It usually is installed right under the sink or very near it and connected directly to the plumbing that serves the faucet(s).

A point-of-use water heater speeds up the delivery of water to the sinks where it is connected by eliminating the distance that hot water must travel between a conventional water heater and the fixture. Thanks to the heater's proximity, hot water arrives at the tap almost immediately when you turn on the water.

Two great "green" advantages are that a point-of-use water heater saves considerable water-heating energy and eliminates wasted water. Because you don’t have to let the hot water run while you wait for it to arrive from a distant water heater, you can save hundreds of gallons of water per month. And with a conventional water heater setup, every time you draw water from the water heater, hot water fills the entire length of pipe between the water heater and your faucet then, when you turn off the faucet, that expensively-heated water remains in the pipe and cools down, wasting the energy that heated it.

Why we like it: • Provides instant hot at the sink faucet • Simply plugs into a standard outlet • Holds 4 gallons

Point-of-use water heaters are compact and electric. Both 120-volt and 240-volt models are available. The ones that are 120-volt are more convenient in most situations because you can just plug them in to a conventional electric outlet--ideally, one that's located under the sink. Before buying a point-of-use water heater, be sure a grounded electrical outlet is conveniently located to serve it.