Unlike traditional storage tank water heaters, tankless water heaters do not store a reservoir of hot water. As a result, standby losses are reduced, which makes them an energy-efficient alternative to traditional water heating. When water flow is detected, they begin heating water, making them highly efficient and cost effective. When the demand for water ceases, they enter standby mode and use essentially no energy.
There will always be hot water. Endless hot water - for bathing, cooking, dishes, laundry, and all the other countless ways hot water enriches our lives.
Tankless water heaters consume a fraction of the space consumed by a tank heater. They can be mounted inside or outside.
Because tankless heaters do not store water, they are less subject to corrosion than tank-type heaters. As a result, their expected equipment life is longer - possibly more than 20 years, compared with 10 - 15 years for traditional heaters. Also, because they are not heating 40 - 50 gallons of water 24 hours a day, tankless water heaters are less susceptible to leakage than tank-type water heaters.
Conventional storage water heater fuel sources include natural gas, propane, fuel oil, and electricity. All conventional water heaters store hot water 24 hours per day in a storage tank, typically ranging in volume from 20 to 120 gallons.
To minimize stand-by losses you should consider water heaters that offer higher levels of tank insulations. Often the lowest-priced storage water heater may be the most expensive to operate and maintain over its lifetime.
Due to the demand a modern tank water heater can supply it will seem like there is an endless supply hot water - for bathing, cooking, dishes, laundry, and all the other countless ways hot water enriches our lives. We carry a wide variety of gas tank water heaters. They are often the lowest installed cost choice for replacing an existing system.
Hybrid heat pump water heaters are a new, highly efficient way to heat water. They typically cost half as much to operate as traditional electric resistance water heaters, and can save a homeowner as much as $3,000 over the lifetime of the unit. While they heat water, heat pump water heaters also air condition and dehumidify the space around them.
To understand the concept of heat pumps, imagine a refrigerator working in reverse. While a refrigerator removes heat from a box and expels it into the surrounding air, a heat pump water heater takes the heat from the air and transfers it to water in an enclosed tank. They are called "hybrids" because in addition to a heat pump they also have traditional electric resistance heating elements for times when demand exceeds what the heat pump can produce.
Solar water heaters are an even greener hot water solution that uses a dark-color solar collector to capture the solar energy. Solar water heating systems can be "passive," where the water flows between the collection are to the storage tank via gravity or some other non-mechanical means, or "active," which uses a circulating pump to move water through the system. An active system may also be called "forced circulation," and requires more energy than passive systems.
Even the most efficient solar water heaters sometimes require some auxiliary heating (boosting). This may be because of a large, late-in-the-day hot water usage or after a long period of extensive cloud cover. An electric, gas or other fuel-type booster can be quite effective in enabling a solar water heater to provide a year-round supply of steaming hot water, but it also obviously adds more energy requirements.