# Explain the specified tankless water heater without a hot-water promise.

A tankless water heater specification page should identify the documented equipment, fuel and included components for the applicable project. Separate a proposed selection from an installed unit. Ask the qualified installer to review capacity and delivery questions before drafting performance wording. Publish confirmed scope without promising a particular hot-water experience.

## Which water heater does the specification describe?

Start with the buyer's equipment question: what does this particular project include? Put the water-heater category beside its selection status. A tankless reference in an early specification does not identify a final unit. Keep proposed, selected and installed conditions separate in your working record.

Record the exact model privately when the approved equipment document supplies it. If the model remains undecided, leave that field unresolved. Do not fill the gap with the product featured in a supplier photograph. A category description can explain the decision still required without presenting a recommendation.

Give fuel its own field. Ask which document establishes the fuel for this installation. Do not infer it from the word tankless or from equipment used on another job. If the selection record and installer record disagree, return the question to the responsible project role.

The [standard specifications page guide](/articles/builder-websites/standard-specs-page/) explains the wider inclusion labels. Apply those labels to this equipment record. A water heater selected for one house should not become a standard feature across your plan library.

| Record | Question it can address | Separate confirmation needed |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Approved selection | Which equipment is specified for this project? | Whether that selection was installed |
| Manufacturer document | What information applies to the identified model? | How the actual installation relates to that document |
| Installer review | Which project conditions were checked? | The recorded conclusions and their limits |
| As-built equipment record | Which unit was recorded after installation? | Any difference from the approved selection |
| Service handoff | Where do the owner instructions and contact roles belong? | Who holds each responsibility |

This comparison organizes your questions. It does not establish document precedence or certify an installation. Ask the project reviewer to identify the governing record when versions conflict. Keep that decision with the private equipment sheet.

## What equipment belongs in the included scope?

Create a component list from the applicable specification and installation records. Separate the heater from related components that the records actually identify. Use one entry per documented item. Do not copy a complete accessory list from a different installation to make this one appear complete.

For each entry, record supply responsibility, installation status and the document revision. Keep a proposed accessory separate from a confirmed inclusion. If a document mentions a control or a circulation component, ask whether it belongs to this project. Mentioning it does not establish its installed function.

Ask which connections and related work the qualified installer has reviewed. Record the answer without supplying technical requirements yourself. Public scope copy should not become an installation checklist. The installer must determine which manufacturer instructions and project conditions apply.

The [appliance package guide](/articles/builder-websites/appliance-specification-page-content/) separates supply responsibility from selection status. Keep that distinction here. Builder-supplied equipment can still have an unresolved selection, and a selected unit can still lack an installation confirmation.

### What belongs beside an equipment photograph?

Use a visible caption to identify the photographed condition and its documented scope. Keep proposed equipment labeled as proposed. Do not describe a photograph as an as-built record unless the responsible reviewer confirms that use. Remove private identifiers before publishing approved media.

W3C's [informative images tutorial, Overview](https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/informative/) relates text alternatives to the information an image conveys. Apply that principle to the approved image's purpose. A text alternative cannot verify equipment identity, installation status or performance.

If the picture adds no useful equipment information, leave it out. A readable component list can answer the scope question without a photograph. Do not publish an unclear label image merely to suggest that the equipment has received technical review.

## Which hot-water questions need installer review?

Collect the buyer's actual questions before approving a benefit statement. Ask about the intended uses together, the applicable fixtures and the delivery expectation. Give these questions to the qualified installer with the current plan and equipment record. Do not convert a conversation into a capacity promise.

[ENERGY STAR's whole-home tankless gas water heater Buying Guidance](https://www.energystar.gov/products/whole_home_tankless_gas_water_heaters) calls for experienced plumber consultation about demand. It also identifies supply and venting matters for installer review. That guidance concerns gas equipment; it does not establish facts about an unidentified unit.

Before any capacity claim, ask the installer to confirm model data, project demand and conditions used in the assessment. Before any simultaneous-use claim, ask which combination of uses was evaluated. Preserve the stated limits. If the answer is incomplete, omit the claim.

Before any delivery statement, ask the installer to review the documented distribution arrangement and the buyer's stated expectation. Keep the equipment question separate from the delivery question. Do not promise an immediate response at every outlet from the tankless category alone.

For gas equipment, route fuel supply, electricity where applicable and venting questions to the installer. For other equipment, obtain the applicable product documents. Do not transfer gas-category guidance to another fuel or electrical configuration.

### When can a certification appear?

Keep certification evidence tied to the exact selected unit and the applicable product listing. A category page or a label on a different model cannot establish certification for your project. If you cannot reconcile the identifiers, leave the public certification statement on hold.

