I’ve been a licensed plumbing contractor for over ten years, and the interest in tankless water heater install has grown steadily during that time. Most homeowners come to the conversation after hearing about endless hot water or improved efficiency, but the real success of a tankless system depends less on the idea and more on how the installation is handled in a real home.
One of the earliest tankless jobs I took on taught me that not every house is an automatic fit. A family wanted to switch after running out of hot water every morning. On paper, tankless made sense. Once I looked closer, though, their gas supply wasn’t sized to support the unit they wanted. I’ve seen installs where that detail was ignored, and the result was inconsistent performance and constant frustration. In this case, upgrading the gas line was part of the solution, and once everything was sized correctly, the system performed exactly as expected.
Another situation that stands out involved a homeowner who loved the idea of saving space. Their old tank took up half a utility closet, and tankless freed it up completely. What they didn’t anticipate was how sensitive these systems are to water quality. Within the first year, scale buildup started affecting performance. Because I’ve dealt with this before, we planned for regular flushing from day one. That small bit of foresight kept the unit running smoothly instead of turning into an expensive surprise.
A common mistake I see is assuming tankless automatically means lower bills and zero maintenance. In my experience, that’s only true when the system is matched properly to household demand. I’ve been called in to fix installs where multiple showers and appliances ran at once, pushing the unit beyond what it was designed to handle. The homeowners weren’t wrong to expect better performance—they were sold a solution that didn’t account for how they actually lived.
I also have strong opinions about rushed installations. Tankless systems are less forgiving than traditional tanks. Venting, electrical requirements, and flow rates all need to line up. I’ve seen perfectly good units struggle simply because the install focused on speed instead of precision. Those jobs almost always lead to callbacks, adjustments, or premature wear.
After years of working with both traditional and tankless water heaters, my perspective is straightforward. Tankless systems can be a great upgrade, but only when the home, usage patterns, and installation are treated as a complete picture. When that happens, the benefits are real and long-lasting.