The commercial plumbing market continues to see a growing demand for energy-efficient products — especially for major energy consumers, like water heating systems. 

Water heating can account for up to a quarter of all energy use in some commercial buildings. And because nearly 80% of water heating energy use occurs in buildings built before 2000, replacing outdated systems with newer, high-efficiency water heating technology can offer significant improvements in terms of performance and savings. 

Distributors and wholesalers who are well-versed in energy efficient options, including propane-powered solutions, can set themselves up for success as this trend continues. Propane water heaters offer an efficient, high-performance solution for commercial applications. No matter the size or scope of a building, these systems can provide increased energy efficiency, reduced energy costs, better performance and a smaller carbon footprint compared with other options.

Propane systems offer superior energy efficiency

High-efficiency systems, such as propane tankless water heaters, can benefit commercial buildings of all kinds — especially those with significant water heating demands, like lodging, healthcare, education, and food service facilities, to name a few.

Propane tankless systems achieve efficiency ratings of up to 98%, and many use a condensing design where additional thermal energy is extracted from the combustion gasses to heat incoming water. These systems can also achieve a hot water flow rate that’s three times that of an electric storage or heat pump water heater — and can maintain it without recovery time. Energy Star-rated units have the potential to use 25% less energy than a conventional commercial water heater.

Additionally, these units heat water only when it’s needed, reducing standby losses that come with traditional storage tank water heaters. This can be even more valuable as buildings are seeing lower occupancy due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Propane water heating results in significant cost savings

The occupancy and use of many commercial buildings may change, but energy efficiency and cost savings will remain key considerations. Propane water heating technology offers a long lifespan, competitive operational costs and a better cost of ownership compared with other options.

Several commercial operations have seen significant cost savings after switching to propane. Notably, a Nebraska brewery, Bolo Beer Company, is saving over 25% on operating costs by using propane water heaters instead of electric water heaters. Ruby’s Inn, a resort in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, is saving approximately $6,000 a month after installing propane tankless water heaters. 

New options in venting also allow for reduced cost in both time and materials. Since most condensing units can be converted from natural gas to propane, wholesalers and distributors don’t need to increase inventory SKUs to take advantage of this market.

Propane-powered systems don’t sacrifice environmental impact

In addition to reducing energy consumption and costs, propane systems can reduce a building’s carbon footprint. According to data from the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), propane tankless water heaters produce up to 47% fewer nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, 61% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and 91% fewer sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions than electric storage tank water heaters.

Furthermore, switching from an electric storage tank water heater to a propane tankless water heater can prevent more than one ton of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere each year — the same amount produced from driving a car more than 3,000 miles.