Navien Water Heaters
Review and Buying Tips

A review of Navien tankless water heaters guides you through the outstanding features that make these units amazing. All Navien models are condensing, and the energy efficiency can reach an excellent 98-99%. There are no other tankless heaters that can achieve that.

Navien's tankless and condensing technology, followed by the superior features, provides high-efficiency water heating and water flow, including excellent benefits such as lower energy consumption and operating costs, reliability, lower pollution, and extreme comfort. These features are what make Navien one of the most popular and desired brands.

Navien models review

Navien condensing heaters can be found in several sizes and three categories; NCB, NHB, and NPE series. The NCB series is designed as the gas combination boiler, NHB as the gas heating boiler, and NPE as the tankless heater for domestic water heating only, all providing ultra-high energy efficiency of over 90%.

Navien NCB series

Navien gas boilers from NCB series are available in four sizes; NCB-150E, NCB-180E, NCB-210E, and NCB-240E, all designed with advanced technology and for whole-house use for both space heating and domestic hot water production.

All NCB gas boilers are covered with a 10-year warranty against heat exchanger leaking, and due to the quality, elements can last very long, at least 20 years.

Navien NHB series

Navien condensing boilers from the NHB series, with the maximum size of 24" x 17" x 13" and the lower power output, are the smallest units from this manufacturer. They are designed for efficient potable water and hydronic heating in small and indoor residential and light commercial applications. One of the highest Turn-Down Ratio is found here.

Navien NPE series

Navien NPE models are unique not only because of their high energy efficiency but because they can utilize the home's 1/2" gas line and can be easily converted from using natural gas to propane in both indoor and outdoor applications.

NPE series of tankless water heaters utilize the Front Panel Command Centre for easy setup, troubleshooting, and monitoring the essential parameters. Moreover, with the Intelligent Preheating Technology, showers are much more comfortable since the system recognizes your hot water usage pattern. Navien tankless water heaters from the NPE series come with a 15-year warranty.

Top features

High-quality heat exchangers

Navien tankless water heaters are unique because of their ultra-efficient water heating in two stainless steel (SS) heat exchangers. No other manufacturer offers that. Most of the other brands have one SS heat exchanger and the other (primary) made of copper.

Thanks to its design, the Navien heater is fully protected from acidic environment and its destructive action on main components. The condensing technology uses the energy from the exhaust gases, therefore lowering the flue gases' temperature. As the water heater delivers cooled exhaust gases, Navien recommends plastic PVC venting, which is not only easier to install but cheaper.

Optimal gas combustion

For optimal gas combustion, even where the longer vent pipes are needed or working under different air pressure, Navien tankless water heaters utilize two sensors. The APS (Air Pressure Sensor) and GPS (Gas Pressure Sensor) sensors are designed to control the air/gas pressure and fan speed.

Low NOx gas burning

Similar to most of the tankless water heaters on the market, Navien hot water heaters utilize the Eco Pre-mixed burner, which lowers NOx gas emissions. The burner has three stages, from partially to fully lit burner. The microprocessor for the best performance controls gas combustion in the heater's burner. There are two microprocessors responsible for specific operations inside the heater, resulting in better and more reliable water heating.

Instantaneous heating and supply

Another great thing about Navien is that they can provide hot water instantaneously by applying the pump and mini buffer tank into their tankless design. These two features are found on all NPE-A models. This is known as ComfortFlow Technology, so no minimum water flow rate is required anymore.

High flow rate

If any of these models cannot meet the requested demand for hot water, Navien recommends the Ready-Link Cascading System to link up to 16 units into one system with no complicated wiring or venting. Such a setup is ideal for larger applications in hotels, restaurants, schools... as every Navien has built-in controls that allow easy setting.

Remote control provides convenience

In the end, a remote controller, NR-10DU, comes with every tankless package. The remote control is convenient to use and change the temperature, but it is also smart, as it provides info about problems using the error codes.

Summary

As seen from the above statements, Navien tankless water heaters have great benefits and numerous advantages over other manufacturers. Two stainless steel heat exchangers, high safety, ultra-condensing efficiency, and the highest EF in the industry, buffer tank option for reduced "cold-water sandwiches," are some of the reasons why Navien should be your choice when looking for the best tankless water heater.

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