Tank vs Tankless Water Heaters: Which Should You Choose?

Posted on Posted in Plumbing

As with many features in the home, most people don’t give a second thought to their water heater until there is a problem. More than likely, your hot water heater will fail at the most inopportune time, and when it does your options are to repair it or replace. Heating and plumbing services can fix the problem, but sometimes it is better to replace especially if it’s older. If your water heater is more than 12- 15 years old or not energy efficient it would be a fantastic time to ditch your old one, if it’s in the budget, and purchase a new one.

Upgrading a worn out water heater or having an installation in a new property development can bring about specific questions. The biggest, whether to choose a conventional tank water heater or go tankless. A water heater serves a huge role in any home, providing hot water on demand. In most homes, it is used every day. Washing your hands, taking a hot shower, or running the dishwasher you’ll need a functioning unit that will deliver.

Most people know what the tank water heater looks like. After all its been used for decades. These models can be used with either gas or electric as their energy source, and come in a variety of sizes. Depending on how large a tank you purchase, this will indicate how much hot water you can use in a given time. Once the hot water is completely gone from the tank, you’ll have that unfortunate moment the water will turn cold. You will only have a certain number of gallons available for use, the most common being between 20 and 80 gallons.

Tankless water heaters are a newer concept but are one of the best energy saving options for water heaters. Tankless water heaters can also be called On Demand or Instantaneous water heaters. They don’t use a storage or holding area once the water is heated. Instead, they heat the water only when you need it, and the supply never runs out. The only real downside to these types is the initial cost and the limited flow rate. On average, a tankless unit will provide roughly five gallons of hot water per minute. This is enough for typical home usage. However, if you want to run multiple tasks using hot water, you may have to stagger them out. A Pittsburgh plumbing and heating company will have to perform the installation of this unit, especially if you are switching from a traditional tank unit.

 

Which is Better?

Both units work well to deliver the hot water necessary for a home to function as usual. They both require an energy source, whether its electric, gas or even solar power to run. But if you’re looking for the best energy efficient model, tankless is the way to go. However, if your home is already equipped with the traditional tank unit, it would be more cost-effective to use the same, only opting for a more energy efficient unit.

 

READ MORE: What Qualifies As a Plumbing Emergency?