When it’s 8:30 p.m. and your water heater quits working, no doubt you’d love to have hot water for a shower the next morning. But with traditional installation, the likelihood of that happening after-hours is slim. However, Eric Silva can make it happen and it’s thanks to Viega ProPress and MegaPress products.
In recent years, Silva, owner of Silva Mechanical in Walled Lake, Michigan, has used ProPress and MegaPressG to install on-demand (tankless) water heaters in many homes. The speed of Viega connections allows him to expedite the process and restore hot water for homeowners as fast as possible.
“Every day we’re putting in or servicing a tankless water heater,” Silva said. “In doing so, we have to go in, alter the water piping, the gas piping, the venting, everything. You want as little downtime as possible, and with Viega, I cut off the old piping, press on down the wall and we’re good to go. I’ve had people call me at night and say, ‘My water heater just went out and I’d love to have hot water by morning.’ With Viega and tankless systems, we can make that happen.”
A few years ago, Silva started using MegaPress and ProPress products in new residential construction when installing manifolds and gas piping systems. In higher- end homes he also installed on-demand water heaters, and it’s that particular niche that’s taken off for Silva since then.
Tankless water heaters are becoming increasingly popular in homes. Silva installed 92 last year alone and in 2018 he had already hit 50 installs by May. Nowadays, he said at least 95 percent of his business is with on-demand water heaters, whether new installation or service calls.
WIth his truck fully stocked with ProPress and MegaPressG, plus the on-demand water heater technology, Silva can show up to an unseen jobsite and complete an installation. He’s been called to situations with flooded basements and with ProPress he can make a repair quickly.
Silva uses ProPress to plumb the on-demand hot water units and MegaPressG for the gas lines to heat the water.
“You’re trying to make everybody happy, and when you can do things in an expedited manner, that sure helps,” Silva said. “Viega is such a no-brainer for me. I don’t even carry a torch on my truck anymore! We’ve found a way to incorporate MegaPressG and ProPress on all our jobs. Technology is our friend.”
Benefits
There are multiple benefits to on-demand hot water units. Those benefits include lower bills to heat the water, plus the enjoyable convenience of having steady hot water whenever needed.
With a traditional water heater, the tank full of water is heated, and natural gas or electricity continues to cycle on and off to keep the water hot until it’s called for. Once all of that heated water in the tank passes through the pipes of a building, the hot water “runs out.” There is a lag time as the hot water tank works to heat another batch of water.
Reversely, with an on-demand hot water system, water is only heated as it passes through the mechanism when someone turns on a water source. There is no tank of water to temporarily store at a hot temperature, therefore reducing heating costs. And because water is heated on demand, the flow of potential hot water never ends.
For homes that use 41 gallons or less of hot water daily, on-demand water heaters can be 24 to 34 percent more energy efficient* than conventional storage tank water heaters. Energy Star estimates that a typical family can save $100 or more per year with an Energy Star-qualified tankless water heater.
Viega pressing technology makes it easy to replace a traditional water heater with an on-demand water heater. Even if the piping for the water or gas supply needs to be reconfigured, the ease and speedof ProPress and MegaPress make tank replacement much faster than traditional methods, meaning customers are back up and running sooner.
* according to the U.S. Department of Energy
