Tankless Hot Water Heater

Why We Choose Navien

After years of installing and servicing tankless systems from every major brand, we've found Navien delivers the best value — performance, build quality, reliability, warranty support, and green technology. Navien has been perfecting tankless technology since 1978 and opened a US manufacturing plant in Virginia in 2020.

Their patented venturi-fed dual burners, built-in recirculating pump, wireless monitoring, and easy app interface combine for a great everyday experience. Properly installed and maintained, your Navien unit should last 15 to 20 years or more.

Sizing the Right Tankless for Your Home or Business

Picking the right tankless isn't one-size-fits-all. The model that's right for your home depends on:

• How many bathrooms and water-using appliances you have
• Whether you have a soaking tub, large-capacity washer, or any single fixture that demands a lot of hot water at once
• How heavy your overall usage is — a large family, frequent laundry, or simultaneous demand from multiple fixtures
• Whether your business has a piece of equipment that needs dedicated hot-water service
• Whether your gas line is sized to deliver enough natural gas or propane to run the unit at full capacity
• Whether you have a venting path to a safe exhaust point

We walk through all of this with you before we recommend a model.

Why Gas Tankless Beats Electric in the PNW

In the Pacific Northwest, gas-powered tankless units significantly outperform electric ones for whole-home use. The reasons are climate-specific:

• Cold groundwater: Local groundwater temperatures run 48–52°F, compared to 57–72°F in California. The energy required to heat that water to 120°F is significantly higher — and an electric tankless has to draw much more power to do it.
• Electric panel demands: A whole-home electric tankless (the largest residential models) requires 240V service and three 50-amp breakers per unit. That often forces an electrical panel upgrade, possibly heavier-gauge wiring, and sometimes a service upgrade from the utility. If your usage demands more than one unit, those costs multiply.
• Flow rate: Gas tankless heats water faster than electric in whole-home use, avoiding the temperature fluctuations and slow recovery you can see at the tap when multiple fixtures run at once.

For most Snohomish County and Whidbey Island homes, a properly sized natural gas or propane tankless unit is the right answer.

Energy Independence in the Pacific Northwest

There's also a grid argument. If everyone converted to electric tankless water heaters at the same time we're also moving to electric vehicles, electric furnaces, and electric appliances, demand on the regional power grid would balloon. We've already seen what happens when the grid is stressed — the June 2021 heatwave forced rolling outages from Avista, and PSE attributed additional outages to the high temperatures themselves.

When the grid goes down, anything electric stops working — heat, cooking, water heaters, water pumps, vehicles. A natural gas or propane tankless keeps hot water flowing through a power outage and keeps a viable mix of fuel options in your home. That's part of why we choose gas-fired tankless for whole-home installs in our area — energy independence, alongside the efficiency.

Why Choose Stollwerck for Your Tankless Install?