The conventional storage water heater is the most popular type of water heater in the United States. The tankless water heater is becoming quite popular in recent times mainly because it is more efficient than the conventional storage model. Nowadays homeowners are more concerned about the efficiency and fuel type of a water heater than they are concerned about its cost. Depending on your locality, there are various types of fuels that you can use to power your home hot water heater. You can either use electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, propane, geothermal energy, or solar to power your water heater. It’s a good idea to discuss your options with your local plumber and make a decision based on his recommendations. Expectedly, electricity is the most widely used energy to power water heaters in the U.S. Electric water heaters and gas-powered water heaters are the most commonly used water heaters in the country. These water heaters can either be conventional storage, tankless, or heat pump in functional design. We will now look at the main advantages and disadvantages of installing a conventional storage water heater.
As mentioned above, conventional storage water heaters are the most popular water heating units in the U.S. There are many reasons why these water heating units are preferred by homeowners all over the country. One of the main advantages of conventional storage water heaters is that they are cheaper to purchase and install than all the other types of water heaters. Tankless water heaters usually cost twice as much as conventional storage models. Conventional storage water heaters are also easier and cheaper to repair and maintain than the other water heating units. This means that you will call your local plumber for a DC tankless water heater service many times if you install a tankless model, but if you install a conventional storage water heater, you will save on repair and maintenance costs. Another advantage of conventional storage water heaters ifs that they come in a variety of sizes to accommodate all hot water needs. Lastly, conventional storage water heaters supply hot water throughout without the lag period experienced with the tankless models.
Despite their high popularity, conventional storage water heaters have their fair share of disadvantages and limitations. One major disadvantage of conventional storage water heaters is that they have a shorter lifespan than tankless water heaters. Tankless water heaters usually last twice as long as conventional storage models; with the former having a warranty of up to 20 years and the latter having a warranty of between 8 and 12 years. Another major limitation of conventional storage water heaters is that they require more installation space than tankless models. Tankless water heaters are usually the size of a standard briefcase and are have very versatile when it comes to installation. Conventional storage water heaters on the other hand require substantial space to install the storage tank and the piping system. One major downside of conventional storage water heaters is that they are notoriously inefficient. They lose a lot of heat energy in the stored heated water especially fi they have no inbuilt insulation. This is a very serious problem because it leads to very high energy bills in the home. Actually, conventional storage water heaters end up costing higher than the tankless models because of the high energy bills incurred by the former.