Noritz Water Heaters Reviews & Buying Tips

Looking for the best Noritz water heaters?

Our comprehensive review and buying guide has got you covered. We highlight the top models from the EZ, CB, NRCP, NRC, NR, NC, and NCC series, as well as boilers fueled by natural and liquid propane gas.

With detailed specs and features, plus reviews from satisfied customers, you can make an informed decision on the best model for your needs.

And if you run into any issues, our guide even includes an error code guide for easy troubleshooting. Trust us to help you find the perfect Noritz tankless water heater for efficient potable water and space heating in residential and light commercial settings.

Noritz Water Heaters: Things to Consider

Buying Tips

Noritz is a leading manufacturer of environmentally-friendly, gas-operated tankless water heaters that utilize advanced green technology for significant energy and space conservation.

When considering purchasing a Noritz on-demand water heater, there are several important factors to consider. Firstly, their superior technology results in ultra-high thermal efficiency, which means that they are Energy Star rated and can offer more savings compared to standard or conventional units.

Additionally, it’s important to consider the size and capacity of the unit, the available fuel type, the venting options, installation costs, maintenance and warranty, and any additional features that may be important for your specific needs, such as temperature control, recirculation pumps, or self-diagnostic tools. By taking these factors into consideration, you can make an informed decision and choose a Noritz on-demand water heater that is efficient, reliable, and tailored to your household’s hot water needs.

Advantages and Benefits

Easy Installation

Noritz water heaters feature a compact and small design, which allows for installation in virtually any space (although there may be some restrictions). With wall mounting installation, these water heaters save you valuable space.

Additionally, Noritz water heaters are eco-friendly and emit fewer greenhouse gases like CO2 and NOx, making them a great choice for regions with strict emission regulations. Noritz water heaters are combustion-sealed and offer significant advantages over atmospheric units, as they do not use internal air for combustion. Indoor models (DV) come with all necessary vents and accessories, while outdoor models (OD) are vent-less for added convenience.

Durable

Noritz water heaters offer several benefits, including their longevity, which reduces waste going into landfills when compared to tank-type water heaters. Additionally, Noritz units are smaller, more durable, and incorporate a high percentage of recyclable materials. Thanks to their replaceable parts, there is no need to replace the entire unit if there is a malfunction. Instead, simply replacing the damaged part is enough, resulting in cost savings and reduced waste.

Green Technology

Advanced Noritz water heaters feature superior and eco-friendly condensing technology, which takes advantage of the available latent heat to achieve excellent thermal efficiency of over 90%.

Safe Operation

Like other tankless water heater manufacturers, Noritz models produce endless and almost instant hot water, especially with the NRCP models that have a built-in recirculation system. However, Noritz water heaters offer additional safety and reliability features due to their electronic system and many built-in sensors, which help prevent scalding and ensure proper operation.

Plenty of Hot Water

Noritz water heaters are designed with the capacity and power output to provide hot water for houses with one to five bathrooms. For example, the NRCP1112 model has a high water flow rate of 11.1 GPM. For high-demand applications that require even more power and hot water, it is possible to link up to 24 units using Noritz’s linking system.

Size Variety

Noritz water heaters are designed for whole-house applications, with the smallest model producing 5.3 GPM, suitable for homes with one to two bathrooms. The largest model, with a water flow of 11.1 GPM, is ideal for up to 4-5 plumbing units. Noritz water heaters are energy-efficient, using minimal electricity primarily to light the gas burner with direct electric ignition, power the vent, and operate the PC board that controls the system.

Simple Troubleshooting

Noritz water heaters have a built-in PC board and smart technology that displays several error codes indicating any problems with the unit. DIY handypersons and plumbers can easily fix the problem using these codes.

Noritz recommends periodic flushing of the tankless unit, installing a water softener, or using ScaleShield to prevent sediment buildup, which is a common problem with any water heater.

You can buy a tankless water heater flushing kit that comes with a utility pump, hose, and bucket, and use vinegar or any other cleanser.

If you have isolation valves installed, it is even better.

TurboFlow

Noritz tankless models utilize a TurboFlow system that enables the heaters to meet any hot water demand, especially during the summer when the incoming water is warmer. The heater automatically boosts its output to provide more flow capacity, ensuring that hot water is always available when needed.

Dual-Flame Burner

Some Noritz gas appliances are the only products among all manufacturers to use a Dual-Flame Burner. This technology utilizes the latest electronic combustion control, resulting in hot water with minimal temperature fluctuation and maximized heat output, leading to high efficiency.

