6 Reasons Why a Tankless Heater May Be Better Than A Storage Heater

Stiebel Eltron BathBox Tankless Heater
So, you’re in the market for a tankless heater. Whether it’s because you noticed a leak in your old water heater, if you think it’s time you replaced your old one, or you’re getting a new one for your new BTO, we’re here to recommend the tankless water heater.

1. No Heat-Loss, Save 30% Energy

A tankless heater only runs when water is flowing. A storage heater pre-heats water for you and stores it in a tank. This tank can lose heat. That is why tankless uses less energy than a storage heater. It can save up to 30%, which is better for your monthly bills.

Apart from lowering your bills, all tankless heaters come with a water-saving device. Your water usage goes down by 20%, and you still have a good shower at 7 litres/min. But just how efficient is the tankless heater?

The National Environment Agency (NEA) introduced the Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme (MELS) to allow you to compare the two heaters and make informed purchases. The tankless heater has 4 ticks, whereas the storage heater only has 1 tick. NEA estimates that this helps you save up to $120 a year!

2. Space-Saving and Easy Installation

Storage heater comes in tank sizes of 30 to 100 litres. Tankless heaters have no tank, so they take up less space. A small heater is easy to install in a false ceiling as it is space saving. That's why your installation will cost less with tankless.

A bonus with tankless heaters is that you get to skip messy ceiling works that can cost up to an extra $500.

The installation of a storage heater, including ceiling works, is about $1500. Compare this to a tankless heater, which costs about $900 to install.

This is what ceiling works looks like:
false ceiling gen 1 electric heater tank cut
Because of this, some creative clients save on huge costs by choosing not to change back to a storage tank. How?

They leave their storage heater in the false ceiling, and get us to fix in a tankless heater in the same false ceiling. We disconnect the pipes from the old storage heater and connect to the new tankless.

Doing this, you can save on ceiling works $200 + removal cost $250. The only catch is that you need to use a hand shower. Rain showers do not run well with tankless heaters.

No problem for most people, some of us prefer hand showers anyway.
Storage and Tankless Heater Installed Together

3. Tankless Heaters: No Need to Maintain

Discolored water being drained brown water hose basin white flush tank
You need to maintain a storage heater tank every 3 years. This costs about $200 each time. The water needs to be flushed out to clear any sediments that are stuck there. This is the same for all storage heaters.

Sediments make your water yellow so you need to do this. If you have a landed home with multiple heaters, this cost goes up.

With tankless heaters, life is easy. No need to maintain these at all as they have no tank.
Comparison of Maintenance of Storage vs Tankless Heater
Simply enjoying how sleek it is for a water heater. Installer Bee is also wonderful in explaining the various positions for the installation before made my decision in this placement. He also took effort to clean up after the installation works. 👍 ...
Aurgus Chang Bathbox Heater Google Review
Aurgus Chang
Google review
Bathbox installation done by Mr.Moez. Great service by him and really like how clean and neat the Bathbox look
Afiq Hamizan Bathbox Heater Google Review
Afiq Hamizan
Google review

4. No Fear of Leaks with Tankless Heaters

Storage heaters can leak and cause damage. This is something every false ceiling owner has to put up with at some point. To prevent this, some choose to change their heaters before they get too old.

This is where the tankless heater shines. No tank = No leaks. That is why the tankless water heater could be an easier choice for you.
leak false ceiling water damage tank water heater

5. Tankless Heaters can Give You Infinite Hot Water

Ever wanted to take a long long shower after a long long day? You can do that with the tankless heater. With a tankless, water gets heated non-stop. This means that the hot water you get goes on forever. You can jump straight in the shower, with no worries that you'll run out of hot water half way.
If your family takes long showers one after another, you may run out with a storage heater. A tankless heater however, gives you infinite hot water. It just keeps going, as long as you aren't using a rain shower. You also can't use multiple bathrooms at the same time because of the lower flow rate.

If you are unsure if the tankless is a good choice for you, feel free to take an easy quiz here! We'll help you with that.
Speed of Tankless Heaters

6. Tankless is Safer for Kids and Elderly

Sometimes on a rainy day, the water at my shower takes longer to heat up because of the cooler cold water. I get impatient and turn the lever all the way to the left (high) and suddenly, the water is way too hot! I often jump back due to the high temperature and quickly turn the tap off. I bet this has happened to you at least once if you have storage heaters.

