Ever wondered how water heaters work? By knowing this and what type of water heater it is that you have, you may be able to troubleshoot a couple of issues that you may be having, and fix it yourself, instead of calling out a plumber to just tell you that you have used up all the hot water in the tank, and just need to wait about 30 minutes until the water is heated again.
Standard Tank Water Heaters (Electric)
These are the cheapest water heaters, and really the most common, but they will be slowly phased out as technology gets more efficient and other types of water heaters are branded better and made more affordable for the consumer.
Usually storage water heaters do just what the name suggests, they store water in a tank. The tank will usually consist of two heating elements, one near the top of the tank while the other one near the bottom of the tank. There is a thermostat for each heating element. Only one element will be on at a time, when the top portion of the water reaches desired temperature, the element shuts off and the bottom heating element will kick in.
When hot water is being used, the elements are constantly trying to keep up with the heating, and if you have someone taking a 30 minute shower, with the washer and dishwasher running, and only have a 30 gallon storage tank, you can expect to run out of hot water pretty quickly, and will have to wait awhile to let the water heat up again.
Inline Water Heaters – Tankless
Smaller than tank water heaters, and work a lot better, as they only come on when hot water is requested, which will save you money compared to the storage tank water heaters, which are also drawing amps. When hot water is requested, the elements in the on demand water heaters light up immediately to heat up the water. They come in both gas and electric, and all sorts of different sizes depending on how much hot water your household will need.
Gas Water Heaters
Cheaper than electric, gas water heaters are pretty efficient. There is a furnace at the bottom of the water heater, and when lit, the flame will burn to heat up the water. Can easily be adjusted by the thermostat that is at the bottom of the storage tank. Less trouble than the electric kind, and cheaper than electricity, so if your home already has a gas connection, or gas tank, then this may be a good option for you to look into.
Solar Water Heaters
By far the most energy efficient of all the types of water heaters mentioned in this article, but sad to say, also one of the most expensive to set up. Solar powered water heaters can be of the storage type or the tank less type. They get their power from the solar collectors, that are usually positioned on the roof, and then the hot water is transferred into the tank by a type of heat transfer liquid. This is the best option for those that are trying to make their home ‘green’ and do their part in helping the planet.