When the developer of Trafalgar Village in Poinciana, FL, began planning a short-term vacation rental neighborhood community with 229 single-family homes, 71 townhouses and 140 apartments, the company saw plenty of “green” opportunities.

Trafalgar Enterprises’ plan was to create a relaxed environment for residents as well as local wildlife, nestled in an urban community and living in harmony with nature. But the Village was to be an energy-saving green community, too.

A key contributor to its environmental friendliness is its exclusive use of tankless water heating technology for both domestic hot water and space heating. The higher efficiency of gas-fired tankless technology, as compared with conventional tank-type water heaters, means lower flue emissions. Moreover, because the tankless water heaters were installed outside the living space, Trafalgar Village residents enjoy improved indoor air quality.

Outdoor installation of Takagi T-K1S units at Trafalgar Village

When it came to the utilities, Trafalgar Enterprises’ initially sought to go all-electric, as so many homes in Florida do. But that approach didn’t complement their green building goals. To obtain a permit for construction, the developer had to achieve a score of no more than 100 on Florida’s EnergyGauge program for energy-efficient home designs. (The higher a home’s EnergyGauge score, the lower the energy efficiency.) A typical all-electric home usually comes in right at the 100 cutoff mark. That meant Trafalgar Enterprises, by going all-electric, would have had to build in many additional—and costly—energy-saving features to drop its score below the 100 mark.

Then Trafalgar Enterprises learned about the energy efficiency of natural gas from TECO Peoples Gas, the local gas utility, and John Snyder of Allard Product Resources in Oldsmar, FL. Allard is an independent manufacturers representative that specializes in energy-saving products, including Takagi tankless water heaters.

“Going with natural gas would offer the developer lower operating utility costs and higher efficiency,” Snyder explains. “Because Trafalgar Village was conceived as a relaxed eco-green community, the developer was especially interested in natural gas in terms of energy conservation and preserving natural resources.”

But Snyder’s selling Trafalgar Enterprises on gas presented a new problem. The developer had been considering a high-efficiency electric heat pump for space heating and domestic hot water. The alternative, a gas furnace, was considered out of the question due to its higher installation costs, necessary roof penetrations for venting, and local requirements to provide enough combustion air.

Oversized Furnaces: Far From Green

Outdoor installation of Takagi T-K1S units at Trafalgar Village

Florida’s tropical weather may sound like paradise to homeowners in colder climates that complain that their heating bills are breaking the household budget while they shiver through the winter months. Yet even Florida residents have a complaint with their heating systems: They are built for cold-weather climates. The alternatives are electric heat pumps, which are not warm enough; and electric heat strips, which are warm, but too expensive to operate. The Southern states are generally an air-conditioning market. Typically, the heating load for a dwelling is low, while the cooling load is high. When selecting an air-conditioning system that can match the latter, homeowners must also purchase a furnace that is usually made to accommodate the maximum heating load of a colder climate. As a result, many consumers in moderate-to-warm climates are saddled with oversized furnaces that overheat their homes. Residents end up paying for a furnace that far exceeds their needs. This is not exactly green thinking.

Dual-Powered Solution

Outdoor installation of Takagi T-K1S units at Trafalgar Village

To solve this problem, Snyder proposed that Trafalgar Enterprises consider a dual-purpose tankless water heater system that could provide hot water for washing and cleaning as well as for heating for the home’s interior, as needed. Instead of continuously heating water in a storage tank—24 hours a day, seven days a week—a tankless Takagi unit heats water only on demand; that is, only when the consumer needs it. As long as a faucet, shower or hot water appliance is operating, the tankless water heater continues to run. Once the faucet or appliance is turned off, the tankless unit stops.

This on-demand approach made a lot of sense, since Trafalgar Village was planned as a short-term vacation rental community whose residences could stand vacant for weeks at a time. Why spend money needlessly heating water no one would use?

Equally as important, the Takagi Flash T-K1S heaters installed at Trafalgar Village provide not only potable hot water for a single-family house with three full bathrooms, but also, as noted, all the hot water needed for hydronic heating in these residences.

“Each Takagi heater provides hot water that is also circulated through a heating coil for space heating,” says Snyder, who adds that the Takagi Flash T-K1S was selected, based upon home size and the likely hot water demand. “These gas tankless heaters can replace gas furnaces or electric heat pumps and are more energy-efficient, too.”

