Chemical plants are a vital part of American industry. These high-tech facilities store and manufacture many of the important chemical components that makes our daily lives possible. Safety is a priority at these locations as many chemicals are volatile or harmful to the touch. One way that chemical plant managers can ensure a safe work environment is by investing in dependable utilities. This is especially true for water heaters, as proper delivery of water is essential to maintaining safety in a chemical plant.

Predictable temperatures
Emergency showers and eyewash stations are key components of a chemical plant's safety plan. However, these stations cease to be helpful if mediocre water heater performance prevents showers from delivering water at the right temperature. Chemical plant managers can ensure that showers and eyewash stations are fully functional by installing tankless water heaters, says Today's Facility Manager. High-end models can guarantee constant temperature control within one degree and maintain national health standards like ANSI Eyewash Z358.1.

Scalable installation
Another benefit of tankless water heaters is their compact size. Tankless water heaters are just a tenth of the size of average storage tank heaters and can be installed almost anywhere inside the plant. This size offers a lot of flexibility in how chemical plant managers choose to adopt tankless solutions. A few localized boosters could be installed near showers and eyewash stations with ease. Alternatively, a full upgrade and replacement of every storage tank heater could free up valuable floor space inside the plant. These features allow facilities to design custom water heating solutions.

Reliable performance
The performance of traditional tank heaters are constantly threatened by corrosion and mineral build up. In fact, the deterioration of storage tanks often causes heaters to rupture years before the limit of life expectancy. Tankless water heaters are far less susceptible to corrosion and many are equipped with mineral flushing systems. Furthermore, tankless systems typically operate for twenty years before a replacement is necessary.

Cost-effective solutions
Tankless water heaters offer significant energy savings over storage tank systems, according to The Huffington Post. Tankless heaters boast far greater thermal efficiency, spending 99 percent of energy directly on temperature control. Tank storage heaters only deliver 65 percent thermal efficiency by comparison. Chemical plant managers in need of a major sustainability project should consider outfitting their workplace with energy-saving tankless water heaters.