Many of us have ageing parents or grandparents. They might not be able to react so quickly. Luckily, the tankless heater has a special function not known to many.

Storage heaters can reach up to 70°C, which is a temperature that can scald. The tankless heater allows you to set it to a safe temperature of 50°C. This temperature control setting protects the elderly from injury as it is not so high. This setting also prevents young children at home from getting hurt.
Tankless Heater Safer for Elderly and Children

Why We Choose Stiebel Eltron Tankless Heater

Stiebel Eltron is the # 1 tankless heater supplier in the world. Established in Germany a 100 years ago, they have the best tankless technology. We like these good brands as they make stuff that is durable and long-lasting. An added bonus is how slim it is, allowing it to fit in the tighest space.

In Singapore, our labour cost is high. You don't want to waste money changing to a new heater every 3 years. You want something that can last you around 10 years. Stiebel Eltron can.


We also provide a 3 year full warranty on branded heaters like Stiebel. This is the longest heater warranty in Singapore. The average warranty for other brands are only 1 year.

A good brand is worth investing in. It will spare you the mess that comes with constantly replacing new heaters.
Stiebel Eltron BathBox Tankless Heater HDB Installation made in Germany
Moez came to help us replace our faulty storage heater with the AOS bath box! So slim and sleek looking. Very pleased with the hot water and pressure in both our toilets
google review J
Jac
Google review
Just installed a tankless bathbox at my owner house, Thanks to the installer, Shamemul, for his patience and cooperation during the installation. The tank looks sleek and space-saving compared to the other storage heater brands👍
Afiq Hamizan Bathbox Heater Google Review
Afiq Hamizan
Google review

Conclusion

With storage water heaters requiring more maintenance in the long-run, why not stick with the easy way out?

Not only will the tankless heater be a good addition to your household, it will also help save on your energy bills. The tankless heater can do this while giving you good water pressure for comfortable showers as well. It can also keep your family members, both young and old, safe from burns.

The BathBox is worth your time. Simple and direct, just like it's design, your save on space and energy starts now.

Tankless Heater FAQ

How is the tankless heater different from the instant heater?
Tankless heaters are totally different from Instant heaters.

• Tankless has a more advanced technology. They produce better flow rates of 7 lit/min. Instant heaters only go up to 5 lit/min.

• If you have 2 bathrooms, you can use 1 tankless piped to 2 baths. This is the ideal setup for BTOs. If you choose to install an instant heater, you need 2 heaters plus extra pipe work. Instant may end up costing you more, and your shower won't feel as good with the lower water pressure.
If you want to test the water pressure before deciding on the BathBox, feel free to visit us at our showroom here.

We have a working model available to test it out.
The tankless heater is better investment if you have a BTO.

The installation will also be neater, with no visible pipes.

Here are the approx costs:
Tankless Heater FAQ Tankless vs Instant Heater Cost of Installation

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Rainshowers: 7 Reasons Why I No Longer Use Them

Rainshower post feature image
Like many others, I used to love my rain shower. It felt relaxing. I always thought of my rainshowers as a pleasant comfort that I could indulge in in my own home.

After a long day of work, I could come home to a powerful and invigorating water massage. At $400+, it was an affordable luxury that was within my reach, every day.

But after many months of using a rainshower, the novelty has worn off. Here is what I didn’t know about rainshowers before and what I discovered later.

1. Rainshowers have less water pressure than hand-held showers

My rain shower came as a set. It is a single system with a mixer, diverter, and hand shower combined. This means I get to do a fair comparison between two types of shower heads.

You would think, bigger shower head, more water pressure, right? Wrong. Surprisingly, my hand held shower gives me more water pressure.

Let’s think about it for a second. With a bigger shower head surface area, water pressure is spread out over a larger area. The larger spray pattern causes the overall pressure to drop.

I have long hair and consistent and strong water pressure is important to me. It helps get all the soap out of my hair fast, and cuts down the shower time! Believe me, it takes longer to wash the soap out of my hair with a rain shower than with a hand shower.
Rainshower Water Pressure Disappointment

2. Rainshowers drain your water heater tank faster

Bet you didn’t know this, but I actually timed how long it took to drain my heater tank. With the hand shower, it took 6 minutes. But with the rain shower, all my hot water was gone in 4 minutes!

Not a fan of standing under cold water? Then you have to pick up your shower speed if you choose to use a rain shower. Rainshowers run at about 10 lit/min.

