Tankless Water Heaters: Which to Get

If you’re searching for a new water heater, it’s crucial that you know what the differences are between the two most popular options. These options are going tankless or keeping a traditional tank water heater. They both operate in different ways and they have some unique features that provide both pros and cons.

Let’s take a closer look at what these options are and their benefits and downsides to help you decide whether a tank or a tankless water heater is right for your home or building.

Tankless Water Heaters

The Pros

Size: Without a doubt, this is the most significant difference in going tankless. If you don’t have room for a bulky water tank, then you need to go tankless. This is excellent for small homes, apartments, condos or households that just want more storage space.

Energy and Cost: Since a tankless water heater only heats up water as and when you need it, you aren’t at threat of wasting your hot water. It will not take a long time for your water to be heated either. So you save on energy costs and that means you can spend that money elsewhere.

Durability: Tankless water heaters are made of stern stuff and can last for up to two decades before they need to be replaced. This is done with good and regular maintenance, of course. 

Safety: Any pressure issues can be resolved far quicker and easier than a tank, too.

The Cons

Upfront costs: The costs up front are higher, as the installation of this technology will obviously cost more than a basic tank system

Setup in Your Home: Some homes may not be set up for going tankless, in terms of electrics or piping. Gas lines might also get in the way.

Potentially Limited Capacity: A tank has a lot of hot water so multiple people can use hot water in your home and be fine. However, a tankless system can only supply hot water in a limited capacity regarding one or more people. 

Tank Water Heaters

The Pros

Upfront Costs: The upfront costs for installation are cheaper. It’s easy, simple and all you need is a bit of space. 

Easy Maintenance: It’s also cheaper to maintain. If something goes wrong, it’s usually very easy to fix, and your tank can be up and running soon after an issue arises. For California residents, a water heater company in Glendale can offer affordable repairs for tank water heaters.

Reliability: A tank system is reliable and dependable. You won’t have to upgrade it as much as a tankless heater. It’s a far simpler system, with far less that can go wrong.

The Cons

Can Take Longer to Heat: If you use a lot of hot water, it can take a long time for the tank to refill and to reheat. This shouldn’t be a problem as long as you don’t use more capacity than is in your tank in a short time period, but for large families, this can sometimes be a problem.

Less Efficient: If you don’t use all the water you heated, you have just wasted money and energy, meaning your bills go up for no reason. The bills will also be higher as the tank will lose heat and you may need to continuously heat the water inside to get a consistent hot water flow.

Shorter Lifespan: It inherently has a shorter lifespan, as the tank will need to be replaced after a decade or a little more.

As you can see, there are pros and cons to both types of water heater units. We recommend weighing the benefits and drawbacks to decide which type of unit best suits your needs and discussing your decision with a water heater expert before installing a unit in your home.