There are so many different types of water heaters in the market that some homeowners are overwhelmed by the variety when shopping for their home hot water heaters. There are several factors that you should always consider when choosing a new water heater. For starters, you should always consider the functional design of your home water heater. There are three main types of water heaters based on their functional designs, namely, conventional storage, tankless, and hybrid heat pump water heaters. The functional design of a water heater determines its efficiency. And the second most important consideration when purchasing a new water heater should be efficiency. Heat pump water heaters are the most efficient followed by tankless models and the least efficient are the storage tank water heaters. The third consideration should be your home hot water needs. This determines the type and size of water heater that you should buy.
You should also consider the cost of buying and installing a specific type of water heater as compared to the operational or running costs based on the efficiency of that type of water heater. And last but not least, you should always consider the fuel type of any water heater before purchase. Water heaters use electricity, fuel oil, natural gas, propane, geothermal energy, or solar to heat water. Each of these fuels has its own advantages and disadvantages but today we will only focus on the pros and cons of buying an electrically powered hot water heater.
One of the main advantages of electric water heaters is that they are much cheaper to install than gas water heaters. Water heater installation is a basic type of DC water heater service offered by almost all professional plumbers in the Washington DC area. You can call any professional plumber in DC to help you install your electric water heater or you can even do so on your own if you are a bit handy with plumbing tools. Electric water heaters are also far much safer than gas water heaters. Remember that gas appliances can explode and cause great loss of property and even life when there is a gas leak. This is not the case with electric water heaters but they can still cause electrical shock and even electrocution if handled poorly.
Another advantage of electric water heaters is that they do not require gas lines to operate. Electricity is one of the most readily available energy sources in the United States. You can hence be assured that your electric water heater will run just fine wherever you decide to install it all around the country. And lastly, electric water heaters generally last longer and require less maintenance than gas powered hot water heaters.
One major disadvantage of electric water heaters is that they cost more to operate or run. Gas is far much cheaper than electricity and hence the electric models cost significantly more during their years of operation. Another major limitation of electric water heaters is that they can't function when there is a blackout unless you install a backup generator. If you are busing a tankless electric water heater, then you will have to use cold water or use other means to heat your water because the heater will be off as long as the power is out. And lastly, electric water heaters do not heat water as fast as gas water heaters.