tankless water heater in Ontario?

No. Ontario’s Home Renovation Savings program lists $500 for a heat pump water heater and nothing for a tankless unit. (5) Ask any contractor who advertises one which program they mean.

Can I replace a 50 gallon tank with a tankless unit?

In most Smithville houses, yes, but the gas line and the exhaust almost always change with it. That is the part of the quote people do not expect, so we measure both before giving you a number.

Do I have to clear snow off the vent in winter?

Yes. A vent buried in snow raises the risk of carbon monoxide inside the house, and TSSA puts some outlets as low as one foot above the ground. (3) Use a broom or a car brush. Never plow or blow snow against it.

Book a Tankless Water Heater Assessment

Call the office with the age of the tank you have now, the fuel it burns, and the number of bathrooms in the house. We fit gas tankless water heaters across Smithville, Grimsby, Beamsville, Caledonia and West Lincoln. If you are still weighing this against a tank or a heat pump unit, start with the other ways to heat water in a Smithville house.

References

1. Canada Gazette, Part II, Regulations Amending the Energy Efficiency Regulations, 2016 (SOR/2019-164), gazette.gc.ca
2. Technical Standards and Safety Authority, Individual Fined $7,000+ for Installing Natural Gas Furnace without TSSA Authorization, tssa.org
3. Technical Standards and Safety Authority, TSSA Urges Ontarians to Keep Gas Meters and Fuel-Burning Appliance Vents Free from Snow and Ice, tssa.org
4. Health Canada, Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Operational Parameters, canada.ca
5. Save on Energy, Home Renovation Savings, homerenovationsavings.ca