For a very long time, the only real option for residential water heaters was the tank water heater. While tank water heaters are certainly not a bad thing, a lack of options meant that everyone got the same system whether or not it was the best for their situation. Fortunately, that is no longer the case. If you have a need for a new water heater, there are a wide variety of different ones to choose from. Let’s take a look at the two most popular types, and some of the differences you should consider before deciding on which one to install.

Tank Water Heaters

Despite more options being available, tank water heaters are still quite popular. A tank water heater uses a large storage tank, capable of storing anywhere between 10 and 100 gallons of water. The water in the tank is kept at a set temperature constantly, day and night. That way, you can have hot water at your fingertips whenever you need it.

This method has a number of advantages. For one, a tank water heater is much harder to overcome with demand before needing a break. Unless you have a lot of people making use of the system for an extended period of time, you’re not going to run out of hot water easily. Maintaining a constant supply of hot water also makes tank water heaters much more convenient, just in case you need to take a shower or something at odd hours of the day or night.

However, there are drawbacks to tank water heaters as well. A tank water heater has to operate 7 days a week in order to maintain the temperature of the water. That uses up a lot of energy, most of which goes to waste on an annual basis when you’re not actively using the system. Tank water heaters also need quite a bit more space set aside in the home, in order to fit their storage tanks.

Tankless Water Heaters

Tankless water heaters were created in order to address some of the issues tank water heaters had. A tankless water heater, as you might expect, doesn’t use a storage tank. Instead, it makes use of a heat exchanger similar to a boiler. The system stays in standby mode until hot water is needed, at which point is activates and starts passing water through the heat exchanger. The water is heated in the heat exchanger before flowing out to its destination. When the demand for hot water subsides, the system turns off until it’s needed again.

Tankless water heaters are both more energy-efficient and more space-efficient than tank water heaters. However, there is a slight delay between when you call for hot water and when it arrives, since the system has to heat water on the spot instead of having it readily available.

Environment Masters, Inc. installs and services water heaters of all kinds throughout Ridgeland, MS. If you need a tank or tankless water heater installed in your home, contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our expert technicians.