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Water Heater Comparison
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Tank vs Tankless Water Heaters
Nowadays, there are so many water heaters to choose from. It can be difficult to look at the comparisons of these water heaters to make sure that you are getting the best. There are so many factors that need to be looked into before making the decision on which options to choose.
Size
For tank water heaters, the size of the tank will actually mean the storage capacity of the tank. The sizes of traditional water tanks usually range from 30 to 120 gallons. Though the most common sizes are the ones from 40 to 75 gallons. It is better to choose a tank that would be matched with your household needs for hot water.
Usually, tankless water heaters are relatively small. They can are about the size of a carry-on luggage for gas heaters and as small as a phone book for electric heaters. They are so compact. Gas can be as small as 20 inches high and weigh 40 pounds. The Titan electric heater for example, is only 8 pounds and 10 inches by 7 inches by 3 inches. These tankless water heaters can save you up to 16 square feet of valuable floor space as compared to large storage tanks, which are actually bulky. They can even be mounted on the wall. Tankless heaters, regardless if they are electric or gas heaters vary in sizes depending on the application. Usually, electric tankless heaters have lesser capacity than gas tankless heaters.
Also the flow rate and the water requirement are important in determining the proper size of tankless water heater for the family. This is actually the number of gallons per minute if a desired temperature is needed. Typically, a tankless heater should have a flow rate of six gallons per minute at 60-degree rise. For electric tankless heaters in the colder climates, you may need to have parallel heaters setup to split the water flow to a managable flow rate for each heater.
Energy Requirements
Tank water heaters use a great deal of energy since the water in the tank needs to be heated to have a stored hot water. There is a standby loss heat in the process. Also, since when you turn on the shower or the water source, the temperature on the tank will be lowered and additional energy is required to keep the hot water on the original temperature.
Needless to say, tankless water heaters can help you save energy since energy will only be required the moment you turn on the water source and would need hot water. On the other hand, electric tankless water heaters use lots of energy as compared to gas tankless water heaters. They usually require 220 Volts and up to 60 amps to be able to heat the water quickly. You will have to make sure that your electrical box can accomodate the power requirements for the electric tankless heaters before installing one. If you have natural gas, it can be a more economical way to heat water. Usually it will be cheaper than electric. You can save an estimated 1/3 of energy using gas than electric heaters not counting the base charges.
It is also good to look for the energy factor of each water heater. Energy factor (EF) is the number that describes how efficient is the heater. For gas tank heaters, the EF should be at least at 0.63 while for electric tank water heater, it should be at least 0.89, but higher is better. For tankless heaters, the flow rate and the temperature rise it can give should determine the efficiency of the heater.
Water Flow Limitation
Most often the traditional tank storage type can able to sustain all the hot water requirements of the whole household which may include numerous showers, dishwashers, faucets. There are some tankless heaters that can only provide hot water for some certain number of showers and appliances. But nowadays, there are already tankless water heaters that can provide hot water for multiple uses. They can even help in filling up hot water for large tubs. Just make sure to check on the available large capacity tankless heaters.
In the real sense, cost, size, energy requirement and water flow limitations should be considered in deciding the heater for the household so that you would be able to achieve long term benefit.
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