Condensing boilers work similarly to a conventional boiler in a lot of ways.
Condensing boiler vs tankless water heater.
When efficiency is key the condensing models outperform their kin coming in at 90 percent efficiency compared to the 80 percent of non condensing tankless water heaters.
In other cases you can certainly use a water heater and it will also be more efficient than some boilers.
That said it is a cheap btu.
Go with the boiler.
I really like tankless but i still say boilers are boilers and water heaters are water heaters.
Condensing boilers are much more efficient in energy use and maintenance but are also more expensive to buy.
If a tankless was condensing and had better heat transfer elements than it would be called a boiler.
I had the same question myself.
Condensing condensing boilers are not a type of boiler but more of an attribute that a boiler can have.
Both choices are more efficient than electric models.
They function similar to the muchkins and copper fin boilers you might be able to pay for two tankless v s one 90 boiler of the same btu rating.
It is already established that condensing type of water heater is more efficient than the non condensing type for about 10 to 15 percent.
For instance you want to know the climate conditions around the house and whether or not there s enough space for the units.
While tankless water heaters run more efficiently than storage tank water heaters replacing a tank water heater with a tankless can be expensive and the payback time can be longer than the warranty.
In yet other cases the right tankless water heater will do a good job since it only heats the water when you need it and it provides it quickly.
A small boiler is a very big tankless.
In the end the important differences come down to getting high efficiency boilers vs.
While most tankless heaters are compact boilers could consume more space.
Condensing boilers are sometimes more energy efficient than other types as they retain the heat that escapes the flues for venting toxic gases produced when heating water with gas present in non condensing boilers.
They are slightly more expensive to manufacture but are over all on par with non condensing tankless water heaters that need to use expensive stainless steel venting materials and are less efficient about 80.
Actually had to speak to hydronic technicians.
In some cases a boiler is needed and only a boiler will do.
Relatively non condensing tankless water heaters are less expensive compared to the other type.
Deciding between a boiler or a tankless water heater depends on several conditions.