The Dual-Flame Burner has two rows of burners where the second row burns any unlit gases that escaped from the first row, leading to improved performance, stabilized hot water temperature, and increased output efficiency. It’s important to note that this technology is not available on all Noritz models.

Commercial-Grade Heat Exchanger

Above the gas burner, water is heated in a commercial grade heat exchanger that is built from thick commercial grade copper piping, making it more resistant to stress and durable.

Condensing models have an additional secondary heat exchanger made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel material.

Electronic Board

Thanks to the resin-coated PC board and the onboard memory chip that stores the error code history, maintenance and troubleshooting become much easier.

Condensing Technology

Noritz condensing water heaters perform exceptionally well due to their advanced design. These units feature a dual heat exchanger that combines stainless steel and copper heat exchangers. The stainless steel component is designed to utilize the residual heat from the exhaust gases to preheat the incoming water before it runs through the primary copper heat exchanger. This results in a significant reduction of carbon dioxide and increases the heater’s efficiency to over 90%.

Venting

Noritz offers two main designs for their heaters: indoor models (DV) and outdoor models (OD). The indoor models utilize single-concentric and dual venting, while the outdoor models are ventless. This provides customers with the flexibility to choose a model that suits their specific needs and preferences.

Model Selection

As mentioned in the previous text, Noritz tankless water heaters are designed to provide an endless supply of hot water, from point-of-use to whole-house applications for up to 5-bath homes.

The heaters are grouped into several categories:

• NRCB series – combination boilers
• EZ series – allows direct tank replacement and easy installation with the top mount water connections and flexible vent that utilizes existing B-vent.
• CB series – combi boilers with condensing technology that delivers hot water to plumbing and hydronic heating applications.
• NCC series
• NRCP series – condensing water heaters with the recirculation
• NRC series – condensing models
• NR series – non-condensing models
• NC series

Best Advanced Models to Buy

The best and most advanced Noritz water heaters for residential homes come from the High-Efficiency series – NRCP and NRC. These are ultra-high efficient models that benefit homeowners with significant savings and an ultra-low carbon footprint.

The best model to buy is the Noritz NRCP112, a direct vent and tankless gas water heater. Thanks to its high water flow delivery of 11.1 GPM, it can be used in large homes with up to 4.5 baths. It is available in natural and propane gas options and can generate up to 199,900 BTU of power with an ultra-high energy factor of 0.92.

What makes the NRCP112 different and unique is its condensing technology that uses a heavy-duty stainless steel heat exchanger and an internal circulation pump, allowing for both internal and external recirculation. As a result, users get hot water faster, saving time, water, and energy.

A similar model to the above NRCP112 is NRC111, with the same capacity and power but without the internal circulation pump, recirculation modes, and built-in remote control, making it lighter and cheaper.

While the NRCP112 is only available as the indoor DV model, the Noritz NRC111 comes in indoor and outdoor versions.

Top Affordable Models to Buy

The top affordable tankless water heaters to buy are from the conventional, non-condensing group, such as the Noritz NR series, which has only one heat exchanger.

The NR98 model is the largest unit in this Mid Efficiency group and can produce up to 9.8 GPM of hot water, which is sufficient for homes with up to 3-4 baths. Even more hot water can be delivered if two units are connected using the Quick Connect Multi System.

However, unlike the condensing models and their superior efficiency, the NR98 model can only provide an energy factor of 0.83 and a maximum temperature of 140 F, which doesn’t qualify it as an Energy Star product.

Noritz NR98 comes with three venting options: direct vent concentric (DVC), single vent (SV), and outdoor ventless. However, unlike the condensing models, cheaper PVC venting cannot be used on the indoor model NR98-DVC, as the exhaust temperature is higher.

About Noritz

Noritz is one of the most popular and biggest Japanese manufacturers of water heaters producing appliances for heating since 1951, for residential and commercial use.

With a capacity of 1.3 million water heaters per year, Noritz has the largest production of on-demand gas appliances. In addition, the company claims to have the largest manufacturing plant of tankless water heaters in the world.

Noritz America Corporation was established in 2001, and it offers a variety of tankless water heaters for residential and commercial applications.

Noritz America headquarters is located in California with several branches throughout America; Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and many certified dealers and trained installers.

Contact:
Noritz website: noritz.com