The Water Heater: An Overview of 4 Different Types

A water heater is essential to any home. Few homeowners make it a point to purchase a new one when they move into a new house. Whatever happens to be in place is what will likely stay in place. But if it breaks down and you’re faced with the prospect of buying a new one, you could find yourself open to a number of choices. Maybe you don’t want to simply upgrade to the newest model of whatever you have now. Maybe there are better options out there that could suit you and your family a little better. The only way to know is to figure out exactly what you have to choose from. Here is an overview of four different types.

The Gas Water Heater
There are a few reasons why you might want to go with a gas powered appliance. For one thing, if the rest of your home runs on gas, then it simply makes sense. You may not even have much of a choice in the matter. But if you do have a choice, gas may still make the most economical sense. It’s not the cheapest appliance of the four, but it will save some on energy costs compared with some of the others. 

Oil Powered
An oil water heater enjoys some of the same advantages as one powered by gas. The primary advantage is that they recover extraordinarily quickly. This means you won’t have to wait an hour after someone else has spent too much time in the shower. This can be a big consideration for those with large families (or teenage daughters). On the other hand, those that run off oil usually take a great deal more maintenance than some of the other forms. This can get tedious, especially if you have to call out a serviceman several times a year.

Electric
By far, the electric water heater is the most popular and pervasive kind. They are easier to install than any other kind and they are usually the least expensive to put in. On the other hand, only someone with their head in the sand would fail to notice that the price of electricity is going up year after year. This means the cost of running one of these machines is also rising. In many areas of the country, this means that running an electric system costs more on a monthly basis than oil or gas.

Tankless
One of the most exciting innovations in recent years has been the advent of the tankless water heater. These systems come in both gas and electric varieties, and they don’t bother to heat water until the need for it arises. This might mean waiting a bit for the water to heat up, but it also means substantial savings on your energy costs.