My Health News Digest article this week talks about alternative ways of getting hot water.
So-called "demand" water heaters are also called "instantaneous" or "endless" water heaters, and they have certain advantages, but caveat emptor, as the Romans supposedly said. [Latin for "Let the buyer beware."]
Some good info, including the interesting finding that solar water heating is actually a neat idea, offering a much quicker payback than typical installations of demand systems.