How to Choose a Water Heater for Your Home

Hot water is a commodity that people need for many aspects of daily living. Having access to hot water is a necessity for cleaning, cooking, and plenty more. As a result, water heaters are a fixture in virtually every home these days. While this makes hot water an easy thing to get access to, it also leaves people with little experience shopping for a new water heater if one breaks down. To help fix that, let's go over how to choose a water heater for your home to find the best one for your needs.

Look at Different Types of Water Heaters
As one would expect, there are a variety of different water heaters you might want in your home. The main difference you'll have to decide on first will be whether to get a traditional tank model or a newer tankless heater. The most obvious difference between the two is the name. Tank heaters hold large amounts of water in a heated tank for use on-demand while tankless heat water as needed by passing it through super-hot coils. This means tank heaters have a finite amount of water you can use at a time before they run out while tankless heaters are technically unlimited, "technically" meaning that only so much water can pass through a tankless heater at a time and it is possible to use more water than can be heated at once. Additionally, according to Mother Earth News, you can also find solar tanks (those that heat water through the use of the sun), heat pumps (tanks that move heat from the ground or air into standing water), and more variations that may either use a tank or be tankless depending on a number of factors.

Compare Costs
For water heaters with a tank versus ones without, the cost can be a major factor in your decision on what to buy. In terms of a basic cost for purchase, traditional heaters with tanks tend to be substantially less expensive. This is due in part to tankless heaters being fairly new and, like all cutting edge technology, costing more for consumers. In terms of being energy efficient, that's where the tankless model really shines. If you end up with a defective model, you can report defective products to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), according to Viles & Beckman. Tankless heaters tend to save a ton in heating given they aren't required to keep a large supply of water heated at all times, heating only when necessary.

Consider Energy Consumption
Energy consumption is also a factor in picking a water heater as not all heaters are created equal. As one would imagine, tankless heaters tend to be much cheaper given their on-demand heating process. However, the amount of energy necessary to use them can be a bit trickier as not all homes have the necessary electrical or natural gas lines to provide a sufficient amount of power at once, adding further costs associated with renovation. According to the Pembina Institute, accounting for whether you'll be using electricity or natural gas to heat your water is another factor you should think about. It's also worth mentioning that heat pump heaters tend to be fairly efficient in their own right by using natural heat.
Water heaters be tricky when it comes to purchasing, but are necessary for your home. Consider points like the ones above to help you decide which kind of water heater best fits your needs.

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