Choosing Between Tank and Tankless Water Heaters

There are two main styles of water heaters offered on SupplyHouse.com.

Tank water heaters are the most common, with a reserve of hot water that is maintained 24 hours a day.

Tankless or on-demand water heaters produce hot water as it is needed without the use of a storage tank.

Conventional storage tank water heaters keep water heated constantly which can provide hot water for heavy demands, but can also waste energy. When selecting a tank size, consider the peak hour water demand. If you only use one shower in a given hour, your tank will probably be able to handle the load. However, if there are times where multiple fixtures and appliances are running simultaneously for extended periods, an undersized tank may not contain enough hot water to support your activities and will take some time to heat back up again. Tank heaters work best in a situation where a household might use multiple showers at the same time every morning. They run on natural gas, propane, oil or electric. Gas and oil tank water heaters use chimney, power or direct venting and electric units do not need to be vented.

In tankless systems, water enters the heater and heats up instantly. As long as max per-minute flow rate is not exceeded there is no end to your supply of hot water. Since the water is heated on demand, the size is important and you will need to purchase a unit that can handle your water needs at any given time. They are sized based on maximum usage per minute. For example if you run two showers simultaneously in the morning, you will need to account for the combined water usage. Your geographical location can also impact tankless sizing because the temperature of your supply water can affect how much water can be heated at any given time. Tankless heaters work best in a household where multiple showers are taken one right after the other. They are available in natural gas, propane or electric. Gas tankless water heaters use power or direct venting and electric units do not need to be vented.

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5 thoughts on “Choosing Between Tank and Tankless Water Heaters”

  1. I dislike tankless (or combi boiler) water heaters with a passion. It's just this one thing that drives me absolutely nuts and it is the cold water period you have to wait trough to get hot water again when you shut off the faucet and turn it on again after few seconds. In that few seconds the tankless shuts off and it takes about 5 seconds to start heating again and that makes cold water intervals in the continous hot water usage. The most annoying thing, especially in the shower. When we bought our house I ripped out that bastard and changed it with electric, wall mount water heater that holds 180 litres and is made by Tesy. Good old tank water heaters are very easy to maintain, almost never get broken and you can hang it on the wall and forget about it for the next 10 years until the anode fails or heating element fails. The combi boiler is a lot other story. First of all, it has PCBs involved in the 'brain' of that beast, and that means no fixing DIY by yourself, only electrician. Other thing is complicated piping inside. When it starts leaking, god help you to find the pinhole in the mad pool of pipe impressions inside. The Last thing is overall incapabality of producing enough hot water, when more than one fixture is in demand of hot water. I've seen plenty of times where people who live in two+ story houses complain about hot water pressure dorpping significantly after someone opened up other fixture down stairs. The best and most reliable and overall very easy to repair (if anything, usually only heating element and anode rod fails) unit is the good old tank water heater. Said it many times and will continue encouraging people to get rid of those idiotisms called 'tankless' water heaters, and install electric tank water heaters instead. 95% of people always say to me after period of time that having a tank water heater is much more practical that that tankless nonsence. Thank you for your attention.

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  2. I found this segment of the video to be the most useful: "Since water is heated on demand, size is important. You must purchase a unit that can handle your water needs at any given time." Thanks for the info.

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