Considering the importance of protecting our nation's untouched natural environments, it's no surprise that national parks across the country have made it a priority to limit the creation of water waste and focus on resource efficiency. As far back as 1998, for example, the National Park Service has collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey to improve water quality and efficiency across the nation's pristine natural landscapes. About half of the national parks in the United States are currently listed as having "impaired" water quality, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, and this is just one example of a resource issues facing these ecological treasures.

In order to boost tourism and appreciation of these majestic expanses of flora and fauna, key amenities like hot water must be made available for visitors. Unfortunately, the task of deploying resource-conscious plumbing is especially difficult in environments like forests and deserts, which make up a majority of the nation's national parks. Park operators will have to think outside the box and investigate innovations like tankless water heaters to ensure hot water is delivered to natural park visitors safely and efficiently.

Compact tankless heaters are ideal for expansive camp grounds.

Visitor centers and bathrooms require safely regulated hot water
Today's national parks are more than nature preserves. They are also the focus of ongoing scientific research, serve as the nation's premier camping grounds and provide educational experiences for visitors and their families. As a result, it's not surprising to see national parks with facilities ranging from state-of-the-art welcome centers to nearby bathrooms and showers. All of these fixtures need hot water, and national park administrators must ensure that this hot water is generated and delivered with as little waste or risk to the surrounding environment as possible.

That's why it makes perfect sense for these facilities to utilize point-of-use solutions like tankless water heaters. The flexibility of heating water where it is needed instead of at a central location opens all types of new possibilities for administrators grappling with the most effective way to improve utility performance on national park grounds. Furthermore, administrators must ensure that hot water being delivered is done so at a temperature that meets regulation. Thankfully, high-performance tankless solutions are available that integrate these temperature controls into the design of the heater.

Point-of-use heating limits the need for extra problem solving
With traditional models comes the need for linking up every point-of-use with a centralized source of hot water. As bathrooms, park ranger stations and other facilities move farther away from the park's visitor center, complications with regards to standard water heating increase exponentially. This problem speaks to one of the key perks of switching to tankless water heating – compact size and point-of-use performance eliminates the need for a centralizing heating solution in the first place. At just a fraction of the size of traditional heaters, tankless models can be installed nearly anywhere.

Less plumbing means reduced impact on the environment
If it's absolutely necessary to lay down new plumbing to facilitate water flow on national park grounds, it's the responsibility of administrators to select solutions that introduce as few foreign objects into the natural landscape as possible. Keeping construction and potentially ecosystem-threatening materials out of national parks is a top priority. With this consideration in mind, tankless water heaters are the only way to go when expanding facilities at a national park.

In addition to being compact, tankless water heaters change the temperature of the water directly before it reaches the user. As a result, separate plumbing for hot and cold water is completely unnecessary. A reduced need for plumbing on the worksite also limits the amount of maintenance problems that the park would have to deal with in the long run. This is an important factor to remember because unchecked maintenance failures could have huge negative impacts on surrounding ecosystems.

Extended performance rewards long-term investments
One of the main problems with traditional heaters is the reality that they are prone to leaks as they advance in age. Unfortunately, these leaks often include more than water and include trace amounts of the materials comprising the tank. Allowing such a mix of chemicals to infiltrate nearby soil and plants could be disastrous, so plumbing maintenance is a top priority when it comes to maintaining facilities at national parks.

As opposed to traditional models, tankless water heaters by contrast are designed to perform for two decades without seeing decline in performance. Eliminating the storage tank from the design also minimizes opportunities for leaks to occur, freeing up funds in the budget that were once dedicated to extra visits from the water heater maintenance professionals. These and other perks make going tankless a natural choice for those in charge of our country's national parks.