Compare that to hand showers, which are 7 lit/min. No wonder a nice rain shower session can use up all the hot water so fast.

This also means rainshowers burn more energy. Consumption is measured by the total volume of hot water we use. I save more going through 30 lit of hot water versus going through 50 lit of hot water.

If I can use less every day, my savings will stack up and my bank account will thank me later.
Rainshower Water Pressure

3. The Rainshower angle has limited flexibility

Many of you already know about the rainshower’s fixed overhead angle. But let me tell you how it makes daily tasks harder.

I have a pet dog and need to give it a bath every week. There is no way I can use that rainshower. I’ll get myself all drenched struggling with a dog and water coming from the top!

Another inconvenience? It is almost impossible to avoid getting my hair wet, even on the days I want to avoid washing my hair. Even with a shower cap, it isn’t easy. Having water fall directly on your shower cap is noisy and awkward. Might as well take a full shower now.

Bonus tip: the hand shower is great for doing a quick rinse of the floor and walls after a shower. I don’t like leaving the place soapy and slippery. A rainshower can’t do that for you.
Rainshower Limited Versatility

4. Ever had a rain showers drip cold water on you?

There is always some balance water in the rain shower. Even if you don’t use a rain shower, this can come from the person who used the shower before you.

The thing that really throws me off is how I can be taking one of my famously long and hot showers, when drip drip.. two drops of awfully cold water sprinkle down on my head out of nowhere!

That’s the balance water in the rain shower dripping down on you. There is nothing you can do about this! It is natural, just like gravity is natural. But it sure feels weird.

This can happen at home, or even at a hotel. Sometimes it happens if you are drying yourself off in the shower area, under the rain shower. For this reason I always try to dry off without a rain shower head above me. It is worse in winter countries when those droplets are ice cold.
Rainshower Dripping Cold Water

5. For a rainshower to run well, you must use a storage heater

This means you are limited to your choice of heater. You can’t go for a water saving heater like the BathBox. You must make room for a large storage tank water heater.

For some, this is ok because they can hide the heater above a false ceiling. For those in HDB, you have to put up with a huge tank in the bathroom.

If you don’t already have a storage heater, I will suggest not considering the rain shower at all. Upgrading from an instant to a storage heater is a massive job. Lots of pipe work, drilling, and dust. It does not make sense to undergo this major renovation especially if you are already living-in.

It makes sense to upgrade to a rain shower if you are doing a major reno.
Rainshower Temperature Fluctuations

6. No one told me how hard it was to clean a rainshower

To keep your rain shower shiny, you need to polish it. To ensure the ‘rain’ flows out in a smooth jet, you have to clean the tiny heads and make sure it is free of dirt.

But that rain shower is so high up! Ugh, cleaning it gave me a neck ache. Polishing it made my neck worse.

Today, I just do the bare minimum for my rainshower. Try not to use it too often, and clean it sometimes. Life is already busy enough, and I don’t want to be a slave to my house.

The less to do, the happier I am.
Rainshower Cleaning Challenges

The rainshower trend is coming to an end..

Rainshowers were popular five years ago, when anyone and everyone followed the latest trend. I got muddled into buying mine because the sales person gave me a look of disbelief saying, ‘You don’t want one? Everyone has a rain shower at home now..’ So I got it.

Fast forward a few years later, I barely use it. After asking my friends and clients about rainshowers, I’ve found that the popularity of rain showers are going down. I guess people move towards what's practical in the end..

Instead of following a trend, think about how you use your shower and see if a rainshower suits you. This can help you save on unnecessary costs. Who knows, it may even create a better shower experience.
Rainshower Showerhead

Rainshower FAQ

What height should a rainshower be installed at?
A rain showerhead should be installed at a height of 200 cm from the shower floor. If you are not sure, there should be a height suggestion in the instruction manual.

If there are tall people at home, the rain shower head should be 10 - 15 cm above their height.

Don’t fix a rain shower too high up! You’ll find that the water will feel colder coming down. The higher up the shower head goes, you will have even less control over the water spray as it comes down.
A storage water heater, or any heater with a big tank. Heaters with a big tank are high pressure systems and the rain shower will love it.

Don’t go for gas heaters, instant heaters or any tankless models. The water pressure output on those heaters are too low. Your rain shower will become a rain drizzle.
There will be a buildup of scale from minerals and calcium found in water. This can block the rain shower water holes and cause the flow of water to be uneven.

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