What’s the Best Type of Water Heater For My Home?

Depending on the layout of your home and your typical water use, there are a number of different types of water heaters that may best suit you.
Tank Capacity and Recovery Rate
There are two primary qualities of a water heater that determine how well it suits your household’s water use. Tank capacity is the amount of water the water heater can hold and heat at one time. A larger tank will deliver more hot water at one time, for one task. However, water heaters with large tanks may take longer to heat up each load of water, so if you are using hot water in several rooms or for an extended period and run out, it may take a while of running cold or lukewarm water before the water heater catches up and delivers another load of hot water. The speed with which a water heater can heat up the second load of water right after exhausting the first is called its recovery rate. If your household tends to use a lot of hot water at one time, the best type of water heater is one with a high recovery rate.

Propane and Gas Water Heaters

Gas-powered water heaters heat water using a burner, which means that you cannot keep combustible materials anywhere near them. They also need a certain amount of air circulation to function properly. They tend to be more expensive than electric water heaters, but they are also much more energy efficient. Historically, gas water heaters have sometimes been prone to fracturing or exploding, but modern water heaters are very safe as long as they are properly maintained. It is a good idea to have your water heater professionally serviced once a year.

Electric Water Heaters

Electric water heaters heat water using one or more heating elements, which need to be replaced every so often. They are by and large less energy efficient than gas-powered water heaters, but there are plenty of high-efficiency electric water heaters on the market, and they are often less expensive.
Hybrid Water Heaters
Hybrid water heaters use a combination of heat from heating elements and a heat pump, which extracts heat from the air surrounding the unit and uses it to supplement the electric heating. These work much faster than electric water heaters and typically have better recovery rates as well. They do tend to be more expensive than most other types of water heaters, but they also often last longer.

Tankless Water Heaters

Tankless water heaters do not store heated water, so they are not a constant energy drain like traditional water heaters. Instead, they rapidly heat water only when it is needed. They are more efficient than water heaters with conventional tanks, but they are also more expensive. Tankless water heaters come in two varieties, whole-house and point-of-use. Whole-house heaters provide hot water throughout a household and are best suited to smaller homes or households that do not often have multiple rooms requiring hot water at once. Point-of-use heating systems are designed to serve only a few taps; a single point-of-use water heater is best suited to a small home, but several can be arranged in different parts of a building and run just fine without interfering with each other. This is especially handy for large homes that may have bathrooms or other rooms that are far from the home’s central water heater.
If you are considering replacing or installing a water heater in your home, try our request wizard or check out ServiceWhale for more information and free quotes.