There were other benefits to the builder as well. Choosing to install tankless water heaters lowered the Florida’s EnergyGauge score for the homes at Trafalgar by 30 points. As a result, the builder had the flexibility to select other options—windows, insulation, appliances and lighting—to make his home designs even more energy-efficient.

Tankless: Nothing New

“Tankless water heating was nothing new to us, because this technology has been available in the United Kingdom for 25 years,” says British native Alan Hawksworth, vice president of Trafalgar Enterprises, LLC. “At first, I didn’t know it was available stateside, but the technology is just as economical here as it is in Europe. Tankless is far cheaper to run, and the reliability is better: When the hot water isn’t running, it costs you nothing—there’s no stored water.”

Selling the builders on the idea wasn’t as easy, as most Americans are not familiar with the tankless concept. “We had a lot of resistance from builders,” Hawksworth remembers. “It was a new technology that they didn’t know. Their mentality was: ‘If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.’ But finally, ICI Homes agreed to give it a try.”

As a result, the Takagi Flash T-K1S, along with other energy-saving products, was built into the plans. Phase one of the development was completed in just about a year; phase two is currently underway. Early on, Snyder worked with installing contractors to help them size the job, review installation details, and position the water heaters, so that they would blend well with the architectural design.

Fortunately, the Takagi Flash T-K1S doesn’t require much space. Takagi tankless water heaters can be mounted on an inside wall virtually anywhere in a home. But in a warm climate like central Florida, they can also be installed outside. Either way, the wall-mounted units free up precious floor space, while occupying 90% less area than a conventional tank-type water heater.

At Trafalgar Village, the units were situated outside each dwelling near the gas meter. That way, if servicing is ever required, it can be done without having to gain access to the home. Additional training was required to get the job done, primarily because the installing contractors were not familiar with some of the components required. But assistance provided by Snyder and other Takagi personnel helped the installers up the tankless learning curve quickly and smoothly.

“Tankless technology is not entirely new, even in the United States, and it is installed in much the same way as a tank-type water heater,” says Snyder. “But it is a more sophisticated system that demands closer attention to plumbing details.

“For example, the dual-heating system involves the use of check valves that allow water to flow in one direction, as well as a tempering valve that drops the water temperature from 140°[F] for space heating to 120° for potable hot water.”

Big Energy Saver

Rear of townhomes at Trafalgar Village where tankless water heaters were installed, saving critical space inside these residences.

The cost of the system was just about $100 more than what was originally budgeted for the electric heat pumps, but the projected energy savings are expected to be within 50% and 60%. Ultimately, as the builders saw the Takagi units in operation, they, too, were sold on their energy efficiency. “Both are comfortable with it now because they see the technology working,” says Hawksworth.

ICI Homes is now designing tankless technology into its new developments. “They must have been pretty impressed with its performance at Trafalgar Village,” adds Hawksworth.

The builder was, indeed, impressed with many of the Takagi unit’s features, especially the energy savings, according to Kevin Mays, vice president of the resort division for ICI Homes. “People buy these homes and use them a few weeks out of the year, but then they leave. The residences get rented out, but the owners are still paying the fuel bills. So energy efficiency is important, because we’re not really wasting as much as we typically would with a conventional water heater.”

Mays sees the space-savings feature as being not just a consumer benefit, but a selling point for builders as well. “Anytime we’re able to tout a larger bedroom or an extra closet for more space, it’s something we can talk about that our competition may not be able to,” he says.

Finally, Mays suggests that buyers will be won over by the ability to have hot water on demand—particularly in a vacation rental community like Trafalgar. “You could have 10 people in a house, all taking showers at the same time, and nobody will get a cold shower. Everybody has heated water.”

However, the real benefits are in the utility-cost savings that get passed onto the homeowner, according to Hawksworth: “Most consumers don’t care where the hot water is coming from. It is not a major concern. Yet, they could save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in utility costs with a tankless unit.

“They are so accustomed to tanks, they don’t realize there’s an alternative to storing hot water,” he continues. “At the end of the day, once the public sees that gas-fired tankless technology works and is convinced of its reliability and ready availability on the market, they will take an interest.”

For more information on tankless water heaters, contact Takagi Industrial USA at (866) 356-9190, or on the web at www.takagi.com.