Takagi Tankless Water Heater Reviews

Do you need a new water heater? Chances are, you’re not well-versed in the area if you haven’t purchased one for your home in the past. There are several elements you’ll want to consider, especially when you’re deciding over a tank or tankless water heater.

We’ll get into the differences a bit more int he next section, but we’ll mainly be focusing on one company for this review: Takagi. Takagi is a Japanese company that sells tankless water heaters in the US, and they’ve become relatively popular with these appliances.

Ahead, we’ll give you some more information on Takagi and their water heaters, along with our verdict on whether or not these water heaters are the best choice for your home.

The benefit is a huge one, though. These water heaters use far less energy than their counterparts because they don’t store hot water.

Other water heaters need to continuously heat the water in the tank, so you always have hot water when you want it. Tankless water heaters, on the other hand, don’t face this issue. You will have to wait a few seconds before getting in the shower, but this will save you a lot of money on your energy bill.

These types of water heaters always run on gas - usually natural gas - which some consider being a drawback. Some will prefer to keep everything on their electricity bill, but a natural gas hookup isn’t as costly or irksome as you might think.

Overall, we think tankless water heaters are the way to go. They’ll save you money on heating costs with the slight tradeoff of having to wait a bit for hot water.

Like a lot of tankless water heater brands, Takagi is a Japanese company that teamed up with an American company to distribute their products in the states. The company Takagi has at its back is AO Smith, which is already known for making reliable water heaters in the American market.

Takagi has been around for over 70 years at this point, making all kinds of large household appliances for their customer. In the states, they’re mostly known for their tankless water heaters, which is what we’ll be focusing on today.

Like all tankless water heaters, Takagi appliances use a gas connection for power. This means you’ll need a gas source in your home, which is almost always natural gas. In some cases, you might need a new pipeline installed when you purchase your Takagi tankless water heater. Some of the models from Takagi, though, run on propane rather than natural gas. This is more expensive on the whole, but some people prefer it so they can save on some of the installation costs.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the standout features of the Takagi tankless water heater. There are several models that offer a few different specifications, but we’re going to focus on elements that apply to most - if not all - Takagi tankless water heaters.

Knowing that a water heater is decent isn’t enough - you’re probably looking to find out how it stacks up against the competition.

Well, we took a look at Noritz and Rinnai side-by-side with Takagi to see which brand of tankless water heaters came out on top.

Takagi Water Heaters Vs. Noritz Water Heaters

Noritz is another reputable water heater brand that’s relatively popular. The energy rating and temperature settings are nearly identical, and both are highly efficient which will save you money on energy costs.

The Noritz models edge-out Takagi in their water flow, but do not have the same integrated temperature controller as the Takagi brand.

The warranty is another place where Takagi shines over the competition. Noritz has the industry-standard 12-year warranty, while Takagi will cover it for 15 years.

Takagi Water Heaters Vs. Rinnai

Rannai is one of the biggest competing forces to Takagi, and actually has the edge when it comes to energy efficiency. You probably want to take a hard look at Rinnai if saving on energy costs is the biggest concern for you.

Rannai is even mobile home certified, which means you can use it in a trailer without an issue. The warranty for Takagi is longer - 15 years vs. 12 years - but many of the other specifications tip on Rinnai's favor.

As you might expect, Rinnai water heaters cost more than Takagi heaters on average. The price difference isn’t too much, though, and we would give the nod to Rannai over Takagi for the few, small benefits.

On the whole, we think Takagi presents a good value regarding tankless water heaters. There are only a few companies that we rate above Takagi (Rinnai, for instance), but it’s difficult to beat the energy efficiency, reliability, and affordability of a Takagi tankless water heater.

The warranty is one of the reasons the value is so great, here. Most of the other brands will cap you at 12 years, while Takagi covers their products for 15. This might not seem like a lot, but it shows how much confidence Takagi has in their water heaters and their ability to last over time.

Tankless water heaters are becoming more popular in homes as energy costs rise. You don’t have to pay to keep a tank full of hot water on hand, as long as you don't have a problem waiting a few seconds for the water to heat up.

All in all, Takagi is a solid manufacturer of tankless water heaters, and certainly worth considering if you need a new one in your home.