Denver has always been known as a progressive city ahead of most other cities that size in the United States when it comes to conservation. Now, Denver new homes are the latest addition this city can brag about.

Green construction has taken over new homes in Denver, where builders have gone out of their way to construct residences that are future proof, by adding tankless water heaters to the numerous other energy saving innovations.

The type of water heater that 99.9% of homes, today, have a tank. It is here that the hot water is kept, ready for use and contain anywhere from 20 to 100 gallons of water. These tank water heaters, also known as "storage water heaters" operate either on electricity, natural gas, propane or heating oil. In a small amount of homes are currently using solar panels as a source of energy.

"The inner vessel of the water heater is the single most important feature of a water heater. The best heaters have a copper inner vessel/container. The second most important feature may be the type of heating element. The cartridge elements score over tubular elements." (www.wikipedia.org)

Also referred to as "instantaneous", "continuous flow" and "on demand", " These water heaters instantly heat water as it flows through the device, and do not retain any water internally except for what is in the heat exchanger coil."(www.wikipedia.org)

In Denver new home communities "Tankless water heaters can be divided into two categories: "full on/full off" and "modulated". Full on/full off units do not have a variable power output level; the unit is either fully on or completely off. Modulated tankless water heaters base the heat output on the flow of water running through the unit." (www.wikipedia.org)

(Photo courtesy of tankless-Charlotte, Flickr.)

When a hot water tap is opened - whether it is in the bathroom, laundry room or kitchen such gives off a "signal" for the water turbine to start the water heating process. "The water flow turbine sends a signal to the control board which looks at multiple factors: incoming water temperature, desired water temperature as set on the temperature controller, and the calculated difference between the two temperatures. Depending on the calculated incoming and desired water temperatures, the gas or electric flow into the burner assembly is modulated and the electronic ignition sequence begins. Water is heated to the desired temperature as it circulates through the copper heat exchanger providing continuous hot water. When the hot water tap is turned off, the tankless water heater shuts down and is placed in a standby mode pending the next call for hot water." (www.wikipedia.org)

Tankless water heaters in your Denver new home may be installed throughout the home - i.e., different sources depending on where the "point of use" (POU) is located.

Some will argue that tankless water heaters are efficient but not economical. "Gas tankless water heaters, which use high-powered burners to quickly heat water as it runs through a heat exchanger, were 22 percent more energy efficient on average than the gas-fired storage-tank models in our tests. That translates into a savings of around $70 to $80 per year, based on 2008 national energy costs. But because they cost much more than storage water heaters, it can take up to 22 years to break even-longer than the 20-year life of many models. " (www.consumerreports.org)

(Photo courtesy of Taller Than You, Flickr.)

What this article fails to acknowledge is the fact that these Denver new homes also come with solar panels, which provide energy to the home at a very low cost to the owner. In the long run, tankless water heaters will save you money and energy. "As water is heated only when it is needed, there is no storage of hot water. With a tank, water is kept warm all day even if it never gets used and heat loss through the tank walls will result in a continual energy drain." (www.wikipedia.org)

Another advantage of tankless hot water heaters is that they also use less space due to the fact that most models may be mounted on the wall. There are also exterior models.

(Foto courtesy of roger mommaerts, Flickr.)

Unlimited hot water is yet another advantage that these Denver New Homes have with a tankless water heater.

Environmentally, a tankless water heater is your best bet when looking at new homes in Denver, for a few reasons. "Switching to a tankless water heater will help the environment in 3 ways. Going tankless will reduce the amount of fossil fuels you consume to heat your household water. Secondly, as tankless heaters are typically smaller units than traditional hot water tanks, they require less metal and help reduce the global demand for mining and metal consumption. Thirdly, tankless heaters last 2 - 3 times longer than traditional hot water tanks and will further reduce the demand for metal inputs and lower landfill waste levels." (www.ezinearticles.com)