Tank Or Tankless You Decide

A hot water heater is a device that uses energy source to heat water above its initial temperature through a thermodynamic process. These water heaters can either be tank-type or tank-less type.

Tank-type water heaters are the initial heater that has been used for quite sometime, it has a storage tank where it holds water at a particular temperature and can be used anytime. The heating takes place and the heated water is maintained in the tank throughout.  This therefore means that the burner is turned on and off by the regulator depending on the desired temperature of water stored in the tank.

A tank-less water heater on the other hand does not have a storage tank. This is made of a small rectangular box which holds the burner or the heating element and  is responsible for controlling the heating and internal piping of water. Tank-less water heaters will therefore heat water when there is demand for it unlike the tank water heater; cold water will flow through the system, the flow sensor will then be activated leading to the firing of the heating element/burner causing the water to heat as it travels through many small metal tubes.

The two technologies of water heating have advantages and disadvantages and this may be dictated by the source of energy that is applied.

Advantages of tank-type water heater: low initial cost incurred, they are easily adaptable to recirculation applications and solar pre-heat applications and it has low gas/power needs.

Disadvantages: it may not be able to serve many people if the demand goes up, energy is always consumed for consistence in temperatures and they are limited in the amount of hot water they can supply as this depends on the size of the tank.

Tank-less water heaters:

Advantages: They can supply unlimited hot water throughout, energy is used only when there is need, risks of broken tanks are not there and they can serve any number of people.

Disadvantages include: high initial costs, consume a lot of gas/power, wastes a lot of water and they are not adaptable to other applications. The real downside is the potential build up of minerals in the small tubes where the heat is exchanged, making it mandatory that you have a water softener installed also.