If there is any appliance in the home that homeowners take for granted, it’s probably their water heater. Even though they’re the most often used appliance in the house, you probably don’t give it much thought unless something goes wrong with it, right? And then when something does go wrong with it, the next question is if it’s worth repairing or if it’s time for a replacement.
A water heater in disrepair should be replaced when it’s reached a couple of decades in age, is showing signs of corrosion and/or simply cannot work as efficiently as it used to.
The next question is, what should you replace that water heater with? After all, you don’t have to stick with the same old model of tank heater. That’s not to say there aren’t benefits to these systems, which we’ll explore below, but you might benefit from a tankless water heater. Read on as we uncover the pros and cons of both.
Stats for the Tank Water Heater
Tank Water Heaters are among the most common that you’ll see in people’s homes. One reason for this is because they typically are low cost to install and they simply just do the job.
The distinguishing feature of a storage tank water heater is as the name implies—it’s a tank. These tanks are available in different sizes to meet the needs of various households. Why is this? Well, because once a tank heater’s hot water supply runs out, there’s a delay in time as it heats up a new batch. By having a larger reserve of water to draw from, you can use the hot water for longer without it needing to refill as often—so the bigger the hot water demand in your home, the bigger the tank should be.
There is a significant drawback to this method of heating water. If hot water goes unused, it will cool off—so you’ll be losing energy from standby heat loss. So let’s say you install a tank that’s too big for your household’s needs, or you bought your home and inherent tank water heater when you were a household of five and now your three kids are grown and gone—you’ll be using and paying for electricity to run your water heater, but not enjoying all the water that is being heated.
Stats for the Tankless Water Heater
Tankless water heaters are an alternative to their tank counterparts that are growing in popularity. They function in a fundamentally different way—as the name implies they do not use a storage tank of any kind. These systems create hot water through electrical resistance, and the hot water only comes on when there’s a demand for it from a tap.
This means that tankless water heaters are much more efficient than tank water heaters. No standby heat and energy loss means no wasted energy! Plus, they typically last about 5-10 years longer than your average storage tank water heater.
Tankless systems can be overwhelmed if too many plumbing appliances demand hot water from it at once. Therefore, it’s important that you talk to a professional plumber to ensure this is the right option for your home.
To learn more and to get in touch with a professional plumber in Tracy, CA, contact DeHart Plumbing, Heating, and Air Inc. today.