Hayes Plumbing installs and services tankless water heaters across Pickering, in neighbourhoods such as Bay Ridges, West Shore, Dunbarton, Amberlea, Liverpool, Duffin Heights and Seaton. Our plumbers leave from 448 Ritson Rd. South in Oshawa, and Pickering is normally 25 to 35 minutes away by road. If you are considering a tankless water heater in Pickering, the first question is whether it suits your home, because it is not the right answer for every house. Before quoting, we check how many fixtures run at once, where the unit would hang and what the gas supply and venting need. Then you get the price in writing, and the quote is free.
Tank or Tankless: What to Weigh
Water heating is a large share of a home's energy use. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) puts it at 19.3% of the energy used in the average Canadian household, second only to space heating, so the choice deserves some thought. The main trade-offs:
- Energy use: by NRCan's figures, ENERGY STAR certified tankless models average 30% less energy use than storage tanks, because they heat water only on demand instead of holding a full tank at temperature.
- Several showers at once: NRCan also cautions that a tankless system can fall short when a household needs a lot of hot water for several uses at the same time. Sizing the unit to your real peak demand is what prevents that.
- Upfront cost: our hot water tank replacement article puts tankless at $3,000 to $6,000 installed, while a standard tank runs $1,200 to $3,500.
- Space: a tankless unit hangs on the wall, which frees the floor area a tank occupies in a basement or utility room.
- Upkeep: a tankless unit still needs regular maintenance, and on Pickering's municipal water that means descaling the heat exchanger.
Building Permits in Pickering
On its building permit page, the City of Pickering lists hot water tanks among the work that does not typically need a permit, while installing or modifying heating or plumbing systems is on its list of work that may. Switching from a tank to a tankless unit often means upsizing the gas line, adding new venting and running a condensate drain, so it is more than a simple tank swap. Before the work is booked, call the City's Building Services at 905.420.4631 to confirm whether your conversion needs a permit.
Gas, Venting and Condensate
The gas supply line often has to be upsized for a tankless unit, and the unit vents through its own dedicated pipe. Condensing models produce an acidic condensate and usually vent through PVC or another specified pipe, with a drain for the condensate; non-condensing models use stainless steel venting. We check where the vent can exit and how the gas line can be routed before we price the job.
In Ontario, gas appliance work is limited to TSSA-registered contractors, who must employ gas technicians certified by TSSA. TSSA's records attribute about 65% of past fuels-related incidents to problems such as bad installation work and neglected maintenance on fuel-burning appliances. Whoever you hire, you can check their registration with TSSA's online lookup before booking.
Keeping the Unit Running
Pickering is on the same Region of Durham drinking water system as Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa, and the Region lists that system's hardness at 125 mg/L (as calcium carbonate). Inside a tankless unit, those minerals build up on the heat exchanger, so a unit that is never flushed gradually loses output.
Our guide to tankless upkeep suggests flushing the unit yearly when it runs on Region water. Warning signs that a unit is overdue include water that turns lukewarm partway through a shower, slower flow at the taps, a rumbling or whistling sound while the unit fires, and fault codes on its display. We also descale and repair existing tankless units.
Cost of Going Tankless
Expect a conversion to cost more than replacing a tank with another tank, since it adds gas piping, a new vent and a condensate drain. Our 2026 Oshawa plumbing cost guide lists water heater installation at $500 to $1,500, tank or tankless, depending on the model and the installation; complete tankless installations fall in the $3,000 to $6,000 range from our hot water tank replacement article. Every figure is set out in writing before anyone picks up a tool.