Tankless heaters heat on demand rather than storing hot water, which means no standby loss and no tank to fail. They cost more up front and they need gas supply and venting that many older Wichita houses do not have as standard.
Hard water is the specific consideration here and it is one people are rarely warned about. Scale builds on the heat exchanger, and a tankless unit in Wichita needs descaling on a regular schedule or its efficiency drops and its life shortens. That maintenance is not optional here the way it might be in a soft water area.
Pairing a tankless unit with a water softener addresses that directly, and in this water it is worth doing at the same time rather than later.
Technician insight
Ask about descaling before buying. A tankless unit in Wichita water without a softener needs servicing more often than the brochure suggests.