Unless your house was built new, your home most likely already has a water heater. They’re one of the most essential appliances we have in our home, even if it is tucked away in the corner and easily forgotten about.
Whether you’ve never had a water heater before or you’re not sure if you have the best water heater for your needs, it should help to know that there are several options available for you. In this post, we’ll go over a few options to help you figure out what will work best for you.
Tank Water Heaters
These are some of the most common water heaters in Santa Barbara, CA that you’ll see. One reason for that might be because they simply do the job required of them at a low price.
These heaters are like a big teapot, storing up water and heating it for your use. For this reason, tank water heaters come in different sizes by the gallon.
Why the need for different sizes? That’s because once a tank heater’s hot water supply runs out, there will be a big 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 (or for more appliances) without having to refill it so frequently.
Unfortunately, one drawback is that the hot water that goes unused will suffer from standby heat loss. If you install a tank that’s too large for your needs, you might even see this standby heat loss appearing as a spike in your energy bill. Tank heaters are more affordable upfront, but it’s important not to buy in with a “bigger is better” mentality.
Tank water heaters are available for both gas and electric fuel systems. Both types are affordable and offer around the same benefits, so the type of fuel system you use is largely up to what’s convenient for you and your needs.
Tankless Water Heaters
Tankless water heaters are an alternative to tank heaters that function in a fundamentally different way. As the name suggests, they don’t use a tank! Instead, these systems create hot water through electrical resistance. The hot water only comes on when you need it.
This makes tankless water heaters the most efficient option in the long-run. No standby heat loss means no wasted energy. Plus, they last just as long as tank heaters, so you’ll still get the same amount of use over time.
One drawback, however, is that these heaters can’t support too many appliances at the same time. This makes them extremely efficient and ideal for small households with only a few family members, but a larger family who occupies the house at the same times during the day most likely won’t be able to share the warm water.
Tankless water heaters are only available with electric fuel sources, so they’re great for people who don’t have natural gas or want to move away from using gas as a fuel source.