Why Does It Take so Long for My Water to Heat Up?

Plumbing isn’t as cut and dried as the professionals make it out to be. Take, for instance, a tankless water heater you expect to provide instant hot water. Depending on several factors, it may not be as instantaneous as you’d like. Thankfully, there are a few ways to fix it.

Here are the top reasons your water is taking too long to heat up:

1. It's winter.

Depending on your climate, your home may be a bit chilly because of the cold weather outside. This will also lower the temperature of the water in your pipes. When you turn on the faucet and signal a stream of steaming water from your tankless unit, it has to push out all of the chilled water first.

2. Your pipes aren't insulated.

Even during warmer periods, if your plumbing isn’t insulated, it will allow water in your pipes to cool down. This is why you may experience several seconds of lukewarm water before the temperature really starts to rise.

3. Your faucet is far away from your water heater.

In homes where the water heater isn’t centrally located to all the plumbing, especially in winter and even more so in homes without insulated pipes, you may wait several seconds while cold water is purged from chilled lines, and then while incoming hot water loses heat to cold pipes. Once the pipes are warm, the incoming water will have an easier time staying toasty too.
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Smoak’s Comfort Control can make easy work of the plumbing upgrades needed to deliver your hot water faster from a tankless system. In addition to insulation, there is a method for recirculating water to prevent temperature loss. Get in touch with our team of plumbing experts today. Call 843-556-9550 or schedule your plumbing consultation online.