2026 ASPE Expo: Three Water Heating Challenges We Kept Hearing

Choosing a commercial water heating system increasingly means balancing competing priorities. Engineers need enough capacity to meet peak demand, but they also have to consider available utilities, electrical infrastructure, mechanical-room space, initial investment, maintenance, and the expected life of the equipment.

At the 2026 ASPE Expo, those tradeoffs were apparent in conversations around commercial water heating. While every project is different, three challenges stood out in the many conversations that the PVI team had with attendees in Oklahoma City.

1. Matching Water Heating Technology to the Building’s Infrastructure

One of the most important decisions happens before comparing individual water heaters: What can the building realistically support?

Gas-fired water heating continues to play an important role in commercial applications. Where gas infrastructure is already available, it can deliver substantial heating capacity from a relatively compact footprint. That combination of capacity and equipment density can be particularly valuable in applications with significant hot water demand or limited mechanical room space. PVI's wide range of gas condensing water heaters provide an option for facilities where gas remains the right fit for the building and its hot water requirements.

Resistance-electric water heating brings a different set of advantages. Resistance-electric systems are relatively straightforward, eliminate the need for combustion at the water heater, and can deliver substantial amounts of hot water from a compact equipment footprint. Unlike combustion-based equipment, there is no flue or venting system associated with the water heater itself. The primary consideration is electrical capacity.

Resistance water heating effectively requires electrical input corresponding directly to its heating output. In an existing building, that makes it important to determine whether sufficient electrical service is already available or whether an upgrade would be required. That is particularly important in retrofit applications, where a building was designed around infrastructure decisions made years or even decades earlier. In some cases, electrical upgrades can add cost and complexity. But where the required power is available, resistance-electric water heating can offer a compelling combination of simplicity, compactness, flexibility, and reliable hot water production.

The objective isn't to favor gas or electric universally. It is to understand the building's existing infrastructure, hot water requirements, and operating priorities and select the technology that best fits the application.

2. Balancing Footprint, Capacity, and Flexibility

Mechanical room space remains valuable, especially in existing buildings. Specifying water heating equipment therefore isn't only about determining how many BTUs or kilowatts a building needs. Engineers also have to determine how that capacity will fit into the space available. That is one area where both gas-fired and resistance-electric systems can offer significant advantages.

During conversations, equipment footprint emerged as an important consideration in system selection. Compact gas-fired equipment can produce significant output within a small footprint, making it well suited to applications that require substantial recovery in limited space. PVI's Conquest water heaters, for example, provide a gas-fired option for applications where capacity, efficiency, and mechanical-room space are key considerations.

Resistance-electric equipment can also provide a comparatively compact solution when sufficient electrical capacity exists. PVI solutions such as Durawatt and Durawatt Mini give engineers options for matching water-heating capacity and storage to the application rather than approaching electric water heating as a single, one-size-fits-all solution.

The right questions include:

• How much hot water does the building require at peak demand?
• How much storage is appropriate for that load profile?
• What utilities are already available?
• How much electrical capacity does the building have?
• How much mechanical room space can be allocated to water heating?
• Will the installation need to accommodate future building changes?

Looking at those questions together can reveal a solution that isn't obvious when efficiency or first cost is considered in isolation.

3. Looking Beyond First Cost to Long-Term Value

Initial equipment cost will always matter. For commercial water heating, however, it is only one part of the investment. Reliability, expected equipment life, service requirements, downtime, and maintenance labor can substantially influence what a water heating system ultimately costs an owner. That makes lifecycle thinking particularly important.

Upfront cost and durability tend to be intertwined in commercial water heating discussions. Some projects are necessarily driven by the immediate construction budget. For others, investing more initially in robust equipment can make sense when it contributes to longer service life, fewer maintenance demands, and reduced labor costs over time.

Tank construction is an important part of that lifecycle equation. PVI uses AquaPLEX^® duplex stainless steel in its water heater tanks, providing corrosion resistance without relying on tank linings or anode rods for corrosion protection. For building owners looking beyond initial equipment cost, those characteristics can become important considerations when evaluating maintenance requirements and long-term value.

Durability cannot be separated from maintenance. The initial purchase price is only one cost associated with a commercial water heating system. Routine inspection, recurring maintenance, replacement components, service labor, downtime, and eventually equipment replacement can all influence the economics of the system over its operating life.

The distinction matters because a commercial water heater is not simply purchased and installed. It is expected to serve the building for many years. Before specifying equipment, project teams should therefore consider:

• Expected equipment service life
• Tank and component durability
• Water quality and treatment requirements
• Inspection and routine maintenance needs
• Parts and service accessibility
• Labor associated with maintenance or replacement
• The operational consequences of downtime

A system with the lowest purchase price does not automatically have the lowest lifecycle cost. Looking at the water heater as a long-term asset, including how the tank is constructed and maintained, can provide a more complete picture of value.

There Is No Single Answer for Every Building

One takeaway from the conversations surrounding ASPE was that established commercial water heating technologies continue to have important roles even as building requirements evolve.

Gas-fired systems remain a practical and important solution where high output and compact footprints are priorities and gas infrastructure is available. Solutions such as PVI's Conquest water heaters can serve applications where the building's infrastructure and hot water demands make gas-fired water heating the appropriate choice.

Resistance-electric systems address a different set of requirements. Where adequate electrical capacity exists, products such as Durawatt and Durawatt Mini can offer straightforward operation, a compact footprint, and design flexibility without combustion at the water heater.

Those choices don't have to be framed as one technology replacing another. They are different tools for different buildings. The appropriate solution depends on the load, infrastructure, available space, efficiency objectives, budget, and long-term operating priorities.

That makes the real question less about choosing one technology universally and more about matching the water heating system to the building. For engineers and building owners, that means evaluating capacity, available infrastructure, footprint, reliability, maintenance, and lifecycle value together. When those considerations drive the specification, the result can be a commercial water heating system designed not simply to satisfy today's load, but to deliver dependable hot water for years to come.