Tankless Water Heater in Poway, CA

How hard is Poway's water on a tankless heater?

The City of Poway runs its own water utility. Nearly all of its raw water is imported through the San Diego County Water Authority, with local rainfall captured in Lake Poway, and it's treated at the city's Lester J. Berglund plant using chlorine and chloramines. The city's report lists average hardness of about 228 to 235 ppm as calcium carbonate, with a range of 165 to 291. Water that hard leaves scale wherever it's heated quickly, which in a tankless unit is the heat exchanger. Isolation valves for an annual flush are essential, and many owners add a softener or scale-control cartridge.

Is an older Poway home set up for tankless?

Not usually as is. Poway's median home was built around 1978. In a house from that era the heater tends to sit in the garage on a gas branch line sized for a tank, venting through a metal flue. A gas tankless unit needs its own vent and usually more gas than the existing line can carry, especially if the run from the meter is long or the line also feeds a range, dryer or furnace. On larger lots, the distance to the farthest bathroom can be long enough that a recirculation pump is worth adding. Electric units avoid venting but often require a much larger electrical service.

How do permits work in Poway?

Poway's Building Division handles permits, with plan check, permitting and inspection contracted to EsGil Corporation. Submittals are electronic only, through City of Poway Online Services. Questions go to Building Services at 858-668-4645, and inspections are scheduled at 858-668-4646. The plumber usually prepares the submittal for a tankless conversion with gas and vent changes.

A Poway note

Inland Poway sees chillier winter nights than coastal areas, and cooler inlet water makes a tankless unit work harder in those months, so size for winter, not summer. For a water problem on the city's side, call Customer Services at 858-668-4401; after 3:00 p.m. on business days and on weekends and holidays, call the Water Treatment Plant at 858-668-4751. If you smell gas, leave the house first and then call 911 and SDG&E at 1-800-611-7343 from outside.