Keep equipment certification separate from any whole-home claim. Record what the evidence identifies and who checked the match. Do not borrow program benefits, savings language or numerical examples for your page. This article supplies no product selection or sizing advice.

## How do you complete a water-heater scope sheet?

Copy this proposed editorial worksheet into your project review document. Use a separate sheet when the equipment or scope differs. The worksheet organizes source material for public copy. It is not a manufacturer form, technical specification or installation approval.

```
Water-heater scope sheet
Equipment record:
  Category; confirmed model;
  status; document revision
Fuel evidence:
  Recorded fuel; source;
  unresolved conflict
Included components:
  Item; supply role;
  installation status; source
Installer question:
  Buyer concern; reviewer;
  written answer; limits
Certification evidence:
  Exact unit match; source;
  verification date
Service record:
  Owner document; role;
  unresolved handoff
Public statement:
  Approved scope sentence;
  limits; approving role
```

1. Collect the approved equipment selection and its current revision.

2. Record fuel separately from the equipment category.

3. List only components supported by the applicable project documents.

4. Send demand, simultaneous-use and delivery questions to the qualified installer.

5. Reconcile installed equipment against the selection record.

6. Check any certification statement against the exact unit evidence.

7. Confirm service responsibilities before approving the public scope sentence.

In the equipment field, preserve both the identifier and the status. An installation record does not erase an earlier selection. Keep the comparison available so the reviewer can explain an approved substitution. Do not ask the website editor to resolve a technical difference.

In the service field, distinguish the equipment instructions from your documented builder service process. Record which role receives an owner question and where the applicable documents reside. Do not invent coverage, response times, maintenance intervals or responsibility for a supplier.

Keep open questions specific. “Needs review” gives the next person little direction. “Confirm which unit the installation record identifies” points to a missing answer. Preserve the question privately until the assigned reviewer can support a public statement.

The [Owned website stage](/process/owned-website/) provides a place for the approved summary. Keep private equipment records outside public downloads. Give the publishing owner a clear instruction about which change requires another review.

## What would a documented public description say?

Consider a fictional, unnamed project created only to demonstrate the worksheet. Its invented approved specification includes a tankless water-heating category. Its final unit and fuel remain unresolved. A photograph shows equipment from an unrelated example, and no as-built or certification evidence has been supplied.

The equipment field therefore records a specified category with an unresolved model. The fuel field remains unresolved. The component field includes no unconfirmed accessories. The installer question asks for a project-specific demand review after equipment selection. The service field asks who will receive the owner documents.

Fictional public excerpt: This example's specification includes tankless water-heating equipment. Final equipment and fuel selections remain unresolved. Related components and delivery expectations require confirmation through the project review. The reference photograph does not identify the equipment included in this example.

This excerpt demonstrates limited wording, not a completed installation. It makes no certification, capacity or delivery claim. For a real project, replace each fictional condition with the approved record. If the scope itself remains uncertain, omit the feature until that question receives an answer.

The FTC's [Truth In Advertising guidance](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising) requires truthful, non-misleading advertising. Use that evidence boundary when reviewing the full paragraph and its heading. The guidance does not endorse this worksheet or verify your installation.

Place the equipment summary within the [custom builder website page structure](/guides/custom-builder-website-pages/). Give buyers a route from the project description to the applicable specification discussion. Keep a short equipment sentence from becoming a claim about every house you build.

For a separate water feature, the [rainwater system guide](/articles/builder-websites/rainwater-harvesting-spec-page-content/) organizes collection and intended-use records. Keep those records distinct from hot-water equipment. The [builder website article collection](/articles/builder-websites/) connects both subjects to the wider plan and project pages.

## What else should a water-heater page explain?

### Can a tankless label establish the fuel?

A tankless category label does not establish the project's fuel. Check the approved equipment record and applicable installer documentation. Keep fuel unresolved when those sources do not identify it or contain an unresolved conflict.

### Can one fixture example establish simultaneous-use capacity?

A fixture example cannot establish a project's simultaneous-use capacity. Ask the qualified installer to review the actual equipment, intended combination of uses and applicable conditions. Publish a capacity statement only within the documented assessment's limits.

### Does product literature prove which unit was installed?

Manufacturer literature describes the product it identifies. Use the project's as-built equipment record to confirm the installed unit. Reconcile any difference from the approved selection before drafting a statement about included equipment.

### Where should service information appear?

Keep water-heater owner documents and service responsibilities in the controlled project [handoff](/process/handoff/). Public copy can explain the confirmed contact process. Do not invent warranty coverage, maintenance requirements or service response times when the applicable records remain unavailable.