The average household spends more than a quarter of its total annual energy budget to heat the water that they use. That means that water heaters are more expensive to run than almost any other home appliance—only heating and cooling cost more. So, the decision as to which type of water heater to buy is important. Let us help you figure out what’s best for your household.
Storage Tank Water Heaters: Store and preheat 30-50 gallons of water stored in an insulated tank.
Pros:
- Lower initial cost – A traditional water heater installation can be half as much as a tankless water heater.
- Easy and inexpensive to replace – Less installation complications means that there’s less that can go wrong.
- Higher utility bill – They heat and reheat water at a pre-set temperature regardless of your water needs. This increases your utility bill-especially during the winter.
- Bigger and harder to place – They occupy more room and cannot be placed outside.
- Can run out of hot water – Ever been the last in your family to get the shower? It’s a chilling experience. This problem can be avoided by purchasing a larger tank (although that will increase energy costs).
- Shorter life – Lasts 10-15 years. This means there’s more turnover and therefore you have to buy them twice as often as a tankless water heater.
- Saves money in the long run – According to Energy.gov, “For homes that use 41 gallons or less of hot water daily, demand (or tankless) water heaters can be 24%-34% more energy efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters.”
- Doesn’t take up much space – They are small and can be installed in more places-even outside on a wall.
- Lives longer – Lasts 20+ years. Almost double a traditional water heater’s life.
- Delivers hot water on demand – Provides two to three gallons of hot water per minute on demand.
- Higher initial cost – Costs $2800 to $4500 installed (depends on the model).
- Retrofitting adds to upfront cost – Replacing a traditional water heater with a tankless system is more complicated. So that can increase the installation cost.
