Different types of hot water heaters vary according to their functional design, capacity, efficiency, and fuel type. The two most common types of water heaters are the traditional or conventional storage tank water heater and the tankless water heater. These two types of water heaters vary according to their functional designs and efficiency. The conventional storage water heater comes with a storage tank or reservoir for holding the heated water for later use while the tankless model; has no such reservoir. The tankless water heater heats water on demand hence the names instantaneous or on-demand water heater. The tankless water heater is more efficient than the conventional storage model because the latter loses a lot of heat energy in the stored water. But the purchase and installation costs of tankless water heaters are far much higher than those of conventional storage water heaters. All the same, the tankless model saves money in the long run and recoups the upfront costs in energy savings. Another way of classifying water heaters is by the type of fuel that they use. Again we have two most common types of water heaters by fuel type, namely electric water heaters and gas water heaters. We will compare the two models below.
Gas water heaters use natural gas or propane to heat water. These types of water heaters can be conventional storage or tankless but they are all powered by gas instead of electricity. One of the main advantages of gas water heaters is that they are cheaper to run than electric models. This is due to the fact that gas is cheaper than electricity. Another advantage of gas water heaters is that they heat water more quickly than electric water heaters. Gas produces more heat per moment than electricity hence little lag time for heating water. Modern conventional storage gas water heaters are well insulated to minimize heat loss in the heated waster. They are also far much safer than the old models.
One major disadvantage of gas water heaters is that they have higher purchase and installation costs than electric water heaters. Gas water heaters also require more space than electric water heaters. Modern water heaters have replaced pilot lights with electric ignitions and will hence not function when the power is out.
As the name suggests, electric water heaters use electricity to heat water. One of the main advantages of electric water heaters is that they can be installed all over the country without the need for propane or natural gas lines. Another major pro of electric water heaters is they are far much cheaper to install and maintain than gas-powered models. This means that you will not have to spend a fortune on any DC electric water heater service once you install an electric home water heater. Generally, electric water heaters are safer than gas-powered models because they are not prone to gas leak explosions. And last but not least, electric water heaters last longer than gas-powered models.
One major limitation of electric water heaters is that they can't function when the power goes out. Another disadvantage of electric water heaters is that they heat water too slowly as compared to the gas-powered models.